Whether you’re starting a new business, or you’ve been hiring for years, you’re legally required to register any new employees with the state—and failure to do so can lead to monetary penalties.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), also known as welfare reform, requires all employers to report certain information on their newly hired employees to a designated state agency. New hire reporting calls for a little bit of preparation and some new hire paperwork, but don’t fret! We’ll walk you through how to do it below.
(In this article you’ll see the phrase “register your new hire” or “report your new hire.” These mean the same thing and are used interchangeably throughout the article.)
Who is considered a “new hire” for reporting purposes?
The reporting requirement applies to an employee who:
You haven’t previously employed, or
You have previously employed—but haven’t employed for at least 60 consecutive days.
Why does the government require employers to report new hires?
The government uses this information for multiple purposes, including the following:
To help track down parents who owe child support but are living in different states than their children
To detect and prevent fraudulent payments under programs like workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance compensation, as well as various forms of public assistance (like food stamps and Medicaid)
Which information am I required to report?
This varies from state to state, but PRWORA requires employers to report the following:
The employee’s full name
The employee’s address
The employee’s Social Security number
The date of hire (the day an employee first performs services for wages)
The full name of the business or employer
The business or employer’s address
The business or employer’s federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
Some states require additional information, though. You can find specific state-by-state requirements here.
What if I’m missing one of those pieces of information?
You should collect most of the information when the employee completes a Form W-4.
If your business doesn’t have a FEIN yet, you’ll need to get that before reporting employees, by filing Form SS-4. (This guide will walk you through all of the steps you need to set up your business.)
Employees who don’t have a Social Security number should complete Form SS-5.
Which address should I use—the location where the employee works or the location of our payroll office?
When the employee works at an address that’s different from the payroll address, you should report both addresses.
What should I do if my new hire quits before their new hire report is due?
Even if the employee quits, you’re still required to submit a new hire report so the federal government has a record of this hire.
How do I report a new hire?
You’ll generally report the information to the State Directory of New Hires in the state where the employee works. The method varies by state, but typically you can report online or by first-class mail or fax.
We’ve got a handy guide where you can find your state here. You can access additional state-specific information about new hire reporting contact information, reporting time frames, data elements (mandatory and optional), and method of transmission here.
When do I need to report new hires?
For most states, you should report within 20 days of the hire date. For the following states, the requirement comes a bit sooner:
State | Reporting Requirement |
Alabama | Within 7 days of hiring |
Georgia | Within 10 days of hiring |
Iowa | Within 15 days of hiring |
Maine | Within 7 days of hiring |
Massachusetts | Within 14 days of hiring |
Mississippi | Within 15 days of hiring |
Rhode Island | Within 14 days of hiring |
Texas | Within 20 days of hiring |
Vermont | Within 10 days of the first day the work is performed |
West Virginia | Within 14 days of hiring |
See this page for state-by-state registration information and resources.
Do I need to register an employee I re-hire after a layoff or leave of absence?
Maybe. You should report employees if they’re required to complete a new Form W-4 or have been separated from your employment for at least 60 consecutive days. But, if the returning employee was never formally terminated or removed from payroll records, you aren’t required to report them as a new hire.
What about independent contractors? Do I need to register them as new hires?
It depends on the state. The following states have requirements for registering independent contractors:
California: Within 20 calendar days of either: a) making payments for services totaling $600 or more in any calendar year, or b) entering a contract for services for $600 or more in a calendar year, whichever is earlier
Colorado
Connecticut: If services are valued at $5,000 or more in any 12-month period
Delaware: Optional for non-government employers
Florida: If payment for services totals $600 or more in a calendar year
Iowa
Maine: If anticipated services total $2,500 or more in a calendar year
Massachusetts: If the contractor earns $600 or more in a calendar year
Minnesota: Optional for non-state agency employers
Nebraska
New Hampshire: If payment for services is expected to exceed $2,500, or if there’s a break in service of at least 60 consecutive calendar days and the expected or actual payment after the break exceeds $2,500
New Jersey
New York: If the contract is more than $2,500, reporting is required within 20 calendars days of hire
Ohio: If payment for services is expected to be less than $2,500 within 20 days of the hire date
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia: If payment for services equals or exceeds $2,500
What about temporary employees from an agency? Will the agency handle the reporting?
It depends on who pays the temp employees. If you, the employer, actually hire and pay the individuals, whether full- or part-time, you’re required to report them as new hires. However, if the agency pays the wages, the reporting responsibility falls on that agency to do the reporting. Be sure you connect with the agency to ensure proper reporting happens, so you don’t have to deal with penalties.
What if I have employees in multiple states? How do I register them as new hires?
If you employ and pay workers in multiple states, when it comes to reporting these new hires to the state, you have two options:
Report new hires to the states where they work, or
Select one state where you have employees and report all new hires, regardless of where they work, to that state.
If you opt to report all new hires to one state, you’ll need to register with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a multistate employer. You can register online or download and fill-out the paper form, then you can either mail or fax the form.
Mail the form to:
Office of Child Support Enforcement
Multistate Employer Registration
P.O. Box 509
Randallstown, MD 21133
Or, fax the form to:
410-277-9325
Once registered, you’ll designate the state to which you’ll report. You should report new hires electronically, no more than twice a month (12 to 16 days apart).
Can someone else handle new hire reporting for me?
Yes. A service provider can register an employer by following the steps above. But you can only select a state where you have employees for reporting purposes.
For example, say you have employees in California and New York, but you use a payroll provider with clients in all 50 states. The payroll provider can register you as a multistate employer, but you can pick only California or New York as the state where you’ll report.
If you’re a Gustomer, find out how our partner CorpNet can help you register your new employees in the proper states.
Is there a penalty for failing to report new hires?
Typically, yes.
States have the option to impose penalties for noncompliance, and many do. For states that do penalize employers for failure to report, the fine generally is limited to $25 per newly hired employee. If an employer conspires with an employee not to report (to avoid child support orders), the penalty can go as high as $500 per newly hired employee. States also can impose non-monetary civil penalties under state law.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Are employers required to report remote employees who work from home in another state?
Yes, employers need to always report remote employees, regardless of their location. It’s enforced according to federal law. Why? A parent who owes child support can be tracked down, so their wages can be withheld when their employers receive income withholding orders (IWOs).
Basic information on new hires is stored in the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Employers need to provide those details to the state where the new employee works within 20 days of hire, or sooner if the state mandates it. If the business is a multistate employer (and registered that way with the HHS), there’s the option of selecting one state for reporting all new hires.
The Office of Child Support Enforcement lists what employers need to share with their State Directory of New Hires, which is then given to the NDNH. This is what’s federally required that employers provide for new hire reporting (the same details are collected with Form W-4), though states could request additional pieces of information:
Information needed | What to provide |
Employee Name | Full name associated with that employee's Social Security number (SSN) |
Employee Address | Current residential address of the new employee |
Employee SSN | Nine-digit SSN assigned to the employee by the Social Security Administration |
Date of hire | First date the employee received pay for services |
Employer Name | Name associated with the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) |
Employer Address (also share the payroll address if different from the FEIN address) | Address associated with the FEIN entity that employs the individual |
FEIN (new hires and quarterly wages need to be reported with the same FEIN) | Nine-digit number assigned to the employer by the Internal Revenue Service |
How do employers correct errors on a previously submitted new hire report?
Since employers share key reporting details about their new hires with the states they work in, they need to contact those state new hire reporting agencies to correct errors in new hire reports that were already submitted.
While the agencies typically don’t provide employers with the ability to edit submissions right in the agencies’ online portals, you can contact your state’s new hire reporting agency about a correction and how to file any needed fix, following their exact instructions for the records to be exact.
Are part-time and seasonal employees subject to new hire reporting requirements?
Regardless of whether employees are full time, part time, or seasonal, they are employees, so filing new hire reports and W-4 forms is required. However, if someone leaves their employment and returns before 60 consecutive days have passed (without having been removed from payroll records or terminated from work), then they’re not considered a new hire who needs to be reported. But if the employee separates from work for as much as 60 days or more, a new hire report is required, even though they’re a rehired employee.
Do nonprofit organizations and small businesses have to comply with new hire reporting laws?
Nonprofit entities are subject to the same state and federal employment laws all businesses have to follow. But new hire reporting isn’t based on employee thresholds, unlike certain mandates that only apply when an organization employs a minimum number of individuals. So no organization is exempt from reporting new employees, whether a nonprofit or a for-profit company, regardless of its size.
How should employers report new hires if they use a professional employer organization (PEO)?
A PEO has a contract with the employer to handle all or some of its reporting, withholding, payroll, and compliance obligations. If they’re registered as a co-employer and are handling wages, then the PEO typically handles the tasks associated with reporting new hires. However, the specifics and range of their responsibilities would be clarified in the terms of the contract.
When they are reporting the new hires to states, they may even be using their own FEIN, but it’s possible the employer may still have actions to take to initiate the new hire onboarding process. They might need to input the key personal details for the employee (such as name, address, SSN, and hire date) into the PEO’s portal, so the PEO can in turn process the state’s required paperwork to record the new hire.
What recordkeeping requirements apply to new hire reporting documentation?
The National Directory of New Hires deletes all data associated with entries two years after the entry was created. But from the moment you start to collect applications for an open role, as an employer, you will have long-lasting legal obligations to retain records.
Depending on the requirements for different government agencies and the purpose of the new hire documents that are needed (e.g., tax withholding, employment eligibility, payroll records, etc.), the range for recordkeeping typically spans up to seven years, aside from certain OSHA records. That begins with holding onto job applications for one year after a position is filled, as required by the US Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Once someone is hired, I-9 forms are retained three years from the hire date or the date after employment ends, and the IRS says that employment tax records need to be kept for four years after the tax is due or paid. In either case, the records are retained for whichever option is longer.
There are federal and state laws that govern how long records should be kept. Both need to be followed. This list covers certain federal requirements:
Record type | How long to keep |
Job applications, documentation concerning hiring, promoting, demoting, and firing (or any form of job termination), and whenever any personnel action was taken | 1 year or when the personnel action was taken, whichever is later |
I-9 forms | 3 years from the hire date or the date after employment ends |
Employment tax records | 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is longer |
W-4 forms | 4 years |
Payroll records | 3 years |
Wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems, collective bargaining agreements | 2 years |
Family and medical leave records | 3 years |
Health plan and COBRA records | 6 years |
OSHA logs and incident report forms | 5 years |
OSHA employee toxic exposure and medical records | Duration of employment + 30 years |
