IT equipment handover form: what to record

What a handover form is for

When equipment is issued, nobody thinks about the day it comes back. Three years later the power supply is missing, the screen has a scratch and nobody knows whether it was already there. A form answers that in a minute. It also shows that the person received the device, which matters in the case of theft or loss.

What belongs on the form

• Company with name and logo.
• Device: type, model, asset tag, serial number.
• Accessories: power supply, bag, mouse, docking station, SIM card.
• Condition: new, used without defects, or defects with a short description.
• Recipient: name, department.
• Date of handover.
• Notes on use, such as a reference to your IT policy.
• Two signatures: handed over by IT, received by the person.

A template to copy

[Company name]                                  [Logo]

IT EQUIPMENT HANDOVER FORM

Device:        [e.g. 14-inch notebook, model]
Asset tag:     [e.g. NB-0417]
Serial number: [ ]
Accessories:   [ ] Power supply [ ] Bag [ ] Mouse
               [ ] Other: ______________________
Condition:     [ ] New [ ] Used, no defects
               [ ] Defects: ____________________

Recipient:     [first name, last name], [department]
Date:          [DD/MM/YYYY]

The equipment remains the property of [company name].
The IT policy in the version dated [date] applies.

_______________________       _______________________
Handed over (IT)               Received

The sentence on the IT policy is an example. What belongs on a form legally, for example on private use or liability, is for your HR or legal adviser to decide.

On return

For the return, use the same form headed “Equipment return form”. Compare the accessories and condition with the handover form. If anything is missing, write it down before both people sign. Then reset the device, erase the data using your procedure and set the inventory status to “In stock”.

Filing that you can find again

• A filename with the asset tag and date: handover-NB-0417-2026-03-03.pdf.
• File it against the device in the inventory, not only in the HR file.
• One device, many forms: every handover and every return gets its own.
• Sign the paper, scan it, and keep or destroy the paper according to your policy.

Common mistakes

Serial number missing

The asset tag is stuck on the device, but labels come off. The serial number stays with the device.

Accessories listed only as “complete”

“Complete” means something different to everyone at the time of return. Tick each item separately.

A form only for new devices

Used devices with scratches need a form most of all, otherwise nobody can say later whose scratch it is.

Company phone: what else belongs on the form

• Phone number and SIM card number.
• Whether the device is enrolled in device management.
• Accessories such as the case, charging cable and charger, which often go missing with phones.
• Whether the person has registered private use, if your rules provide for it.
• The unlock PIN does not belong on the form.

Home office equipment

A monitor, docking station, headset and keyboard for home are often handed out without a form because it needs to be quick. These are the items that go missing most often at return. A second form for the home office equipment, or a separate line on the main form, saves the search later. Also note whether the person collected the items themselves or they were shipped.

A tip on accessories

Power supplies look alike and wander between desks. A small label with the laptop’s asset tag on the charger saves the argument at return about which charger belongs where. The same goes for docking stations that belong to a workstation rather than a person.

Damage and loss

When a device comes back damaged, record its condition with a photo and compare it with the handover form. Whether and how the person is liable is a question for HR and the contract, not for IT. IT only supplies the facts: the condition at handover, the condition at return and the date.

In the case of loss or theft, the order is: block the device and, if possible, wipe it, check access, then document what happened. The form helps because the serial number and asset tag are immediately to hand.

A five-minute handover

1. Print the form from the inventory, with all the numbers filled in.
2. Put the device and accessories on the table and tick them off together.
3. Look at the condition and enter any defects.
4. Both people sign.
5. Scan the form, file it against the device and set the inventory to “Issued”.

Paper or digital

Paper with a signature is simple and everyone understands it. It is then scanned and filed against the device, and the paper is kept or destroyed according to your policy. Digital signatures on a tablet are more convenient, but need a tool that you know and trust. For most small companies, paper plus a scan is the practical way.

More important than the format is that the form sits with the device, not in the mailbox of the person who did the handover.

Issuing many devices at once

If 40 new laptops are issued at once, a form for each device is tedious but necessary. Prepare all the forms in advance from the inventory, sorted by department, and set fixed issue times, for example half an hour per department. You take the old devices back at the same appointment, with a return form. That way the inventory is right at the end of the day, and no box of old laptops sits unassigned in the cellar.

Plan five minutes for each handover, and ten if people have questions about signing in. Booking a slot instead of dropping in makes the day calmer for everyone.

Print forms from the inventory

If you keep an inventory, it is worth generating the form straight from it, so that numbers and names are not retyped. In 404desk, the A4 form with logo, names and signature fields is created at handover, and the signed scan is attached to the device. See IT asset management.