Employer guideRead at source September 28, 2026

California New Hire Reporting: DE 34 Deadline, Contractor Rules and How to File (2026)

California employers must report new and rehired employees to the EDD's New Employee Registry within 20 calendar days of the start-of-work date, on the DE 34 through e-Services for Business or by mail or fax. Independent contractors must also be reported on the DE 542 once payments or a contract reach $600 in a year. Late reports can cost $24 each, or $490 for an intentional agreement not to report.

California new hire reporting at a glance

California runs two separate registries: one for employees and one for independent contractors, with different forms, mailing addresses and fax numbers. Treat them as two separate filings. For the federal rules behind both, see our new hire reporting requirements by state.

What the EDD needs on a DE 34

The EDD calls its program the New Employee Registry (NER). The EDD says employers are required by law to report:

The statute, § 1088.5(d)(4), lists the employee's name, address and SSN, the employer's name, address, state employer identification number if issued and FEIN, and the first date the employee worked. The EDD's list adds the contact person and phone.

Filing the DE 34

Online filing goes through e-Services for Business, the same account used for California payroll tax returns. Large employers can submit files using the EDD's Electronic Filing Guide for the New Employee Registry Program (DE 340). On paper, you can use the fill-in DE 34, a computer-generated alternate form built to the EDD's print specifications, or your own form with all the required information.

You can also send a copy of the employee's federal Form W-4 or California DE 4, but only after adding three items: the employee's start-of-work date, your California employer payroll tax account number and your FEIN. Paper DE 34 reports go to:

• Mail: Employment Development Department, PO Box 997016, MIC 96, West Sacramento, CA 95799-7016
• Fax: 916-319-4400

The EDD says not to submit a report when there are no new or rehired employees, and that the quarterly DE 9C wage report cannot be used in place of the DE 34.

The start-of-work date and the 20-day window

California's deadline is 20 calendar days from the start-of-work date, which the EDD defines as the first day services were performed for wages. Employers reporting electronically through e-Services for Business must submit two monthly reports not less than 12 and not more than 16 days apart.

For hourly hiring, the rule has teeth in both directions. A new hire who works part of one day is reportable, and the EDD says the requirement covers employees who work less than a full day, part time or seasonally, and those who leave before their 20th day of work. A hire who accepts but never shows up has no start-of-work date and nothing to report until they do.

Independent contractors: the DE 542

California is one of the states that requires contractor reporting, under Unemployment Insurance Code § 1088.8. According to the EDD's independent contractor reporting page, you must report when all of these apply:

• you are required to file a federal Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC for the contractor's services;
• you pay the contractor $600 or more, or enter into a contract for $600 or more, in a calendar year;
• the contractor is an individual, sole proprietor or single-member LLC (corporations and partnerships are not reported).

The report is due within 20 calendar days of the earlier of the payment or the contract reaching $600. It covers the contractor's name, SSN and address, the contract start date (or the date payments reached $600), the contract amount and expiration date, or an "ongoing" box. Contractors are reported once per calendar year for new or ongoing contracts, and parts and materials count toward the $600. File the DE 542 in e-Services for Business, or by mail to EDD, PO Box 997350, MIC 96, Sacramento, CA 95899-7350, or fax to 916-319-4410. Note the different address and fax from the DE 34.

California penalties

Both sections set the same amounts. Section 1088.5(e) allows the EDD to assess $24 for each failure to report the hiring of an employee on time, unless the failure is due to good cause, or $490 if the failure results from a conspiracy between employer and employee not to report or to supply a false or incomplete report. Section 1088.8(e) applies $24 and $490 to contractor reports. California's conspiracy figure is $490, slightly below the federal cap of $500.

Rehires, acquisitions and seasonal returns

California defines a rehire in statute: an employee who previously worked for you but had been separated for at least 60 consecutive days. The EDD's FAQ adds two situations that trip up growing employers:

• Buying a business: if you acquire an ongoing business and employ any of the former owner's workers, they are new hires and should be reported.
• Changing entity type: moving from sole proprietorship to partnership or corporation does not require reporting workers who keep working for you.

Seasonal agricultural, packing and retail staff who return after a separation of at least 60 consecutive days need a new DE 34. Our rehire policy guide covers the HR side.

Multistate employers

Employers hiring in more than one state can choose to report all new employees electronically to one state where they have employees, after notifying the federal Office of Child Support Services. The parent guide explains the registration. That option does not extend to contractor reporting.

Hiring in California

New hire reporting is the simplest item on California's hiring list. Our California labor laws guide covers the conviction-history, pay transparency and meal-break rules, and the California minimum wage page tracks the state and local rates. Every hire needs a Form I-9, and California restricts how E-Verify can be used (E-Verify requirements by state).

Boostpoint runs Facebook and Instagram job ads for hourly roles in healthcare, logistics, food production and hospitality. Across our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta), the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant. That is advertising cost only, and the benchmark has no state breakdown.

California new hire forms: the full set

The DE 34 is the employer's report to the state. The new hire packet around it is long, because several California statutes require a written notice to each new employee rather than only a poster on the wall. These are the forms and notices required for a typical hourly California hire, each checked at the statute or the issuing agency on 29 September 2026.

The three items most often missing from a California packet

The DE 4. Since January 1, 2020 the federal W-4 is used for federal withholding only, and the EDD's form says an employee must file the DE 4 to set California withholding. A new hire who never returns one is withheld on as Single with zero allowances.

The Labor Code 2810.5 notice. It is a written notice given at the time of hiring, in the language you normally use to communicate employment information to that employee, covering the pay rate and basis including overtime rates, any meal or lodging allowances, the regular payday, the employer's legal and doing-business-as names, address and phone number, the workers' compensation carrier's name, address and phone number, and the employee's paid sick leave rights. The Labor Commissioner publishes a template. Employees exempt from overtime, public employees and employees under a qualifying collective bargaining agreement are outside the section, so for most hourly hires it applies.

The Workplace Know Your Rights notice. Labor Code 1553, part of the Workplace Know Your Rights Act, requires a stand-alone written notice to each current employee by February 1 each year, and its subdivision (a) also says: "The written notice shall also be provided to each new employee upon hire." It describes rights including workers' compensation, notice of immigration inspections, protection against unfair immigration-related practices, the right to organize, and constitutional rights when dealing with law enforcement at work. The Labor Commissioner provides a template notice under Labor Code 1554.

The EDD also requires a workplace poster (Notice to Employees, DE 1857A or its variants), listed on its required notices and pamphlets page; that is a posting duty rather than a hire form. For the company-side items (direct deposit, emergency contacts, handbook), see our new hire forms checklist, and for E-Verify and I-9 rules see Form I-9 requirements. Wage, break and sick leave rules are on California labor laws.

Frequently asked questions