A lost receipt shouldn't hold up an expense report, but it shouldn't slip through without a record either. A missing receipt affidavit gives finance a signed, consistent stand-in that keeps audit-ready expense reporting intact. Below is a copy-ready template, plus the policy rules that stop affidavits from becoming a loophole.
A missing receipt affidavit is a signed statement an employee submits in place of a lost or unusable receipt. It records the vendor, date, amount, and business purpose of the expense, and the employee attests that the details are accurate. Some organizations call it a missing receipt declaration or a lost receipt form.
The affidavit is an internal control document. It shows reviewers and auditors that finance noticed the gap, collected the details, and approved the exception.
Use an affidavit only after the employee has tried to get a copy. It fits when:
Skip the affidavit and go back for the document when:
A useful affidavit captures the same details a receipt would. IRS Publication 463 treats documentary evidence as adequate when it shows the amount, date, place, and essential character of the expense, so build those four elements in first.
Then add what a receipt can't tell you:
Copy this into your expense policy or form builder and adjust the fields to match your expense categories.
Download the Word version of the missing receipt affidavit template
| Field | Employee entry |
|---|---|
| Employee name | |
| Department or cost center | |
| Transaction date | |
| Vendor name and location | |
| Amount and currency | |
| Payment method | Corporate card (last four digits: ____) or personal funds |
| Expense category | |
| Business purpose | |
| Attendees (meals and entertainment only) | |
| Reason the receipt is unavailable | Lost, unreadable, not provided by vendor, or other |
| Steps taken to get a copy |
Attestation: I certify that this expense was incurred for business purposes, that the details above are accurate, and that I have not submitted this expense for payment elsewhere.
Employee signature and date: ____________________
Approver name, signature, and date: ____________________
An affidavit process works when the exception stays an exception. Write these rules into your expense policy:
The Audit-Ready in 30 Days playbook walks through how to build rules like these into your expense policy.
Paper affidavits get lost too. When the affidavit is captured in expense software, it can stay attached to the transaction and follow it through approval and into your ERP.
Catching the gap early matters as much as documenting it. ExpensePoint's Verify Match checks each card transaction against its receipt, including fees, so finance can see which transactions lack support. Real-time card feeds bring transactions in close to the time of purchase, while the receipt is still easy to find.