1 New Hire Record Layout

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements

National Directory of New Hires

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
November 1, 2021

Administration for Children and Families
Office of Child Support Enforcement
330 C Street SW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20201

This document was prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support
Enforcement under Contract Number HHSN316201200034W by Leidos Innovations Corporation. The work was
authorized in compliance with this specific prime task order:
Delivery Order Number:
C-34668-O
Delivery Order Title:
National Directory of New Hires
Document Date:
November 1, 2021
Document Number:
C2-2002.82.03

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

E

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Input Transaction Layouts

This appendix has the layouts for records accepted by the NDNH system. Each record layout in
this appendix includes
•
•
•
•

•

Field Name – The name of the field as it appears on the input transaction layout
Location – The position of the field on the record
Length – The number of characters allowed in the field
A/N – The type of field:
− Alphabetic (A)
− Numeric (N)
− Alphanumeric (A/N)
Comments – Shows if the field is required for the transaction and includes an explanation of
the field and the field’s relationship to other fields or records

When sending input records, the NDNH Transmission Header record must be the first record in
the transmission. If the Header record is not the first record in the transmission, the system
rejects all records until a Header record is located.
The data sent to the NDNH must comply with these requirements:
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•

All alphabetic data must be in uppercase.
All alphabetic and alphanumeric data must be left-justified.
All numeric data must be right justified with leading zeros.
All dates must be in CCYYMMDD format:
− CC represents the century.
− YY represents the year.
− MM represents the month and must be a number greater than 00 but less than 13.
− DD represents the day of the month and must be a valid number for the month.
Name fields cannot include suffixes, such as ‘Jr.’, ‘Sr.’, or ‘III’.
All Filler fields must be spaces, not low values.
The hyphen is the only special character allowed in the Employee Name, Employer Name,
and City fields.
All state and territory abbreviations in addresses must be valid USPS abbreviations.
All foreign country codes in addresses must be the two-letter FIPS codes assigned to foreign
countries.
If an address is less than 40 characters per line, do not concatenate it into one line.

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

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OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this statutorily required (42 U.S.C. §
653(i)(1)) information collection is to help state and Tribal child support agencies to locate a parent living or working in another state, or to take appropriate
interstate actions to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order; to assist state and federal agencies in administering various eligibility benefit programs; to
help researchers and data matching partners with evaluating the impact of various federal programs. Public reporting estimated burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average .025 hours per response for employers that submit new hires manually, .17 hours for employers that submit new hires
electronically, and .00028 hours to submit QW and UI, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing
the collection of information. As provided by 42 U.S.C. 653(m)(2), confidential information collected for this program is accessed only by authorized users. A
federal agency may not conduct or sponsor an information collection without a valid OMB Control Number. No individual or entity is required to respond to, nor
shall an individual or entity be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, without a current valid OMB Control Number. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact
[email protected].

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

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OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-1: New Hire Transmitter Header Record
Field Name

Location

Length

A/N

Record Identifier

1–2

2

A/N

Required
This field must have ‘H4’.

Transmitter State Code

3–4

2

A/N

Required for states and territories
This field must have the two-digit numeric FIPS code of the state or
territory sending data. FIPS codes are at FIPS State and Territory Codes.
Federal agencies leave this field blank.

Transmitter Agency
Code

5–13

9

A/N

Required for federal agencies
This field must have the nine-character FEIN or the letter ‘A’ followed
by the FIPS code of the federal agency.
SDNHs leave this field blank.

Transmission Type

14–15

2

A/N

Required
This field must have ‘W4’.

16

1

A

Version Control Number

17–18

2

A/N

Date Stamp

19–26

8

N

Required
This field must have the transmission date in CCYYMMDD format.

Batch Number

27–32

6

N

Required
This field must have a six-digit number to track the batch. Each batch
number must be unique and cannot be repeated.

Department of Defense
Code

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Comments

Required for DoD only
This field must have one of these characters:
A – Active duty employees
C – Civilian employees
R – Reserve employees
SDNHs and federal agencies other than the DoD leave this field blank.
Required
This field must have ‘01’.

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OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-1: New Hire Transmitter Header Record
Field Name

Filler

Location

Length

A/N

33–801

769

A/N

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Comments

Required
This field must have all spaces. Do not use the Filler field. This Filler
field is strictly reserved for OCSE. NDNH does not return anything sent
in the field and overlays it with spaces.

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OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-2: New Hire Data Record
Field Name

Location

Length

A/N

Record Identifier

1–2

2

A/N

Employee SSN

3–11

9

N

Employee Name:
First Name
Middle Name
Last Name

12–27
28–43
44–73

16
16
30

A
A
A

Comments

Required
This field must have ‘W4’.
Required
This field must have a nine-digit SSN.
If this field is all zeros, blank, or has alphabetic characters, NDNH rejects
the record.
Required
If either the First or Last Name field is blank, NDNH rejects the record.
No special characters are allowed except hyphens.
The first and last name cannot begin with a space or a hyphen.
Required: Line (1)
This field must be at least two characters.
If an address is less than 40 characters per line, do not concatenate into
one line.
Use Line 3 for a military designation, Canadian province code, or
Canadian province.

Employee Street Address:
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

74–113
114–153
154–193

40
40
40

A/N
A/N
A/N

Employee City

194–218

25

A

Required
This field must have at least two characters.
No special characters are allowed except hyphens.

Employee State

219–220

2

A

Required
This field must be a valid two-letter USPS abbreviation of a state or
territory. FIPS codes are at FIPS State and Territory Codes.
If employee’s address is a foreign address, this field must be spaces.

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

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November 1, 2021

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-2: New Hire Data Record
Field Name

Employee ZIP Code:
ZIP Code (1)
ZIP Code (2)

Location

Length

A/N

221–225
226–229

5
4

A/N
A/N

Comments

Required: If U.S. address, first five digits of ZIP code
This field must be the five-digit USPS ZIP code associated with the
employee’s address.
The ZIP Code (2) field must be either all spaces or the four-digit extra
numeric code, but not all zeros.
If employee’s address is a foreign address, these fields must be spaces.
Required if foreign address
FIPS codes are at Foreign Country Codes.
The foreign country name, if present, must be at least two characters.
Include military designation or Canadian province code.
If employee’s address is a U.S. address, these fields must be spaces.

Employee Foreign
Address:
Foreign Country Code
Foreign Country Name
Foreign ZIP Code

230–231
232–256
257–271

2
25
15

A/N
A/N
A/N

Employee Date of Birth

272–279

8

A/N

Optional
This field must be in CCYYMMDD format if present.
This must be either all spaces or a valid date.

Employee Date of Hire

280–287

8

A/N

Required
This field must be in CCYYMMDD format if present.
This field must be either all spaces or a valid date.
This is the first day a person does services for pay and the date the
employer recognizes as the first day for income tax withholding.

Employee State of Hire

288–289

2

A

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Optional
This field must be a valid two-letter USPS abbreviation of a state or
territory if present.

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November 1, 2021

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-2: New Hire Data Record
Field Name

Location

Length

A/N

Comments

Federal EIN

290–298

9

N

State EIN

299–310

12

A/N

Optional
This field is a number a state may assign an employer.

Employer Name

311–355

45

A/N

Required
This field must be at least two characters.
No special characters are allowed except hyphens.

Required
This field must be the FEIN the IRS assigns to an employer.

Required: Line (1)
This field must be at least two characters.
If an address is less than 40 characters per line, do not concatenate into
one line.
Use Line 3 for a military designation, Canadian province code, or
Canadian province.

Employer Street Address:
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

356–395
396–435
436–475

40
40
40

A/N
A/N
A/N

Employer City

476–500

25

A

Required
This field must be at least two characters.
No special characters are allowed except hyphens.

Employer State

501–502

2

A

Required
This field must be a valid two-letter USPS abbreviation of a state or
territory.
This field must be spaces if employer’s address is a foreign address.

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

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November 1, 2021

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-2: New Hire Data Record
Field Name

Employer ZIP Code:
ZIP Code (1)
ZIP Code (2)

Employer Foreign
Address:
Foreign Country Code
Foreign Country Name
Foreign ZIP Code

Location

Length

A/N

503–507
508–511

5
4

A/N
A/N

512–513
514–538
539–553

2
25
15

A/N
A/N
A/N

Employer Optional Street
Address:
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

554–593
594–633
634–673

40
40
40

A/N
A/N
A/N

Employer Optional City

674–698

25

A

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Comments

Required: If a U.S. address, first five digits of ZIP code
This field must be the five-digit USPS ZIP code associated with the
employer’s address.
The ZIP Code (2) field must be either all spaces or the four-digit extra
numeric code, but not all zeros.
These fields must be spaces if employer’s address is a foreign address.
Required, if foreign address
FIPS codes are at Foreign Country Codes.
The foreign country name, if present, must be at least two characters.
Include military designation or Canadian province code.
These fields must be spaces if employer’s address is a U.S. address.
Optional
This field is the employer’s street address where a child support income
withholding order is sent.
If an address is less than 40 characters per line, do not concatenate into
one line.
Use Line 3 for a military designation, Canadian province code, or
Canadian province.
Optional
This field, if present, must have at least two characters.
No special characters are allowed except hyphens.

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November 1, 2021

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-2: New Hire Data Record
Field Name

Employer Optional State

Employer Optional ZIP
Code:
ZIP Code 1
ZIP Code 2

Location

Length

A/N

699–700

2

A

701–705
706–709

5
4

A/N
A/N

Employer Optional
Foreign Address:
Foreign Country Code
Foreign Country Name
Foreign ZIP Code

710–711
712–736
737–751

2
25
15

A/N
A/N
A/N

Filler

752–801

50

A/N

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Comments

Optional
This field must be a valid two-letter USPS abbreviation of a state or
territory if present.
This field must be spaces if the employer’s optional address is a foreign
address.
Optional
Each ZIP code field must be either all spaces or all numeric, but not all
zeros.
These fields must be spaces if the employer’s optional address is a
foreign address.
Optional
FIPS codes are at Foreign Country Codes.
The foreign country name, if present, must be at least two characters.
These fields must be spaces if the employer’s optional address is a U.S.
address or the optional address is not present.
Required
This field must have all spaces. Do not use the Filler field. This Filler
field is strictly reserved for OCSE. NDNH does not return anything sent
in the field and overlays it with spaces.

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November 1, 2021

OCSE O&M and Continuous Improvements
National Directory of New Hires
OMB Control No.: 0970-0166

New Hire Input Record Specifications
Version 13.4
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Chart E-3: New Hire Total Record
Field Name

Location

Length

A/N

Record Identifier

1–2

2

A/N

Data Record Count

3–13

11

N

Required
This field must be the number of records in the transmission, including
the Header and Total records.

14–801

788

A/N

Required
This field must have all spaces. Do not use the Filler field. This Filler
field is strictly reserved for OCSE. NDNH does not return anything sent
in the field and overlays it with spaces.

Filler

Appendix E: Input Transaction Layouts

Comments

Required
This field must have the characters ‘T4’.

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