The UIC Vendor Information Form is the University of Illinois document that registers you as an approved vendor in the Banner financial system by collecting your tax ID, business classification, and payment preference. You don’t start the form on your own: a university department fills in the top box identifying itself, then sends the rest to you to complete and sign. Once University Payables validates your information, you receive a Banner vendor ID and can begin invoicing. The electronic Adobe Sign version is typically processed in 7–10 business days; paper submissions take longer.
How the Process Starts
Vendor registration always begins on the university’s side. The department you’ll be working with completes the “UI Department Requesting Information” box at the top of the form and then sends the rest to you. Forms that reach University Payables without that box filled in are not processed, so confirm with your university contact that their section is done before you spend time on yours.
The department pulls the form from the Office of Business and Financial Services (OBFS) Vendor Payment Forms page. Two versions exist: an interactive Adobe Sign form and a downloadable paper form. If you can complete the form on a computer, use the Adobe Sign version. It walks both the department and the vendor through their sections and routes the finished document directly to University Payables.
Entering Your Tax Information
The first section asks for your legal name and taxpayer identification number. U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and domestic companies provide a Social Security Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or Employer Identification Number. Sole proprietors who use an SSN must enter the name of the individual whose SSN appears on the form. The IRS requires the name and number to match, and a mismatch can trigger 24% federal backup withholding on your payments.
Below the TIN field, you select your business classification. The checkboxes cover individual, sole proprietor, sole proprietor LLC, partnership, LLC partnership, corporation/incorporated, corporation LLC, S-corp/solely owned corporation, not-for-profit corporation, government entity, trust or estate, and tax exempt organization. If your entity is an LLC, you also indicate whether it is a disregarded entity for tax purposes. This matters because it controls how the university reports payments to the IRS: a disregarded single-member LLC is reported under the owner’s TIN, while a multi-member LLC is reported as a partnership. If you’re unsure of your classification, check your most recent federal tax return or the determination letter you received when you applied for your EIN.
Getting the TIN right is not a formality. The form warns that failing to furnish a correct number may subject your payments to 24% backup withholding, and the IRS can impose a $50 penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6723 for failure to furnish a correct TIN. Willfully falsifying the certification can result in a $500 civil penalty or criminal prosecution.
W-9 or W-8: Which Section Applies to You
The VIF has W-9 certification language built in. When a domestic vendor signs the form, they are simultaneously certifying their TIN and their backup withholding status, which is what a standalone IRS Form W-9 does. You’re confirming that the TIN you gave is correct, that you’re not currently subject to backup withholding (or that you’re exempt), and that you’re a U.S. person.
International vendors take a different path. Instead of the W-9 section, you complete and attach the appropriate W-8 series form:
- W-8BEN for foreign individuals (non-resident aliens) who are not acting through a U.S. business presence.
- W-8BEN-E for foreign entities such as corporations, partnerships, or trusts.
- W-8ECI for foreign vendors with income effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business.
- W-8EXP for foreign governments, international organizations, and certain tax-exempt entities.
Foreign individuals submit the W-8BEN directly to the university department contact listed at the top of the form. Foreign companies submit the W-8 alongside the VIF to the Vendor Maintenance Department. The W-8 establishes your foreign status and, where applicable, claims reduced withholding under an income tax treaty between the U.S. and your country.
Choosing How You Want to Be Paid
The form asks how you want to receive payments. Your choice affects how quickly you’re paid and whether you pay any processing fees.
ePayables Virtual Credit Card is the university’s preferred method. Once you’re set up, the university’s bank issues you a dedicated virtual credit card number by secure email. The card carries a $0 balance until a payment is made, at which point you receive a remittance email listing every invoice covered. You need a credit card processor to use this option, and your processor will charge its standard transaction fee. In exchange, your payment terms drop to Net 20 days.
ACH direct deposit sends funds straight to your U.S. bank account with no fees. To enroll, you complete an ACH agreement and provide a supporting document: a voided check, a recent bank statement, or a letter from your bank confirming the account. ACH is the only electronic option for foreign vendors who hold a U.S. bank account but can’t enroll in ePayables.
Paper check is the default if you don’t elect either electronic method. It’s the slowest option and subject to mail delays, but it requires no additional setup beyond the VIF itself.
One security point applies to every payment choice. Because the VIF contains banking details and tax identification numbers, the university explicitly warns against transmitting the completed form by email. If your department contact asks you to return the form, use the Adobe Sign workflow or mail a hard copy. Don’t send an unencrypted email with your TIN or bank account number.
Submitting the Completed Form
How you submit depends on which version you used. The Adobe Sign version routes automatically: once you complete your fields and click the signature block, the system sends the finished document to University Payables with no additional steps on your end.
If you used the paper form, mail it with original signatures to:
OBFS UPAY Vendor Maintenance Group
Illini Plaza Building Suite 210, MC-660
1817 South Neil Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Before mailing, run through a short checklist. The form must be signed and dated; unsigned forms are rejected outright. If you chose ACH, include the voided check or bank letter. If you’re a foreign vendor, attach the correct W-8. Confirm that the “UI Department Requesting Information” box at the top is filled in by your university contact. Missing any of these pieces will bounce the form back and restart the clock.
What Happens After You Submit
University Payables processes forms on a first-in, first-out basis. Adobe Sign submissions take roughly 7–10 business days. Paper forms take additional time for mail transit and manual data entry. During review, University Payables validates your TIN against the IRS database to confirm the name and number match, screens your business against federal and state excluded-parties lists, and checks the form for missing signatures, blank required fields, and incorrect entity classifications.
Once everything checks out, University Payables enters your information into Banner and assigns you a vendor ID number. That ID is emailed to the requesting department, not to you, so ask your department contact for the number once they receive it. You’ll need it on every invoice you submit going forward. If the vendor ID was requested for use in iBuy, the university’s procurement platform, the number syncs to iBuy automatically after it’s established in Banner.
If University Payables finds a problem — a TIN mismatch, missing documentation, or an incomplete signature — they’ll reach out for corrections. Respond quickly. Until your profile is active, the department can’t process purchase orders or payments in your name.
Updating Your Information Later
If anything on your VIF changes after registration, whether that’s your address, bank account, TIN, or business classification, submit a new form. The university does not accept partial updates or informal change requests. Complete a fresh VIF with the corrected information, check the “updated vendor information” box, and submit it through the same channels as your original form. For address changes flagged within the past two years, you can email supporting documentation such as an invoice or quote, along with your vendor name and Banner ID, to uivendor@uillinois.edu. Documents containing tax identification numbers or banking details should never be sent by email.
What the VIF Does Not Cover
The VIF registers you as a payable vendor. It does not handle three related requirements that may apply to you depending on the work. Vendors responding to competitive solicitations or entering contracts worth $100,000 or more must separately complete a Financial Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest form or register through the Illinois Procurement Gateway. Vendors planning to respond to competitive bids need an active Illinois Procurement Gateway registration, which is valid for one year and is separate from the VIF. And if you want to be counted toward the university’s supplier diversity goals, you need current certification through the State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program or Veterans Business Program; certifications from other agencies or private organizations are not accepted. Completing the VIF does not satisfy any of these.