Fill out a W-9 as a PDF, free, without your tax number leaving your device

Why fill a W-9 here?

A W-9 carries your Social Security number or your employer identification number. Typing that into a website that uploads the file means it now sits on someone else’s server. The getPDF filler runs in your browser tab and nothing is uploaded; you can prove it: use any tool once so the engine loads, turn Wi-Fi off, and fill the W-9 offline. How to prove a PDF tool is local shows the checks.

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Get the real form

Download it from the IRS: irs.gov/FormW9 links the PDF. The current revision is March 2024 (the IRS page, checked on 11 October 2026). The file has 6 pages: the form on page 1, the instructions after it.

It ships with real fields. In our test the getPDF filler found 23 on page 1: 15 text fields and 8 checkboxes, everything from line 1 to the EIN.

Fill the downloaded file, not the browser tab you opened it in. A form typed in a browser tab is easy to print or close without saving, and then the answers were never in the file. If a form you sent arrives empty, filled PDF form shows blank explains why.

Field by field

Line	What goes in	Note
1	Your name as on your tax return, or the entity’s	Required. A sole proprietor or disregarded entity puts the owner’s name here
2	Business name, if different	Leave empty if you have none
3a	1 tax classification box	The form says check only 1 of the 7 boxes
3a, LLC	C, S or P in the small field	Only if you ticked LLC
3b	1 box, only for some partnerships, trusts and estates	Most freelancers leave it empty
4	Exemption codes	Codes apply only to certain entities, not individuals
5, 6	Street address; city, state and ZIP
7	Account numbers	Optional
Part I	SSN or EIN, not both	In separate boxes per digit group
Part II	Signature and date	No signature field: use the Sign tool

Line labels and notes are from the March 2024 form and the IRS instructions for it. When your case does not fit a row (a disregarded entity, a joint account, an LLC), the IRS instructions answer it, not this page.

Line 3a: tick exactly 1 box

The 7 boxes (Individual/sole proprietor, C corporation, S corporation, Partnership, Trust/estate, LLC, Other) are 7 separate fields in the IRS file, so nothing stops a second tick. Click the 1 that applies; click again to clear it. From the keyboard, Tab from line 2 lands on the first box without ticking it: Tab on to yours and press Space. Read the row once before you save.

Part I: the number, digit group by digit group

Each box is its own field and takes only its own number of digits: we typed 5 digits into the first SSN box and it kept 3. So click the first box and type 3 digits, then the second box for 2, then the third for 4; no dashes. Tab moves from one box to the next. For an EIN, the first box takes 2 digits and the second 7. If you do not have a number yet and have applied for one, the IRS instructions explain writing “Applied For” here and when that is allowed.

Sign and date it

The W-9 has no signature field, just the “Sign Here” line in Part II.

1. Pick Sign (G) in the toolbar, then New signature. Draw it, type it, or upload a photo of your paper signature.
2. Click on the signature line to place it. Drag a corner to fit it to the line.
3. Click Date: with today’s date on it, then click on the Date line.

On the legal side, checked on 11 October 2026: the IRS instructions for the requester of Form W-9 let a requester accept W-9s electronically, provided their system takes an electronic signature under penalties of perjury as the last entry, among other conditions. A requester who asks you to email a signed PDF has decided how they accept it; if you are unsure whether a drawn signature is fine, ask them. This is not tax or legal advice.

Flatten, then send it only to the requester

1. Save, then Save flattened PDF. Your answers, the signature and the date become part of the page. In our test (a name, 1 SSN box and 1 tick filled) the flattened W-9 had every answer as page text and no form left in it, at 91 KB for all 6 pages; the blank download is 141 KB.
2. Open the flattened file and read page 1 once.
3. Keep the editable copy; next year’s W-9 is then a few clicks.

Besides its ordinary fields, the IRS file carries an XFA copy of the form, an older Adobe format that Adobe Reader shows instead of the fields when it is there. getPDF fills the ordinary fields, and when you save a W-9 with filled fields it takes the XFA copy out, so Adobe Reader, Preview and every browser show your answers, in the flattened copy and in the fillable one alike (191 KB in our test). The XFA guide explains the format.

The top of the form says it plainly: give it to the requester, do not send it to the IRS. Send it to the person or company that asked, by the route they asked for. For email, a password on the file helps: password-protect a PDF before emailing, and send the password by text message or phone, not in the same email.

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The honest part

getPDF fills the PDF; it does not know your tax situation. It cannot tell you which box in line 3a is yours, whether you are exempt in line 4, or which name and number to give for a joint account or a disregarded entity. Those answers are in the IRS instructions for Form W-9, and for anything unusual, with a tax professional. The filler does not check your number either: it takes any digits that fit the box. Read Part I twice. And a W-9 is a request for your number, not a reason to email it to anyone who asks; if you did not expect the request, confirm it with the payer by phone first.