Child Support - New Hire Reporting
All employers are required by law to report new and rehired employees to a state directory. Information from every state is transmitted to a national directory of new hires.
Hires include full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees. Governmental agencies are also required to report independent contractors. The state encourages other employers to voluntarily report independent contractors.
Legal requirements
- New hire reporting laws improve child support collections on both the state and national level, and they reduce fraudulent reemployment/unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation payments.
- Employers must report newly hired and rehired employees to a state directory, whether the employees owe child support or not. This requirement is authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 256.998 and the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
- Information, online forms, and answers to questions about new hire reporting are available at the Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center.
Reporting employees
- Employers must report all employees they hire or rehire to the Minnesota Department of Human Services within 20 calendar days.
- Employers must report all employees, whether they owe child support or not.
- Employers may report information by fax, mail, or the Internet to the Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center.
- Information must include the employee’s name, address, Social Security number, and, if available, date of birth, date of hire and state of hire.
- Employers must provide their own name, address, and federal identification number (FEIN) with each report.
W-4 statements
- To meet the reporting requirements, employers often send only a copy of employees’ W-4 statements.
- Employers should make sure blocks eight and ten of the W-4 form are complete.
- Other reporting methods include Internet reporting, printed lists, new hire reporting forms, magnetic tapes, diskettes, electronic transfers, and telephone reports. For information about other methods of reporting call 651-227-4661 or 800-672-4473.
Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center
Employers should
- mail their new hire reports to:
New Hire Reporting Center
P.O. Box 64212
St. Paul, MN 55164-0212 - send by fax to 800-692-4473
- enter online at
Failure to report
- If an employer fails to report employees, the state sends a notice of noncompliance by certified mail.
- Any failure to report a new or rehired employee after an employer receives a notice of noncompliance may result in a $25 civil penalty for each intentionally unreported employee.
- Employers and employees may be fined $500 if they conspire to avoid reporting or if they supply incomplete or false information.
Employees may also contact the child support agency to inform them of any changes in work status.