Employer Reporting

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Form G-88A.2 (01-19) G-88a.2 Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility Form	Modified
Form G-88A.1 (09-18) G-88a.1 Request for Verification of Last Date Carried on Payroll Form	Modified
Form BA-6a (E-mail) BA-6a, Address Report (Electronic Equivalents) Form and Instruction	Modified
Form BA-6a (Internet) ( BA-6a Address Report (Internet) Form	Modified
Form BA-6a (07-12) BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report Form and Instruction	Modified
Form AA-12 (01-19) AA-12 Notice of Death and Statement of Compensation Form	Unchanged
Form BA-6a (File Transf BA-6a (File Transfer Protocol) Form and Instruction	Removed
3220-0005_Final.docx Supporting Statement A	2026-01-27
Section 9 of the Railroad Retirement Act.pdf Supplementary Document	2019-09-12
Section 6 of the Railroad Unemployment Act.pdf Supplementary Document	2019-09-12
20 CFR 209.pdf Supplementary Document	2019-09-12
Form BA-6 (06-18).pdf Supplementary Document	2019-02-25
Form G-440 (12-20).pdf Supplementary Document	2022-09-20
Form G-117a (10-13).pdf Supplementary Document	2016-03-08

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
45674	G-88a.2 Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility Form	Modified
45673	G-88a.1 Request for Verification of Last Date Carried on Payroll Form	Modified
45671	BA-6a, Address Report (Electronic Equivalents) Form and Instruction	Modified
45669	BA-6a Address Report (Internet) Form	Modified
45668	BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report Form and Instruction	Modified
45663	AA-12 Notice of Death and Statement of Compensation Form	Unchanged
182467	BA-6a (File Transfer Protocol) Form and Instruction	Removed

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 3220-0005	ICR Reference No: 202601-3220-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202209-3220-001
Agency/Subagency: RRB	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Employer Reporting
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 01/27/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	01/31/2026
Responses	2,630	2,748
Time Burden (Hours)	357	438
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: Under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, railroad employers are required to report service and compensation for employees needed to determine eligibility to and the amounts of benefits paid.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 45 USC 356 Name of Law: Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
   US Code: 45 USC 231f Name of Law: Railroad Retirement Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 52714	11/21/2025
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 2565	01/21/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 6

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
AA-12 Notice of Death and Statement of Compensation	AA-12 (01-19)	Notice of Death and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility
BA-6a Address Report (Internet)	BA-6a (Internet) (01-08)	BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report (Internet Equivalent)
BA-6a (File Transfer Protocol)	BA-6a (File Transfer Protocol)	BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report
BA-6a, Address Report (Electronic Equivalents)	BA-6a (E-mail)	BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report
BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report	BA-6a (07-12)	BA-6a, BA-6 Address Report
G-88a.1 Request for Verification of Last Date Carried on Payroll	G-88A.1 (09-18), G-88A.1 (Internet) (03-13)	Request for Verification of Date Last Worked ,   Notice of Retirement and Verification of Date Last Worked
G-88a.2 Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility	G-88A.2 (01-19), G-88a.2 (Internet) (03-13)	Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility ,   Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for Eligibility

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	2,630	2,748	0	0	-118	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	357	438	0	0	-81	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The annual responses decreased from 2,748 to 2,630 and the burden decreased from 438 to 357 and the changes provides a more accurate burden estimate. Almost all employers now submit the BA-6a via ERSNet, shifting the burden from FTP, Secure Email, and CD-ROM submission to BA-6a (Internet) instead. The lines for BA-6a (Email), BA-6a (FTP), and BA-6a (CD-ROM) were consolidated into BA-6a (Electronic Equivalent). In all 3 cases, the exact same information is being collected in the exact same format – the text file format specified in Appendix I of the Employer Reporting Instructions. While employers can transmit that information to the RRB via either File Transfer Protocol or Secure Email, both methods are simply different ways of sending the same form and carry the same time burden. The RRB no longer accepts Railroad Initiated paper forms BA-6a. All employers are required to instead submit the BA-6a via ERSNet, Secure Email, or File Transfer Protocol. The G-88A.1 Internet (Class I Railroads) line was eliminated because the GL-88A.1 (Internet) is a form completed for an individual employee, and the size of the employer has no bearing on the time it takes to complete the form and does not change the way in which it is responded to on ERSNet.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 01/27/2026

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