This file layout has been created for employers who have the ability to export new hire data from their existing payroll or human resources software. If you have any questions, or need further assistance with reporting electronically, please contact our Center at the numbers at the end of this document.

Please see the end of this document for a listing of the methods you can choose from for sending your company’s new hire data in the format shown below.

Regardless of transmission method or media type, the following file submission layout must be used.

AR Employer File Submission Layout - Create file using FIXED-WIDTH ASCII TEXT FORMAT.

Field Type Length Start Position End Position Status Comments Record Identifier Char 17 1 17 Required The following text: "AR Newhire Record". Case does not matter. Format Version Number Char 4 18 21 Required The following text: "1.00".

Employee Information

Field Type Length Start Position End Position Status Comments Employee First Name Char 16 22 37 Required At least one character, no special characters Employee Middle Name Char 16 38 53 Optional If non-blank must be at least one character, no special characters Employee Last Name Char 30 54 83 Required At least one character, no special characters except hyphen Employee SSN# Numeric 9 84 92 Required As reported by employee Employee Address Line 1 Char 40 93 132 Required At least two characters, left justify Employee Address Line 2 Char 40 133 172 Optional Employee address line 2 Employee Address Line 3 Char 40 173 212 Optional Employee address line 3 Employee City Char 25 213 237 Required At least two characters, no special characters except hyphen Employee State Char 2 238 239 Required Valid state or territory abbreviation Employee Postal Code Char 20 240 259 Required If a non-foreign address then only U.S. 5 digit zip code, left justified. If foreign address then left justify Employee Zip+4 Numeric 4 260 263 Optional US state and territories only Employee Country Code Char 2 264 265 Optional For foreign addresses only. Refer to U.S. Department of Commerce FIPS code manual, National Institute of Standards and Technology, FIPS PUB 10-4 (April 1995) Employee Date of Birth Numeric 8 266 273 Optional If present, numeric. Format - MMDDYYYY Employee Start Date Numeric 8 274 281 Required Format - MMDDYYYY Employee State of Hire Char 2 282 283 Optional Valid state or territory abbreviation Filler Char 2 284 285 Optional Filler.

Employer Information

Field Type Length Start Position End Position Status Comments Employer FEIN Numeric 9 286 294 Required Federal Employer Identification Number (no hyphens) State EIN Char 12 295 306 Optional State Identification Code (if any) left justified, otherwise blank fill Employer Name Char 45 307 351 Required At least two characters, left justify Employer Address Line 1 Char 40 352 391 Required At least two characters, left justify Employer Address Line 2 Char 40 392 431 Optional Employer address line 2 Employer Address Line 3 Char 40 432 471 Optional Employer address line 3 Employer City Char 25 472 496 Required At least two characters, left justify Employer State Char 2 497 498 Required Valid state or territory abbreviation Employer Postal Code Char 20 499 518 Required If a non-foreign address then only U.S. 5 digit zip code, left justified. If foreign address then left justify Employer Zip+4 Char 4 519 522 Optional US state and territories only Employer Country Code Char 2 523 524 Optional For foreign addresses only Employer Phone Number Numeric 10 525 534 Optional Employer contact ten-digit phone number including area code (no hyphens or parentheses) Employer Phone Extension Numeric 6 535 540 Optional Employer contact extension (numeric only) Employer Contact Char 20 541 560 Optional Name of contact for employer Optional Employer Address Line 1 Char 40 561 600 Optional At least two characters, left justify Optional Employer Address Line 2 Char 40 601 640 Optional Employer address line 2 Optional Employer Address Line 3 Char 40 641 680 Optional Employer address line 3 Optional Employer City Char 25 681 705 Optional At least two characters, left justify Optional Employer State Char 2 706 707 Optional Valid state or territory abbreviation Optional Employer Postal Code Char 20 708 727 Optional If a non-foreign address then only U.S. 5 digit zip code, left justified. If foreign address then left justify Optional Employer Zip+4 Char 4 728 731 Optional US state and territories only Optional Employer Country Code Char 2 732 733 Optional For foreign addresses only Employer Optional Phone Number Numeric 10 734 743 Optional Employer contact ten-digit phone number including area code (no hyphens or parentheses) Employer Optional Contact Extension Numeric 6 744 749 Optional Employer contact extension (numeric only) Employer Optional Contact Char 20 750 769 Optional Name of optional employer contact Filler Char 210 770 801 Optional Filler.

File Naming Guidelines

When you are ready to save your file, please name the file with the first four characters of your company name, plus the day and month you are creating it. For example:

Acme Incorporated, file created on December 1st - acme1201.txt
Microsoft Corporation, file created February 14th - micr0214.txt

If you are unable to use this naming convention, please name your file as uniquely as possible. Using 4-8 letters that are an acronym of your company name, or actually spelling your company name is acceptable. If you are sending multiple files, please provide a unique name for each file. Multiple files with the same name cannot be processed.

Please do not use "newhire" or any variation of "newhire" for your file name.

How to Send a File to Our Center

After you have created a file that matches our official file submission layout, please contact our center to arrange a "test" read of the data. We can then assist you in determining the most appropriate way to send our Center your file. Listed below are the variety of ways a file can be sent to our Center:

Electronic Transmission Methods

• Web-Transfer - Register on our web site (www.ar-newhire.com) and then sign on to securely transfer a file to us. You will also receive a confirmation of receipt with this method.
  
  
• EFT - Use your computer's modem to dial our Center and transfer your file via a phone line. Click here for instructions.
  
  
• FTP (Internet File Transfer Protocol) - This option utilizes your connection to the Internet to transmit files. Click here for instructions.

Magnetic Media Types Accepted when Sending Files to Our Center

All magnetic media must be clearly labeled with the submitter's name, return address, Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), and contact name with phone number.

• CD-ROM - CDs must only contain new hire reporting files and be mailed in a protective envelope to prevent damage during transit. CDs are not returned
  
  

Electronic Reporting - Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly is the File Submission Layout?
   
   The "File Submission Layout" is the format in which our office is able to process electronic new hire reports. We are unable to accept files that are not in this format. The file format to be created is a fixed-width ASCII text file.
   
   Most Human Resources or Payroll systems have the ability to export data in this format. If you are unfamiliar with this format please consult with a designated technical person at your company, or ask the company who supports your Human Resources or Payroll systems.
   
   
2. Does my Payroll or Human Resources software already support your File Submission Layout?
   
   To verify whether your software includes the option for creating an electronic new hire reporting file in our file layout, please contact the software manufacturer.
   
   Many leading software companies now offer electronic new hire reporting as an option to their software packages. Our office also works with software developers who wish to add the electronic new hire reporting feature to their products.
   
   If your software does not currently offer an option to automatically create an electronic new hire report, you may be able to create your own file by exporting the information listed earlier in the “File Submission Layout” into the correct format.
   
   
3. What if I am unable to create a file in this format?
   
   Our office wants to make electronic new hire reporting as simple as possible for employers. Please contact our center for professional technical assistance and possible alternatives.
   
   
4. I am going to create a query that exports new hire data in the format you require. What other guidelines should I use when building a query to export data in this format?
   
   As a programmer or other technical staff please ensure your programming includes the following considerations:
   
   
   • Both New Hires and Re-Hires are required to be reported. A Re-Hire is anyone who returns to work at your company. The query should include Re-Hires as well as New Hires.
     
     
   • Employees who are hired, and then quickly terminated still need to be reported. The query should include ANYONE hired within the prescribed date ranges, regardless of their employment status at the time the file is created.
     
     
   • Multistate new hire reports are required to be in electronic format, and also require the field “State of Hire” for each employee. For the purposes of New Hire Reporting, the State of Hire should be the state where the Unemployment Insurance Taxes are paid.
     
     
5. What if I am trying to report new hires for more than one company or Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)? The file layout requires company information to be provided for each employee reported. This allows the layout to contain an unlimited number of different companies or FEINs.
   
   
6. My company has more than one FEIN and/or subsidiary, which FEIN do I list each new hire report under?
   
   New Hires must be reported using the same FEIN as the FEIN under which state quarterly wage reports are filed.
   
   
7. I am building a query that uses ranges of dates to select the new hires and re-hires that will be reported. What should I do to ensure that all new hires and re-hires are reported?
   
   It is common for new hires and re-hires to begin working with a company before they are actually added to the Payroll or Human Resources computer systems. Because of delays, someone that is hired or re-hired may not get reported if the delay is long enough that the new hire report is created before their information is input into the appropriate systems.
   
   We recommend to employers who believe this situation is possible in their company to use an “overlapping date range” for their queries. Here is an example of a report that is sent every two weeks:
   
   

   Report Creation Date (When report is sent)

   Query Begin Date (Beg range of Hire Date)

   Query End Date (End Range of Hire Date)

   ---

   June 1st	May 15th	June 15th
   June 14th	May 1st	July 1st
   July 1st	June 1st	June 30th

   
   
   
8. What if my company has operations in more than one location?
   
   Employers with one or more subsidiary, location, or branch can save time and resources by consolidating new hire reporting into one central location. If possible, centralization of new hire reporting at the corporate office is recommended, using the Multistate reporting method if applicable. This method reduces the collective time spent on complying with the new hire reporting requirements and shifts the responsibility from the remote branches to the corporate office where reporting can be ensured.
   
   New Hire Reporting is required in all 50 states. If your business has employees in more than one state, please consider Multistate electronic reporting. This option allows employers to send all their new hire reports for each state directly to just one state electronically. Registration is required.
   
   Please click here for more information about Multistate new hire reporting.
   
   

This document was created to assist employers, software developers, and other persons with the creation of a file that meets our office file submission layout guidelines for electronic reporting of required new hire information.

For technical support, or for more information on how to send our office a file, please contact us.