Got questions about why Deel is requesting specific documents during your onboarding? We've got answers.

The six reasons we collect documents:

Every document Deel requests during onboarding exists for a legal, tax, or regulatory reason. Nothing is collected arbitrarily. The short answer to "why do you need this?" is almost always one of six things:

Reason	What it means	Example documents
Tax authority requirements	Governments require employers to collect specific forms before processing payroll — to know how much tax to withhold, which tax code to apply, or to register the worker with the local authority.	W-4 (US) P45/HMRC Starter Checklist (UK) Form 145 (Spain) A1 Certificate (EU)
Employment eligibility & right to work	In most countries, employers are legally required to verify a worker has the right to work before their start date. Failure to do so can result in significant fines.	Passport Visa Work permit National ID Residence permit
Statutory benefits enrollment	Many countries require workers to register for state-provided benefits (healthcare, pension, social security) at the point of hire. Deel needs documentation to complete that registration.	Social security number pension enrollment forms health insurance declarations
Local authority reporting	Some countries require employers to report specific employee data to a government authority at the time of hire or annually. Deel collects this data via compliance documents so it can fulfill that reporting obligation.	Employee Registration Form (China) annual audit data (Hong Kong)
Employment contract requirements	The Employment Agreement (EA) may include clauses that reference supporting documents — for example, a role-specific annex, a non-compete addendum, or a probation policy.	Signed annexes policy acknowledgements handbook sign-off
Medical & safety compliance	Some countries mandate pre-employment or annual medical checks. Deel collects the opt-in/out or result documentation to remain compliant with local labor law.	Spain Medical Examination opt-in/out Health & Safety Risk Information form

Document Requirements by Contract Type

EOR (Employer of Record)

Document category	Why it's required
Tax forms (e.g. W-4, P45, HMRC checklist, Form 145)	Deel must withhold the correct amount of tax from payroll. The specific form depends on the country and, in some cases, the worker's personal circumstances (e.g. student loan type in the UK, filing status in the US).
Right to work / employment eligibility	As the legal employer, Deel is legally required to verify the worker can legally work in the country before their start date.
Compliance documents (country-specific)	Each country has its own set of mandatory forms that must be completed at hire — ranging from medical opt-ins to pension declarations to data consent forms. Deel maintains ~2,000+ templates across 150+ countries.
Employment Agreement (EA) and annexes	Deel generates a compliant EA for each hire based on country, role, salary, and contract type. Some countries require additional annexes (e.g. job category in Italy, language preference in Switzerland).
Benefits enrollment	Where statutory benefits require active enrollment (health insurance, pension), Deel collects the necessary forms or declarations.
Banking & payment details	To run payroll, Deel needs verified payment information. In some countries this requires additional documentation (e.g. bank statements, IBAN verification).

PEO (Professional Employer Organization)

Deel and the client share the employer role — Deel handles HR, payroll, and compliance; the client directs day-to-day work. Document requirements are shared accordingly.

Important distinction : PEO vs. EOR

Under PEO, the client retains more of the employer relationship.

Some compliance documents are still Deel's responsibility (payroll, benefits, state filings), while others remain with the client (offer letter, role-specific policies).

This means Deel's document checklist is narrower, but it still covers tax forms, benefits enrollment, and mandatory state/federal compliance documents.

Contractor (IC)

No employment relationship exists. Deel's document requirements are minimal — focused on identity verification, payment setup, and tax compliance where applicable.

Document	Purpose
Government-issued ID	Identity verification to comply with KYC/AML requirements
Tax forms (where applicable)	E.g. W-9 (US-based contractors providing services to US companies), W-8BEN (non-US contractors)
Business registration (if applicable)	For contractors operating through a registered entity
Banking details	To process payments

Deel Payroll

The client is the legal employer. Deel processes payroll on their behalf. Documents are primarily payroll-related — Deel doesn't collect employment compliance documents, as that remains the client's responsibility.

Important distinction : Payroll vs. EOR

Compliance document requirements only apply to EOR contracts — Deel Payrollclients manage their own employment compliance.

Key documents: Country of employment

Even within the same contract type, the documents required vary.

Here's what determines which documents appear in an employee's onboarding checklist, for some of our high-volume countries:

Country	Key compliance documents	Why
United States	W-4 (Federal Tax), State tax forms (varies by state), I-9 (right to work), State-specific forms (e.g. NY Pay Rate, SC State Tax)	Federal and state tax withholding; employment eligibility verification is federally mandated; many US states have additional new-hire reporting requirements
United Kingdom	P45 (from previous employer) or HMRC Starter Checklist, Student Loan declaration	HMRC requires employers to establish correct tax code and NI number before first payroll run; student loan deductions are managed via payroll
Spain	Form 145 (tax withholding), Medical Examination opt-in/out	Tax authority requires Form 145 to calculate withholding; employers are required to offer a pre-employment medical exam (employee can opt out)
China	Employee Registration Form (includes degree, address, emergency contact)	Local authorities require employee registration at the time of hire; annual audit reporting also requires specific data points collected at onboarding
Germany	Tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer), Social security declaration, Health insurance provider declaration	Employer must register employee with health insurance and pension schemes; tax ID is required to run payroll
Hong Kong	Tenancy Agreement / Proof of Address (for rental reimbursement scheme)	HK EOR employees may be entitled to a rental reimbursement benefit; the rental amount, address, and type must be documented for tax filing
Ireland	PRSA compliance document, HMRC checklist equivalent	Pension auto-enrollment requirements; character limits and field validation on the PRSA form are known support pain points
Colombia	Affiliation Authorization (fillable)	Workers must be affiliated to the Colombian social security system; the authorization form must be completed at onboarding
Italy	Job Category document (CCNL-related)	Italian labor law ties employment terms to national collective agreements (CCNL). The job category determines notice periods, benefits, and more — it's required in the EA and associated documents
Switzerland	Employment Agreement with salary-based variant	Swiss EAs vary by language preference and salary threshold (CHF 148K). The correct EA template depends on these factors — multiple templates exist per scenario
Saudi Arabia	Employment Agreement — family vs single status variant	Saudi labor law requires different EA templates depending on whether the employee is relocating with family or as a single worker

Client Entity Type

The client's legal structure also affects document requirements.

Some clients operate through their own local legal entity; others rely entirely on Deel's entity.

Setup	Impact on documents
Deel entity (standard EOR)	Deel uses its own legal entity to employ the worker. All compliance documents are collected and held by Deel. Standard Deel templates apply.
Client's local entity (GP or hybrid)	The client employs the worker through their own entity. Deel processes payroll only. The client is responsible for collecting and holding compliance documents.
PEO co-employment	Deel and the client share employer obligations. Deel collects payroll and benefits documents; the client handles role-specific employment documents.
Entity-specific templates	Some clients have negotiated custom document templates (e.g. a custom handbook, a bespoke non-compete). These are tracked in Deel Admin as organisation-specific templates.

Employee-specific factors

Individual circumstances also change what's required for onboarding compliance documentation:

Nationality vs. country of work: A non-national working in a country they're not a citizen of will need additional right-to-work documentation (work permit, visa, sponsored residence permit).
New hire vs. rehire: Rehired employees may need to resubmit documents, particularly for tax forms (e.g. new W-4 if filing status has changed) and right-to-work documents (e.g. if a visa has expired).
Seniority / salary level: In some countries (Switzerland, Italy), employment agreement terms and associated documents vary by salary or job category.
Family status: In some countries (Saudi Arabia), the EA template varies depending on whether the employee is a single worker or relocating with family.
Student loan status (UK): Whether the employee has an outstanding student loan — and which repayment plan they're on — affects payroll deductions and must be declared at onboarding.

FAQ

[ACCORDION] Why do you need this document?

We recognize that employees may feel that document requests are excessive. But there is always a clear and specific legal reason for why it is mandatory.

The legal and/or regulatory obligation may include : tax authority, right-to-work, statutory benefit enrollment, or local authority mandatory reporting.

Deel - as the legal employer - is required to collect these forms. If they aren't provided, onboarding will be delayed and payroll can't be processed.

[ACCORDION] Why was my document rejected?

Common rejection reasons:

Document is expired (e.g. passport, visa, right-to-work document)
Document is the wrong type (e.g. submitted a bank statement instead of a government-issued ID)
Fillable form is incomplete — employee missed a required field, or the system shows an error even though fields appear filled
Document data doesn't match the employee record (e.g. name spelled differently, date of birth mismatch)
Document quality — image is blurry, cut off, or illegible
Wrong version of the form — some forms are updated annually (e.g. W-4) and old versions are no longer accepted

[ACCORDION] Why can't I submit the form?

If you believe you have completed all fields in a fillable form but the Submit button remains inactive, the most common cause is a validation error on a field the employee can't see.

Please scroll to the top of the form and look for highlighted fields, or try submitting on desktop rather than mobile.

[ACCORDION] Why are you asking for more documents from me than last time?

Document requirements evolve for three reasons:

Regulatory changes: Local laws change and Deel updates its compliance document requirements accordingly. A document that wasn't required last year may be required now.
Country expansion: If the employee is moving to a new country, the document requirements for that country apply.
Contract type change: Moving from a contractor to an EOR relationship, for example, significantly increases the document burden because Deel becomes the legal employer.

[ACCORDION] Why does my colleague in a different country need different documents?

Document requirements are country-specific.

An employee in Germany and an employee in Spain have entirely different onboarding document requirements, even if they have the same role and salary.

This is because labor law, tax authority requirements, and statutory benefits are set at the national (and sometimes state/provincial) level.

[ACCORDION] Can I use my own document templates?

In some cases, yes — Deel supports organization-specific templates for clients with custom requirements. These must be set up and approved through Deel Admin.

Clients should raise this with their account manager or CSM rather than support.

Note: custom templates must still meet Deel's compliance standards for that country.

[ACCORDION] The form won't load / there's an error in the fillable form

First, please try to complete the form on desktop (not mobile) — mobile fillable form support is limited for some form types.

If that doesn't work, try a different browser (Chrome is recommended)

/ACCORDION

Frequently Asked Questions about Deel Document Collection

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