BA-6a (electronic BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report

Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendix I: Electronic File Format
Form BA-6A, Form BA-6 Address Report

CURRENT

The information specified on this form, which is required by law under Section 7(b)(6) of
the Railroad Retirement Act and Section 209.12 of the Code of Federal Regulations, will
be used by the Railroad Retirement Board to mail Form BA-6, Certificate of Service
Months and Compensation, to the employees of your company. The information is
authorized for collection under OMB control number 3220-0005. This report is due by
April 1st each year. Failure to report or the making of a false or fraudulent report can result
in criminal prosecution or civil penalties, or both.
We estimate the electronic versions of this form transmitted by secure email or File
Transfer Protocol (FTP) takes an average of 15 minutes per response to complete, including
time for reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the completed
form. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. If you wish,
send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimate or any other aspect of this form,
including suggestions for reducing completion time, to
Associate Chief Information Officer for Policy and Compliance
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611-1275.
The exhibit below explains the format for reports filed on CD ROM, electronic files, or an
upload on ERSNet. For information about the data to be entered, refer to Part V, Chapter
5.
NOTE: Reports submitted on CD ROM, secure email, or FTP must be accompanied by
Form G-440, "Report Specifications Sheet".
Form BA-6a Record Format
Field
Length
9

Record
Position
1-9

15

10-24

1

25

20

26-45

30

46-75

30
20
2

76-105
106-125
126-127

Data and Instructions
The employee's 9-digit social security number.
First fifteen (15) characters of the employee's first
name.
Employee’s middle initial.
First twenty (20) characters of the employee's
surname. Spaces in such names as Mc Carthy, St
Clair, De La Cross are acceptable.
Mailing Address Line 1 (Street Number, Post Office
Box, etc.).
Mailing Address Line 2.
City
State

Employer Reporting Instructions
Appendix I: Electronic File Format
Form BA-6A, Form BA-6 Address Report
Form BA-6a Record Format
Field
Length
5
8

Record
Position
128-132
133-140

4

141-144

8
28

145-152
153-180

Data and Instructions
Zip Code
Blank Filler.
Four-digit BA number assigned by the Railroad
Retirement Board.
Effective date of information (MMDDCCYY).
Blank Filler.

NOTE: The file should be saved as a text (*.txt) file with the record format listed above.