Which US HR software includes electronic signatures?
Find out which major HR platforms include electronic signatures and how they handle Form I-9 compliance requirements.
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Quick answer · the 30-second read
All four of the main US HR systems include electronic signing, and all four can handle Form I-9 electronically. How they do it differs. Gusto and Rippling build Form I-9 into their own onboarding. BambooHR does it through an app you have to install first. ADP runs a separate service for it. Worth noting that in Gusto, if you enter a new hire’s details yourself instead of letting them do it, Gusto will not create their I-9 at all.
How each system handles signing and Form I-9
Signing an offer letter is the easy part, and every one of these systems does it. Form I-9 is the one that carries real risk, because federal rules govern how it is completed and stored.
HR system | Signing built in? | How Form I-9 works | What to know |
Gusto | Yes | Built into self-onboarding | The employee signs Section 1 while setting up their own account. If you onboard them yourself, Gusto does not create the I-9 and you must handle it separately. You cannot use the custom documents feature for I-9 or W-4 forms. |
Rippling | Yes | Built into onboarding | New hires complete Form I-9 in the onboarding flow, with checks as they type. E-Verify runs from the same place. |
BambooHR | Yes | Through an app you install | Signing is built in, but I-9 and E-Verify come from a separate app by Mitratech, added in 2025. An account owner installs it from the apps menu. Once running, it creates E-Verify cases automatically. |
ADP | Yes | A separate service called eI-9 | ADP runs a dedicated electronic I-9 service with its own signing step and audit trail. E-Verify is optional and runs alongside it. How it is delivered depends on which ADP product you use. |
Source: each provider’s own help centre, product pages or guides, checked on 22 September 2026. We have not tested these products. Features and plans change, so confirm with the provider before buying.
Why is Form I-9 the thing to compare?
Because the signature on an offer letter is straightforward, and Form I-9 is not.
Offer letters, employment contracts and policy acknowledgements are covered by the ESIGN Act and by state law. Any of these systems can handle them. Form I-9 is different. It is a federal form with its own rules, and a system used to complete and store it must meet federal standards on signatures, audit trails and security.
See Can employment documents be signed electronically in the US? for what those rules require.
How does Gusto create Form I-9?
Gusto gives you two ways to add a new hire. You can invite them to set up their own account, which Gusto calls self-onboarding, or you can enter their details yourself. Only the first route produces an I-9. Gusto's help centre says: "If you onboard the employee yourself, Gusto will not create the I-9." The same guidance tells employers in that situation to complete the form and keep it outside Gusto. It is easy to miss, because nothing on screen indicates the form is absent.
There is a second Gusto limitation worth knowing. Its custom documents feature, which lets you upload your own paperwork for staff to sign, cannot be used for forms containing personal information such as I-9s and W-4s. You can upload a completed and signed copy to someone’s record, but you cannot run those forms through the custom documents process.
Gusto also offers something the others do not. Under a separate authorisation, it can apply your company signatory’s signature to supported payroll tax forms automatically, emailing the signatory each time it does. That saves repeated manual signing, though the company stays responsible for the filings.
Why is BambooHR different?
Because its signing and its I-9 handling come from two different places.
Electronic signing is part of BambooHR itself. Offer letters, agreements and policy documents are signed in the system and stored on the employee record with a timestamp and an audit trail.
I-9 and E-Verify arrived separately, through an app built by Mitratech and added in 2025. An account owner installs it from the apps menu, or an administrator requests approval. Once it is running, the new hire completes Section 1 by email, HR completes Section 2 with checks that flag common mistakes, and an E-Verify case is created automatically without logging into E-Verify separately.
The practical point for a buyer is that the two are not the same purchase decision. Signing is there on day one. I-9 handling is something someone has to switch on.
What about remote hires?
All four can collect a signature from someone anywhere. Checking their documents is a separate question, and the software does not change the rule.
An employer must physically examine a new hire’s original documents unless it is enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing, in which case it can use a live video call instead. That rule comes from the Department of Homeland Security, not from the HR system.
What the software can do is run the E-Verify case for you and record that the video route was used. If you are not enrolled in E-Verify, no amount of good software makes a video check valid.
What should you ask before buying?
- Ask how Form I-9 gets created, and whether anything you might do differently would stop it being created.
- Ask whether I-9 handling is included or comes from a separate app you have to install.
- Ask whether the system meets the federal standards for electronic I-9 records, and whether it can produce those records within three business days if you are audited.
- Ask whether E-Verify cases are created from inside the system or whether someone has to log in separately.
- Ask which plans include signing and which include I-9 handling, because they are not always the same plan.
OUR VERDICT Do not buy a signing tool on top of these. All four include signing for offer letters, contracts and policy documents. A separate subscription only makes sense if you sign things that never touch your HR system. Judge them on Form I-9 rather than on signing. Signing is much the same everywhere. I-9 handling is where the compliance risk sits, and where these products actually differ. Ask how the form is created, who completes each part, and where the records are stored. If you use Gusto, use self-onboarding. It is the only route that produces an I-9. If you prefer entering details yourself, build a separate step into your process so the form does not get missed. If you use BambooHR, check the app is installed. Signing works out of the box. I-9 and E-Verify do not, because they come from a separate app that someone has to add. A team assuming it is already there may be several hires behind before anyone notices. |
