New Hire Reporting Requirements and Deadlines

What the law requires

New hire reporting comes from the federal welfare reform law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Each report goes to a State Directory of New Hires, which passes it to the National Directory of New Hires. Child support agencies match the reports against their cases to find parents who owe support, and states also use them to stop improper unemployment and workers' compensation payments.

Who must report: any employer that would have an employee fill out a Form W-4. Report to the state where the employee works, which may not be the state where your company is registered. Federal law sets 20 days as the outer limit, and a state can require reports sooner.

Who counts as a new hire

Anyone you have not employed before.
A rehire who was separated from your company for at least 60 consecutive days. Someone back from leave who was never taken off payroll does not need a new report.
The date of hire is the first day the person performs services for pay, not the date they signed the offer.
Independent contractors are not covered by the federal rule, but several states require you to report them too (see the table).

What to report

Federal law requires seven items. Many states ask for more, so check your state form before you file.

Employee name
Employee home address
Employee Social Security number
Date of hire (first day of work for pay)
Employer name
Employer address (federal guidance also recommends your payroll office address if different)
Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

Use the same FEIN for new-hire reports and quarterly wage reports. If they differ, it can look as if you never reported. New York, for example, also asks whether dependent health insurance is available to the employee and the date they qualify.

Deadlines in 10 states

New hire reporting deadlines and where to report (state agency details as listed by the federal Office of Child Support Services)
State	Deadline	Where to report	Report independent contractors?
California	Within 20 calendar days of the start-of-work date	Employment Development Department (EDD), online through e-Services for Business, or Form DE 34 by mail or fax	Yes, within 20 days of paying $600 or more, or entering a contract for $600 or more, in a calendar year
Colorado	Within 20 days of hire	Colorado new hire reporting website (newhire.state.co.us)	Yes
Florida	Within 20 days of the start date	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes
Georgia	Within 10 days of hire	Georgia New Hire Reporting Program	No
Illinois	Within 20 days of hire	Illinois new hire reporting website (newhire.hfs.illinois.gov)	Yes
Massachusetts	Within 14 days of the effective date of employment or reinstatement	Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR)	Yes
New Jersey	Within 20 days of hire or rehire	New Jersey New Hire Reporting Center	Yes
New York	Within 20 calendar days of hire or rehire	NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, online, or Form IT-2104 by fax or mail	Yes, for contracts over $2,500
Texas	Within 20 calendar days of the date the employee starts earning wages	Texas Office of the Attorney General employer portal	Yes
Washington	Within 20 days of hire	Washington new hire reporting website (newhire.wa.gov)	No

For every other state, use the state contacts list from the federal Office of Child Support Services. State-by-state detail for these ten states is on HR by state.

Employees in more than one state

If you have employees working in two or more states, you have two choices:

Report each new hire to the state where they work, following that state's deadline and form. This is the default.
Pick one state where you have employees and report everyone there. To do this you must register with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a multistate employer, name the state, and submit electronically, no more than twice a month and 12 to 16 days apart.

Hiring your first person in a new state usually means registering for that state's payroll taxes as well. See hiring employees in another state.

How to file, and what happens if you miss it

States take reports through their new hire websites, and many also accept mail or fax. Many states accept a copy of the employee's Form W-4 with the employer details and hire date added. Employers that send reports electronically in batches must send them twice a month, 12 to 16 days apart.

Penalties are set by each state. Federal law caps a state penalty at $25 per unreported employee, or $500 if the employer and employee agree not to report. California, for example, may charge $24 per unreported employee, and $490 when the employer and employee agree not to report or to file a false or incomplete report. New York charges $20 per employee not reported.

Common questions

Do I report an employee I rehired?

Yes, if they were separated from your company for at least 60 consecutive days. If they were never taken off payroll, or came back within 60 days, you do not need a new report.

Do I report independent contractors?

Federal law does not require it, but several states do, including California, New York (contracts over $2,500) and Massachusetts. Check the state where the work is done.

Which state do I report a remote employee to?

The state where the employee works, which for a remote employee is usually where they live and work from. Multistate employers can instead register with HHS and report everyone to one state.

How MambaHR handles this

MambaHR keeps your employee records, so the details a new-hire report asks for, such as hire date, work state and FEIN, sit in one place. It answers federal and state employment-law questions with the law cited, including which state's reporting deadline applies to a hire, and unclear cases go to a person.

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Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and exceptions apply, so check the sources above or an employment lawyer before you act on a specific case.