New hire reporting requirements by state

Need the whole first-week paperwork for one state with real dates? The first hire checklist generator takes a state and a start date and prints the I-9, W-4, state form and report deadlines.

New hire reporting deadlines in all 51 states and DC

Select a column heading to sort. "Not stated" in the Contractors column means the official page we checked didn't address contractors.

Deadline not confirmed: Pennsylvania. The official page we could open didn't state the number of days, so we left it blank rather than guess. Use the official site link.

What the table counts

The number is the deadline for an employer reporting one new hire at a time, by the method most small employers use. Employers sending electronic files often report on a different schedule instead, typically twice a month with transmissions 12 to 16 days apart; those notes are on each state's page. A few states start the count on the first day of work rather than the hire date, and Alabama's 7 days applies to employers with fewer than five employees who report by mail or fax.

Rehires

Most states treat a returning employee as a new hire after a gap, commonly 60 consecutive days off the payroll. Massachusetts uses 30 days, South Dakota looks at 30 days without pay, and Pennsylvania counts any break in service or gap in wages.

Independent contractors

Where contractors are covered, the trigger varies: California's DE 542 applies at $600, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and West Virginia use $2,500, Oregon looks at work expected to last more than 20 days in a year, and Iowa asks about repeat payments. Arizona, Delaware and Minnesota require contractor reports only from government employers. A contractor report doesn't decide whether the worker is really a contractor; that is a separate legal question.

The federal side

New hire reporting is a state filing, but the same week brings federal paperwork: Form I-9 (Section 1 by the first day, Section 2 within 3 business days, per USCIS), Form W-4 (IRS Topic 753) and, before any of it, an EIN from the IRS. The checklist generator puts dates on each one.

General information checked November 2026 against the official pages linked on this page, not legal or tax advice. Rules and portals change; the state's own new hire site and your payroll provider or accountant have the final word. MCC Solutions is not a law firm or a CPA firm.

Common questions

Related: First hire checklist by state · Payroll basics before your first hire · Employee cost calculator · Contractor vs employee cost