Visitor sign-in checklist

Moving from a paper visitor book? Start with one location, a clear host handover and a tested way to record departure. Then choose the digital sign-in process that fits your reception.

This checklist is a process-planning guide. Adapt it to your workplace, its hazards and its established emergency and privacy procedures.

1. Give every arrival a clear destination.

Choose where visitors and contractors should report. Make that entrance easy to identify and provide a way to contact reception if no one is at the desk. For a tablet flow, make sure visitors can comfortably read it and ask a person for help.

• Confirm the correct site and business entity.
• Keep the employee host directory current.
• Have a fallback procedure for network, tablet or printer failure.

2. Record visitor details.

Record the visitor’s name, company, purpose, arrival site and selected host. Distinguish visitors, contractors and employees where their workflows differ. A directory entry or a person’s usual work location does not mean they have arrived.

Decide what information the visit actually needs. Explain your collection and retention practices through your workplace’s reviewed privacy information.

3. Make site instructions specific and readable.

Show the instructions for the site being entered. Include the approved assembly location, reporting arrangements and any visitor directions your workplace requires. Give people time to read and acknowledge the current version, and make it easy to ask questions.

An acknowledgement records that someone accepted the displayed instructions. It does not prove training competence, complete a contractor qualification check or replace a supervised induction where one is needed.

4. Make the host handover work.

Tell the host their guest has arrived, using a verified directory address or your agreed reception process. Check actual notification delivery rather than treating a queued email as delivered. Plan who reception contacts when the host is unavailable.

5. Print a pass if your workplace needs one.

Pass printing is optional and requires Complete. A useful visitor pass makes the name, host and site easy to see. Test the browser print flow with the actual badge printer, paper size and tablet or computer you intend to use. A generated QR reference identifies a record; it is not proof of identity or permission to enter a building.

6. Record the departure explicitly.

Make checkout as obvious as check-in. Reception or the authorised host should record a departure after confirming the person has left. If the day ends with an open visit, review it rather than assuming the site is empty.

7. Practise a roll call.

Know who is authorised to view each site’s register and run a roll call. Check when records were last refreshed. A timestamped snapshot can help organise accounting for people, including those whose departures are unconfirmed.

Attendance records describe recorded events. They cannot guarantee physical location or replace your established emergency response procedure. Keep your site’s fallback process available when a device, connection or service is unavailable.

8. Review records and access over time.

Keep host details and site permissions current, review unresolved visits, and choose a retention policy appropriate to your organisation. Separate employee directory management from visit-history cleanup. Export records when needed before scheduled deletion, and remember that external email providers and backups can have separate retention arrangements.