How to Order IRS 1099 Forms Online or by Mail

To order IRS 1099 forms, use the IRS Online Ordering for Information Returns and Employer Returns portal or call 800-829-3676. The official scannable Copy A is free, but the agency caps each order at 10 copies per form and ships by regular mail with delivery taking up to 15 business days. Order Form 1096 at the same time, and confirm you’re actually allowed to file on paper before you place the order.

Why You Have to Order Copy A (Not Print It)

Copy A is the version that goes to the IRS, and it’s printed in a special red ink that the agency’s scanning equipment reads. A black-and-white printout from the IRS website looks identical to the eye but won’t scan, and submitting one can trigger a penalty.¹ That’s why the ordering step exists at all. Recipient copies (Copy B) are different: those you can print at home from the fillable PDFs on the IRS site.²

Ordering Online

The main channel is the IRS Online Ordering for Information Returns and Employer Returns portal. Search by form number (for example, “1099-NEC”), enter the quantity you want, add your mailing address, and submit.³ You can add multiple form types to the same order.

Know which forms you actually need before you start. The most common ones small businesses order are the 1099-NEC (payments of $600 or more to non-employee service providers, including independent contractors, freelancers, and attorneys paid for services) and the 1099-MISC (rents, prizes and awards, medical and health care payments, gross proceeds paid to an attorney in a settlement, and other miscellaneous payments of $600 or more, or $10 or more for royalties). Others in the series include the 1099-INT for interest on business debt and the 1099-DIV for dividends and other distributions to shareholders. If you paid the same person for services and also for rent, that’s two different forms.²

Ordering by Phone

Call 800-829-3676, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. Have the exact form numbers and your mailing address ready.⁴

The 10-Copy Limit

The IRS caps each order at 10 copies of any single information return. You can order up to 10 of the 1099-NEC and up to 10 of the 1099-MISC in the same order, but you can’t request 15 of one form.⁵ The limit tracks a filing rule: anyone with 10 or more information returns total is required to file electronically, so the paper channel is meant for small filers only.

Order Form 1096 in the Same Order

Paper 1099s can’t go to the IRS by themselves. Form 1096, the Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, is the required cover sheet, and you need a separate Form 1096 for each type of 1099 you file. Sending both 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms means two Form 1096s.⁶ Add Form 1096 to your order through the same portal; the 10-copy limit applies here too.⁵ If you e-file, Form 1096 isn’t needed at all.

When to Place the Order

The IRS ships by U.S. mail. No expedited shipping, no tracking. Expect about 15 business days, and orders for a newly released tax year may be held until all items are available.⁵

Work backward from the filing deadlines. For tax year 2026:

January 31, 2027: recipient copies (Copy B) of Form 1099-NEC due to payees, along with most other 1099 recipient statements.
February 28, 2027: paper Copy A of Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC (with Form 1096) due to the IRS.
March 31, 2027: 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC due to the IRS if filed electronically.

Deadlines that fall on a weekend or legal holiday move to the next business day.⁷ Place your order no later than early November. Late arrival isn’t an accepted excuse for missing a deadline, and if your forms haven’t shown up within three weeks, buy commercially printed forms or switch to e-filing.

Check Whether You Can Actually Paper File

Before you order anything, count your returns. If your business files 10 or more information returns in a calendar year, you must file electronically. That threshold is an aggregate across form types: four 1099-NECs plus six 1099-MISCs is ten, which puts you over. W-2 forms filed with the Social Security Administration count toward the total as well.⁸

Filing on paper when you’re required to e-file is treated as failing to file, with penalties starting at $60 per return and rising to $340 per return, and $680 per return for intentional disregard with no annual cap.⁹

The free electronic channel is the IRS Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Taxpayer Portal, open to any business regardless of size. Starting with filing season 2027 (covering tax year 2026), IRIS is the only electronic intake system for information returns; the older FIRE system is being retired.¹⁰ Businesses under the 10-return threshold can still use IRIS voluntarily, which eliminates paper forms, Form 1096, and the trip to the post office, and gives you confirmation of receipt.¹¹

If the IRS Order Won’t Work

Two situations put the IRS order out of reach: you need more than 10 of a single form, or you need forms faster than mail delivery allows. Office supply stores and tax form vendors sell Copy A forms printed to IRS specifications, the same scannable red-ink stock the IRS ships, just purchased rather than free. That’s the fastest workaround if you’re still under the 10-return e-file threshold. Above it, e-filing through IRIS is the answer, not more paper.

Order Extras If You Might Need to Correct a Filing

Corrections require their own Copy A forms. For a wrong dollar amount or a wrong box, you prepare a new Copy A of the same form with the correct information, check the “CORRECTED” box at the top, and file it with a new Form 1096.⁶

A wrong recipient name or TIN is more involved: you file two returns. One zeros out the incorrect entry with the “CORRECTED” box checked and all dollar amounts set to zero, and a second fresh return carries the correct information with no “CORRECTED” box checked. Both go to the IRS with a Form 1096 that notes “Filed To Correct TIN” or “Filed To Correct Name” in the bottom margin.⁶ If you used all 10 of your original order, you’ll need to order again or buy commercial forms to make the fix.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return?
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
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Internal Revenue Service. Order Information Returns and Employer Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Forms and Publications
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Internal Revenue Service. Order Paper Information Returns and Employer Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns – For Use in Preparing 2026 Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 801, Who Must File Information Returns Electronically
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE)
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Internal Revenue Service. E-File Information Returns