# What to ask for at handover.

> What to demand when any supplier finishes: native design files, firmware and source code, bills of materials, accounts and test results. Printable and free.

Page: https://www.whitehatdesignstudio.com/handover-checklist/
Published by: WhiteHat Design Studio
Last updated: 7 November 2026

Everything you need to build, run and change the product without the supplier: native files, source code with its history, accounts in your name and the test results. Print it, tick it off, and do not sign the last invoice until every line that applies is done.

Tick each line as you receive it. Nothing you tick is stored or sent anywhere.

## Hardware

- Schematics and board layouts in the native design files, not only PDFs
- Gerber and drill files, and the assembly drawings your manufacturer needs
- The bill of materials with manufacturer part numbers and an approved alternative for each critical part
- Mechanical CAD in the native format and as STEP, with drawings and tolerances
- Firmware source code with its full history, not only the compiled image
- Build instructions: toolchain and versions, so someone else can rebuild the same image
- How to flash a new unit, and how to recover one that will not boot
- Test procedures, test jigs and the logs from the last test run

## Software

- Source code repositories in your organisation, with their history
- How to build, test and deploy, written down, with every environment variable named
- Hosting, domains and cloud accounts in your name, with the supplier removed
- Database schema, a recent backup and how to restore it
- Admin accounts handed over and every shared password changed
- API documentation, and the keys for third-party services moved to your accounts
- Licences for every library and tool, and any that restrict commercial use

## AI

- The trained model files, and the exact version running in the product
- The training code and the settings used to train it
- Where the training data came from, and whether you may use it commercially
- The evaluation data and the results, with the conditions they were measured in
- How the model is deployed on the device: runtime, hardware and settings
- What it gets wrong: the known failure cases, written down

## Growth

- Website, analytics, search console and ad accounts owned by you, with the supplier as a user
- The domain registered to your company
- Brand files: logos, fonts and the rules for using them
- Content and images, with the right to use each one
- Every report, and how each number in it was measured

## The result

- The pass criteria agreed at the start, and the results against them
- A list of known issues and open faults
- Who to call, what support covers and for how many calendar days
- A written statement that you own what was delivered

whitehatdesignstudio.com/handover-checklist, rev 1.0. Free to copy into your own contracts.

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