LetterAgent
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Home > Guides > Faxing new-hire paperwork
Most new-hire forms fax fine: W-4, direct deposit authorization, state tax forms, and signed offer letters all transmit cleanly. The one big exception is the I-9 employment eligibility form, which requires in-person document inspection and cannot be completed by fax.
| Document | Fax it? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Signed offer letter | Yes | A faxed signature is accepted for most employment offers |
| W-4 (federal tax withholding) | Yes | Routine and common; confirm HR got all pages |
| State tax withholding form | Yes | Same as the W-4; check your state's form name |
| Direct deposit authorization | Yes | Often includes a voided check; write VOID large across the check first |
| Benefits enrollment | Usually | Fine unless the plan requires a wet-ink original |
| Form I-9 | No | An authorized person must physically inspect your original documents; a fax cannot do that |
| Background check consent | Usually | Most employers accept a faxed or scanned consent |
The I-9 is not really about the form: it is about the inspection. The law requires an employer representative (or someone the employer authorizes) to examine your original identity and work-authorization documents in person, checking that they look genuine and belong to you, and then sign off that they did so. A fax of your driver's license does not let anyone hold the actual card, tilt it, or compare the photo to your face. Remote hires handle this by having an authorized representative (a notary, a local HR contact, sometimes a librarian) do the inspection and sign Section 2. Faxing your documents to HR is fine as a supplement, but the in-person step still has to happen.
New-hire packets are exactly the kind of fax that lands on a shared machine, so label it well: the HR contact's name, your name, the document titles and page count, and a "confidential" marking. Include your phone number and email so HR can confirm receipt or flag a missing page. If the packet contains your Social Security number, consider sending the SSN page by a separate, more secure route (an encrypted upload or hand delivery) rather than a fax that prints in a hallway. The cover sheet cannot make a shared machine private, but it does make sure your packet reaches the right person instead of sitting on the output tray.
Fax during HR's business hours and call to confirm receipt the same day: a fax that sits uncollected does not count as delivered in any practical sense. Send the whole packet at once rather than trickling pages, and keep your transmission confirmation. If a form needs a signature, sign before you scan or fax, because an unsigned W-4 or direct deposit form gets bounced and costs you days. Remote workers should ask HR upfront which items require originals by mail, since some employers want the signed originals to follow the fax.
For the faxable pieces, yes. With LetterAgent you send a fax by asking your AI assistant: per-fax quote with the page count verified, you approve the exact total, pay once through Stripe, and the fax is sent, with no shared office machine in the path. LetterAgent covers US and Canadian fax numbers only and cannot receive inbound faxes. Faxing is currently available in testing while activation is in progress, so treat it as available in testing and confirm with HR before relying on it for a start-date deadline.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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