Employee Application Form

This free employee application form gives a US small business one consistent way to collect job applications. It covers contact details, availability, education, work history, references and a signed certification, on two pages you can print or send as a Word file. Just as important, it leaves out the questions that create legal risk: salary history, criminal history, citizenship, health and personal life.

What you get

A five-page PDF, sized for US Letter paper, and an editable Word file:

• Pages 1–2: the blank job application form to print and hand out.
• Pages 3–4: the same form filled in by a fictional applicant for a landscaping crew job, so you can see what good answers look like.
• Page 5: notes on the questions the form leaves out on purpose, record keeping, and links to the sources.

Page one asks for contact details, the job and start date, the days and hours the person can work, and the type of work they want. It also covers whether they’ve worked for you before, an optional minimum-age check, education, licenses and a box for skills. Page two has the work history and references, an optional “anything else” box, a work eligibility statement, the applicant’s certification and a signature line.

What a good job application form includes

• Only what the job needs. Every question should help you judge whether the person can do the work. If the answer wouldn’t change your decision, cut the question.
• Availability up front. For hourly and seasonal jobs, the days and hours someone can work often decide the hire.
• Relevant education and licenses only. Ask for a driver’s license for a driving job, not for every job.
• Work history with permission to contact. A tick box for each employer lets the applicant tell you if you shouldn’t call their current boss yet.
• References who know their work. Use them with a reference check form so every call covers the same ground.
• A signed certification. The applicant confirms the answers are true and that false information can cost them the job.

How to use an employee application form

1. Start with a clear job description, so you know which skills, licenses and hours really matter.
2. Edit the Word file: add your company name and a contact, and delete questions the job doesn’t need.
3. Check the at-will sentence. It’s a placeholder in the template so you decide whether it fits where you hire. Delete it if you aren’t sure.
4. Give the same form to every applicant for the same job, in print or by email.
5. Score each application against the same job-related points. Keep your notes on a separate sheet, not on the application.
6. Interview, check references, then put your offer in writing with an offer letter.
7. File every application, including the ones you turned down.

Completed example

The example in the download is an application for a landscape crew member at a fictional landscaping company in North Carolina. The applicant can start in two weeks, wants full-time seasonal work, and lists two semesters of a horticulture program, a driver’s license and a pesticide license in progress. His work history shows two jobs with reasons for leaving and permission to contact both, and two references from former supervisors. The certification is signed and dated.

Questions to leave off an employment application

The EEOC says information about race, sex, national origin, age and religion is irrelevant to hiring decisions, and that employers shouldn’t ask for a photo (EEOC). It also lists questions about marriage, pregnancy and children among those that can suggest discrimination. These questions are off the form for that reason, along with:

• Health and disability. Under the ADA, employers generally can’t ask disability-related questions until after a conditional job offer (EEOC).
• Citizenship. Most employers shouldn’t ask whether someone is a US citizen before an offer. The form uses the EEOC’s suggested statement about verifying work eligibility instead (EEOC).
• Salary history. Some states ban asking for it, for example New York (Labor Law section 194-a) and California (Labor Code section 432.3).
• Criminal history. “Ban the box” laws in some states and cities keep the question off applications. For example, California employers with five or more employees can’t ask until after a conditional offer (Government Code section 12952).

If you run background checks, the FTC says the notice must be a stand-alone document, not part of the application (FTC).

Job application template: PDF or Word?

Use the PDF for walk-in applicants: print a stack and keep them at the counter. Use the Word file when you post a job online. Email it, and the applicant can type their answers and send it back, or print, sign and scan it. Either way, keep the questions the same for every applicant for the same job, so you can compare them fairly. If you collect applications through a job board or a form builder instead, use this template as the list of questions to ask, and to leave out.

Keeping applications

If you have 15 or more employees, EEOC rules require you to keep application forms for one year from the hiring decision, and longer if a discrimination charge is filed (29 CFR 1602.14). That includes the people you didn’t hire. Store them somewhere private, and keep any notes you made about each applicant with them.

When to get advice

Get advice before you add a question about criminal history, pay or anything medical, or before you hire in a new state or city for the first time. The same goes if you plan to use a background check company, because the notice and consent rules are strict.

Not sure what you can ask applicants in your state? That’s what hrsupport.io is for: HR answers for your state, with the law behind every answer.