working papers

plural noun

1. legal papers often required for employment, as by an immigrant worker or temporary employee.
2. legal papers enabling a minor in the United States to work under certain conditions.

working papers

plural noun

1. papers or notes showing the intermediate stages of a proposal, solution, etc, arrived at or being worked on
2. legal documents that certain people in some countries must possess to be allowed to work

Word History and Origins

Origin of working papers¹

First recorded in 1925–30