Entity and ownership records, asset titles and lien searches, the lease and its assignment terms, service contracts, three years of tax returns and payroll, and the seller's licence status and qualifier arrangement.
Collect the seller's paper before writing the buyer's plan
The E-2 file must show what the buyer will own, what it is worth, and that it can support more than the buyer's family. The seller holds most of that evidence. Ask for the articles or formation documents, the current ownership register, titles and financing statements for vehicles and equipment, the premises lease with any landlord consent to assignment, the customer or service-maintenance contracts and their change-of-control clauses, and any insurance certificates and bonding.
Ask for three years of business tax returns, payroll summaries showing how many people are employed and whether they will stay, and the state licence with the name of the current qualifier. From those, the buyer's side produces the purchase agreement, the escrow instructions, the proof of the source of funds and a business plan that explains the transition. Keep every document in its original form and add certified translations only for Canadian records that are in French.