California New Employee Registry FAQs

All California employers are required to report information about new employees to the California New Employee Registry. This includes all businesses, state and local government employers, nonprofit organizations, and household employers, regardless of the number of employees.

Every newly hired or rehired employee must be reported to the California New Employee Registry. This includes employees of all ages, including those who work:

• Less than a full day
• Part time
• As seasonal employees

This also includes employees who end their employment before the 20th day of work.

Note: If you acquire an ongoing business and employ any of the former owner’s workers, these employees are considered new hires and should be reported to the New Employee Registry. If you change your entity type (sole proprietorship to partnership, partnership to corporation, etc.), you do not need to report the workers that continue working for you.

Any employee who is rehired after a separation of at least 60 consecutive days must be reported within 20 days of the start-of-work date, which is their first day of work.

The start-of-work date is the first day your newly hired or rehired employee started working.

Employers can use any of the following methods to report new employee information:

Online with e-Services for Business

• Submit a Report of New Employee(s) (DE 34) on e-Services for Business.
  For information on reporting new employees online, refer to our e-Services for Business FAQs.

By Mail

• Submit a paper Report of New Employee(s) (DE 34).
  
  You can get the DE 34 by:
• Downloading a fill-in DE 34.
• Ordering through our Online Forms and Publications.
• Call our Taxpayer Assistance Center at 1-888-745-3886.
• Visit your nearest Employment Tax Office.

You can also create your own form with all of the required information.

Note: You must submit a copy of the employee’s W-4 form, but you must also add the employee’s start-of-work date, your California employer payroll tax account number and federal employer identification number (FEIN) to the W-4.

Mail your paper DE 34 to:

Employment Development Department
PO Box 997016 MIC 96
West Sacramento CA 95799-7016

By Fax

Print your data directly from your computer to the DE 34 by following the Print Specifications.

Fax your paper DE 34 to: 1-916-319-4400

Note: You must submit a copy of the employee’s W-4 form, but you must also add the employee’s start-of-work date, your California employer payroll tax account number and federal employer identification number (FEIN) to the W-4.

You are required by law to report the following:

Employer Information:

• California employer payroll tax account number
• Branch Code (complete only if employer was assigned a Branch Code number)
• Federal employer identification number
• Business name and address
• Contact person and phone number

Employee Information:

• First name, middle initial, and last name
• Social Security number
• Home address
• Start-of-work date

No. The DE 9C is a quarterly report of all employees. The correct reporting form is the DE 34 for reporting new employees within 20 calendar days of the employee’s first day of work.

Use e-Services for Business to report your employees to the New Employee Registry. You can find more information on how to do this in the Electronic Filing Guide for the New Employee Registry (DE 340).

You must report your new employee no later than 20 calendar days from the employee’s first day of work. Employers who report electronically must submit two monthly transmissions which are between 12 and 16 days apart.

Yes. Since wages were earned, you must still submit a New Employee Registry report. Even though the employment period was short, the reported information may help locate a noncustodial parent for child support enforcement.

No. You only have to report when an employee begins their employment with you.

A penalty of $24 is issued for each late report. If there was an intentional agreement between the employer and employee to not supply the required information or to supply a false or incomplete report, a penalty of $490 may be charged.

You must report all employees who work in California, regardless of where they live.

Multistate employers who file electronically can choose to report all new hires to one state in which they have employees.  Multistate employers who choose to report all new hires to California must comply with California’s program requirements.

The State of California encourages multistate employers to report California employees to the California New Employee Registry. Reporting the information to California’s New Employee Registry will help employers reduce unemployment insurance costs by detecting and preventing unemployment insurance overpayments and fraud. 

Employers can file electronically with e-Services for Business

For More Information

• Office of Child Support Enforcement, Office of the Administration for Children & Families
  Learn how to notify the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child Support Enforcement office through the information they provide on New Hire Reporting – Answers to Employers Questions

You can find additional information on how to file on the New Employee Registry:

• e-Services for Business FAQs
• Electronic Filing Guide for New Employee Registry (DE 340)