How to request a W-9 form from your Vendor

Getting a W-9 form from your vendors is hassle-free and straightforward with Melio. Send an electronic form for them to fill out online. Alternatively, if you already have the complete form, you can add it to your account. All within your Melio dashboard.

This article is relevant for Core, Boost, and Unlimited subscribers.

This article will walk you through:

• Understanding what a W-9 Form is.
• Send a W-9 form to your vendors:
  • To a new vendor
  • To an existing vendor
  • To multiple vendors at the same time
• How the request appears in your Melio account.
• Understanding how your vendor fills out the form.

What is a W-9 Form?

A W-9 form is officially titled "Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification." It's how you request your vendors to verify their name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). It’s commonly requested from independent contractors and freelancers.

To comply with IRS regulations, by January 31st of every year*, you must file a 1099 report. This report includes any vendor who received payments from you at or above the IRS reporting threshold in the previous year. For the 2025 tax year, the threshold is $600, and for the 2026 tax year, it will be $2,000. Filing this report requires you to have a W-9 form from each one of them.

* Please see the IRS website for more information.

Unlimited, Boost, and Core users can easily e-file 1099 forms using Melio’s sync with Tax1099*. To learn more about this, please see our 1099 e-filing with Tax1099 guide.

* Standard Tax1099 fees apply

We recommend you secure a signed W-9 form from your vendors before issuing their first payment. This ensures you have all the necessary information when it's time to file your tax reports, saving you the nuisance of tracking down vendors at the last minute.

To find out more about W-9 and 1099 forms, please see the following article.

How to send a W-9 form request through Melio

Melio enables you to send a W-9 form request:

• To a new vendor
• To a saved vendor
• To multiple vendors at the same time

Sending a W-9 form request to a new vendor

1 - Start adding a new vendor:

• From the Vendors tab
• When creating a bill
• When making a payment

2 - In the Add vendor screen, enter the vendor details and toggle the switch next to Collect W-9 form.

3 - Select Send request. 

4 - Select Continue and send request to complete the process. Your vendor will receive an email with a link to the electronic form, which can be filled out online.

That’s it. You successfully requested a W-9 form from your vendor.

Sending a W-9 form request to a saved vendor

1 - From the Pay dashboard, select the Vendors tab.

2 - Select the vendor you want to send the W-9 form request to.

3 - In the Vendor details page, scroll down to the Taxpayer info section.

4 - Check the box next to Add W-9 form.

5 - Select Send request. If the vendor is a 1099 contractor, you can mark them accordingly.

6 - Select Send request. Your vendor will receive an email with a link to the electronic form, which can be filled out online.

That’s it. You successfully requested a W-9 form from your vendor.

How to send a W-9 form request to multiple vendors

Melio enables you to send W-9 form requests to multiple vendors simultaneously, saving you time and effort. To do so, follow these steps:

1 - From the Pay dashboard, select the Vendors tab.

2 - Check the box next to each vendor you want to send the W-9 form request to.

3 - Select More at the bottom of the page.

4 - In the drop-down menu, select Request W-9 form.

You can also request payment delivery details from multiple vendors simultaneously. This guide shows you how.

5 - A Request W-9 form window will appear. Here you can review the vendor list to which you are sending a request. If everything is correct, select Send X requests.

That’s it. You successfully sent W-9 form requests to multiple vendors.

How the W-9 form request appears in your Melio account

You can check a vendor’s W-9 request status to determine whether it is still pending or if the completed form has been submitted.

You can confirm that the request to fill out the W-9 form has been sent by checking the vendor’s details:

1 - From the Pay dashboard, select the Vendors tab.

2 - Select the vendor you want to check the W-9 form request status for.

3 - In the Vendor details page, scroll down to the Taxpayer info section.

4 - Under the Add W-9 form, you can see the status of the W-9 form request. Here are the examples of how different statuses look:

• Pending request: 

You can Send reminder or Cancel the request if needed.

• Submitted and verified W-9 form: 

  

• Submitted and not verified W-9 form: 

What does W-9 form verification status mean?

When you or your vendor uploads a W-9 form, Melio checks its details against IRS records. 

When you view the Tax tab or a specific Vendor profile, you will see a status badge next to the W-9 section. Here is a breakdown of the statuses:

• Verified:
  • Meaning: The information provided matches the IRS records perfectly.
  • Action Required: None. You are ready to file 1099s for this vendor.
• Not Verified (unverified):
  • Meaning: The details provided do not match IRS records.
  • Action Required: You must correct this before tax season. If there was a typo or a mistake, edit the W-9 details manually.
• Pending vendor:
  • Meaning: You have sent a request for a W-9 to the vendor, but they have not completed it yet.
  • Action Required: You need the vendor to submit their form. You can send them a reminder or upload the W-9 by yourself if you have it.

How your vendors complete the W-9 form

Your contractor will get an email asking them for their taxpayer information with a link to the form W-9 submission.

To see what your vendor gets and how to fill out the form, see here.