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.

VA 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: "VA 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 Name First Name Char 16 22 37 Required At least one character, no special characters. Middle Name Char 16 38 53 Optional Blank Fill, If non-blank must be at least one character, no special characters. 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 Street Address (Line 1) Char 40 93 132 Required At least two characters, left justify. Street Address (Line 2) Char 40 133 172 Optional Blank Fill, Employee address line 2. Street Address (Line 3) Char 40 173 212 Optional Blank Fill, Employee address line 3. City Char 25 213 237 Required At least two characters, no special characters except hyphen. State Char 2 238 239 Required Valid state or territory abbreviation. Not required for foreign address. 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. Zip Code 4 (US Only) Numeric 4 260 263 Optional Blank Fill, US state and territories only. Country Code Char 2 264 265 Optional Blank Fill, 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 Blank Fill, If present, numeric. Format - MMDDYYYY. Employee Date of Hire Numeric 8 274 281 Optional Blank Fill, If present, numeric. Format - MMDDYYYY. Employee State of Hire Char 2 282 283 Optional Blank Fill, Valid state or territory abbreviation. Medical Insurance Available Char 1 284 284 Optional "Y" if medical insurance is available to employee, otherwise "N". If unknown, please leave blank. Filler Char 1 285 285 Required Reserved for future use.

Employer Information

Field Type Length Start Position End Position Status Comments Employer FEIN Numeric 9 286 294 Required Federal Employer Identification Number (no hyphens). Use the same FEIN for which listed employee(s) quarterly wages will be reported under. If you have questions, please contact our center. State EIN Char 12 295 306 Optional State Identification Code, if any. Left Justify. Otherwise blank fill. Employer Name Char 45 307 351 Required At least two characters, left justify. Employer Address Street Address (Line 1) Char 40 352 391 Required At least two characters, left justify. Street Address (Line 2) Char 40 392 431 Optional Blank Fill, Employer address line 2. Street Address (Line 3) Char 40 432 471 Optional Blank Fill, Employer address line 3. City Char 25 472 496 Required At least two characters, left justify. State Char 2 497 498 Required Valid state or territory abbreviation. Not required for foreign address. 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. Zip Code 4 (US Only) Char 4 519 522 Optional Blank Fill, US state and territories use only. Country Code Char 2 523 524 Optional Blank Fill, For foreign addresses only. Employer Phone Number Numeric 10 525 534 Optional Blank Fill, Employer contact ten-digit phone number including area code (no hyphens or parentheses). Employer Phone Extension Numeric 6 535 540 Optional Blank Fill, Employer contact extension (numeric only). Employer Contact Char 20 541 560 Optional Blank Fill, Name of contact for employer. Employer Optional Address Street Address (Line 1) Char 40 561 600 Optional The address where child support orders should be sent. Blank Fill, Employer Optional Street Address line 1. Street Address (Line 2) Char 40 601 640 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional Street Address line 2. Street Address (Line 3) Char 40 641 680 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional Street Address line 3. City Char 25 681 705 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional City. State Char 2 706 707 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional State. Not Required for foreign address. Postal Code Char 20 708 727 Optional Blank Fill, If a non-foreign address then only US 5 digit zip code. Zip Code 4 (US Only) Char 4 728 731 Optional Blank Fill, US state and territories use only. Country Code Char 2 732 733 Optional Blank Fill, For foreign addresses only. Employer Optional Phone Number Numeric 10 734 743 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional contact ten digit phone number including area code. Employer Optional Phone Extension Char 6 744 749 Optional Blank Fill, Employer Optional contact extension. Employer Optional Contact Char 20 750 769 Optional Blank Fill, Name of Optional employer contact. Filler Char 32 770 801 Optional Blank Fill, Reserved for future use.

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 a variety of ways a file can be sent to our Center:

Electronic Transmission Methods

• Web-Transfer - Register on our web site (www.va-newhire.com) and then sign on to securely transfer a file to us. You will also receive a confirmation of receipt with this method.
  
• 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.

• 3.5" Diskette - The diskette must be in IBM format and be mailed in a protective envelope to prevent damage during transit. Diskettes are not returned.
  
• 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.
  
• 9-Track Reel or 3480/3490 Cartridge Tapes - Our Center accepts files on this media type. Because of postage and handling costs you may incur, we encourage you to consider the previously listed methods before sending files using this media type.

Specifications for 9-Track Reel or 3480/3490 Cartridges

Tape: 1/2 magnetic tape in the unpacked mode on 9-track tape.	Recording density: must be 1600 or 6250 bits per inch.
Label: IBM OS/VS format or ANSI OS/VS format. Unlabeled tapes are a last resort.	Format: ASCII or EBCDIC
File Type: fixed length	Record size: 801
10 records per block	Blocking size of 8010

Electronic Reporting - Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly is the File Submission Layout?
   
   The "File Submission Layout" is the format in which our Center 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 Center 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 Center 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 1st	May 31st
   June 15th	May 15th	June 14th
   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 Center file submission layout guidelines for electronic reporting of required new hire information.

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