Free tool
W-9 request letter & email generator
Ready-to-send wording for asking vendors and contractors for a Form W-9, whether it's a new vendor, year-end catch-up, a second request or a name/TIN mismatch. Fill in your details, then copy it, download it or open it in your email.
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Short answer
Ask every U.S. vendor or contractor for a Form W-9 before the first payment. It gives you the legal name, federal tax classification and TIN you need to file their 1099. The current form is Rev. March 2024. If a payee doesn't give you a TIN when you ask, you must start backup withholding at 24% of reportable payments. Foreign payees give you a Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E instead.
- Current revision: March 2024 (added line 3b)
- No TIN = 24% backup withholding
- Signature generally not required for ordinary vendor payments, but it's your proof of due diligence
- Don't accept SSNs by plain email
Last reviewed against IRS Form W-9 and the Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (both Rev. March 2024).
How to collect W-9s without the year-end scramble
Form W-9 is how a U.S. person or business gives you their legal name, tax classification and taxpayer identification number (TIN). You don't send it to the IRS. You keep it, and use what's on it to file 1099s. Most 1099 headaches in January start with a missing or sloppy W-9 from months earlier.
1. Ask before the first payment
Make a W-9 part of vendor setup, like an invoice address or bank details. People are quickest to send paperwork when they're waiting to be paid. The "New vendor" template above is written for this.
2. Use a secure channel
A completed W-9 contains an SSN or EIN. Don't ask people to email it as a plain attachment: use a secure link or upload, encrypted email, or paper. Say so in your request, too, since many vendors will email it unless you ask them not to.
3. Check what comes back
Spend thirty seconds on each form before you file it away. The checklist below catches most problems. Then run the TIN through our free TIN format checker and, ideally, IRS TIN Matching.
4. Follow up, then backup withhold
If a payee doesn't give you a TIN, send a second request (the "Second request" template explains backup withholding in plain terms). If you still don't get one, you're required to withhold 24% from future reportable payments and send it to the IRS.
5. Fix mismatches early
If TIN Matching or an IRS CP2100 notice says a name and TIN don't match, ask for a corrected W-9. The "Name/TIN mismatch" template explains the usual culprits, and our name control generator shows what the IRS compares. A formal IRS "B notice" has its own required wording from the IRS, so use that text when you get a CP2100.
Checklist: reviewing a W-9 you get back
| Part of the form | What to check |
|---|---|
| Line 1, Name | The name that goes with the TIN: a person's name as on their Social Security card, or a business's legal name as on its IRS EIN letter. Never a brand or trade name alone. |
| Line 2, Business name | Trade names, DBAs and the names of disregarded single-member LLCs go here. |
| Line 3a, Tax classification | Exactly one box checked. If it's LLC, a letter is filled in: C, S or P. This tells you whether the payee is a corporation, and so whether most payments are exempt from 1099s. |
| Line 3b | New on the March 2024 form: a partnership, trust or estate checks it if it has foreign partners, owners or beneficiaries. You only have to verify it if you're a flow-through entity yourself. |
| Line 4, Exemptions | An exempt payee code is about backup withholding. Whether you still file a 1099 depends on the payee and the payment: corporations and tax-exempt organizations generally aren't reported for services, but legal and medical payments to corporations still are. |
| Lines 5–6, Address | Where you'll mail their 1099. A complete street address, city, state and ZIP. |
| Part I, TIN | One number, in the right box: SSN for individuals and sole proprietors using their SSN, EIN for everyone else. Nine digits, no letters. |
| Part II, Signature | Signed and dated. For most vendor payments the signature isn't strictly required, but a signed certification is what protects you if the TIN turns out to be wrong. |
| Revision date | The revision is printed in the top-left corner. The current form is Rev. March 2024, which added line 3b; ask for it on new requests. |
Foreign payees don't fill out a W-9. They give you a Form W-8BEN (individuals) or W-8BEN-E (entities) instead, and different reporting rules apply.
Related tools
- Help your payees fill it in: how to fill out a W-9.
- Check the TIN you get back with the TIN format checker and the name control generator.
- Foreign payee? Read W-9 vs W-8.
- No TIN or a mismatch notice: backup withholding and the CP2100 and B notice guide.
Sources
Questions
W-9 questions
When should I ask a vendor for a W-9?
Before you make the first payment. That's when you have the most leverage, and it means you have everything you need at year end. If someone won't provide a TIN, you're required to start backup withholding on payments to them.
Can a vendor refuse to fill out a W-9?
They can, but if a payee doesn't give you a TIN when you request it, you're required to withhold 24% of reportable payments (backup withholding) and send it to the IRS. Most vendors would rather fill out the form.
Is it safe to collect W-9s by email?
Not as a plain attachment. A completed W-9 contains an SSN or EIN, and regular email isn't encrypted end to end and tends to be kept for years. Use a secure upload or online form, encrypted email, or paper. EFileForMe can email your payees a secure link to fill in their W-9 online.
Do W-9s expire?
No. A W-9 stays valid until something on it changes, such as a name, tax classification, address or TIN. Many businesses still ask for a fresh one every few years, and always after an IRS mismatch notice.
How long should I keep W-9s?
Keep them for at least four years after your last payment to the vendor. That's a common best practice in line with IRS record-keeping rules, rather than a single fixed IRS deadline. The IRS can ask to see the W-9 behind a 1099, especially if the TIN was wrong. Store them securely, because they contain taxpayer ID numbers.
Do I need a W-9 from a corporation?
Yes, ask anyway. The W-9 is how you know they're a corporation, and you still need their TIN for the cases where corporations do get a 1099, like legal and medical payments.
Is anything I type here sent to EFileForMe?
No. The letter is assembled by a script running in your browser. "Open in email app" passes the text to your own email program on your device. Nothing is sent to us or saved.
Collect W-9s and file 1099s in one place
Send secure online W-9 requests, check TINs with the IRS, and e-file your 1099s from the same recipient list.