Employer guideRead at source September 28, 2026

Kentucky New Hire Reporting: Deadline, What to Report and How to File (2026)

Kentucky employers must report new, rehired and returning employees within 20 days under KRS 405.435, to the Kentucky New Hire Reporting Center online at ky-newhire.com or by fax or mail (PO Box 21, Ridgeland, MS 39158 since August 2025). Independent contractors are not required. The $250 per month fine applies only after two written notices and only where employer and employee conspired.

Kentucky new hire reporting at a glance

Two Kentucky details matter. The program now sits under the Office of the Attorney General, and the Center moved its mailing address in 2025, so older instructions, including some federal listings, point to a box that no longer applies. The national new hire reporting requirements guide covers the federal baseline; this page covers what Kentucky adds.

Kentucky's new hire data elements

KRS 405.435(2) lists what the report must contain: the employee's name, address and Social Security number; the employer's name, address and, if assigned, its federal and state employer identification numbers; and the date services for remuneration were first performed. The Center's reporting guide spells the fields out:

Use the same FEIN you use on quarterly wage reports. The Center notes that wage-report data reaches the state two to six months after the date of hire, which is why the separate 20-day report exists at all.

Where and how to file in Kentucky

Online filing runs through the Kentucky New Hire Reporting Center. The Center offers three electronic routes: keying reports in one at a time, uploading a file (aimed at service bureaus and employers with many hires), or automated secure file transfer, which you set up by calling 800-817-2262.

On paper, KRS 405.435(3) lets you send a copy of the employee's W-4 or the Attorney General's equivalent form. The current Kentucky New Hire Reporting Form (Rev. 2026) can be photocopied and completed by the employee during onboarding. Fax to 800-817-0099 or mail to:

Kentucky New Hire Reporting Center, PO Box 21, Ridgeland, MS 39158

When the 20 days start in Kentucky

The statute's clock runs from "the hiring or return to work of the employee." The date you report is the date services for remuneration were first performed, and the Center's form puts it the same way: the date services are first performed for pay. For an hourly hire that means the first paid shift, not the date the offer letter was signed.

Start dates slip in frontline hiring, and Kentucky's rule accounts for people who barely start. The Center says that if you paid any wages to an employee, they must be reported, even if they worked a couple of hours or days and quit. Electronic filers with a registered multistate setup may send reports twice a month, 12 to 16 days apart.

Independent contractors

Kentucky does not require contractor reporting. The federal guide lists Kentucky as "No," and KRS 405.435 speaks only of employees. The Center still says it is highly recommended that employers report independent contractors by sending a copy of the W-9 or 1099, and gives domestic workers such as childcare workers, maids and gardeners as common examples.

The Kentucky penalty, read closely

Payroll summaries often list Kentucky as "$250 per failure." KRS 405.435 is narrower than that. The steps are:

• First notice: if an employer fails to report, the Attorney General's office sends written notice of the requirement and the penalty (subsection 7).
• Second notice: if no report is filed within 20 days of that notice, a second written notice follows (subsection 8).
• Fine: if the W-4 or equivalent still is not filed within 20 days of the second notice, or a false or incomplete report is supplied, and the failure results from a conspiracy between the employee and the employer, the office sends a certified-mail notice of an administrative fine of $250 per calendar month per person, running until the form is received (subsection 9).
• Limits and appeal: no fine is imposed for any period of less than one full calendar month (subsection 9), and the employer has 10 days after receiving the fine notice to request a hearing (subsection 10).

An honest late report is therefore handled by notices, not an automatic fine. The fine is real but reserved for collusion after two warnings.

Rehires, furloughs and seasonal returns

The statute's list of returning workers is broad: an employee who has been laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay, or terminated, and then is rehired or permitted to return to work. The Center's guide and the state form apply a 60-day threshold. The guide says to report employees who return after one of those events after 60 days, including anyone who stayed on the payroll during a break in service or gap in pay, and names teachers, substitutes and seasonal workers. Temporary agencies report a worker once, not for every client, and again after a break of 60 days or more.

If you run seasonal crews or recall people after a layoff, build the report into the recall process rather than relying on payroll to catch it. Our rehire policy guide covers the rest of that process.

Multistate employers

The Center recommends that employers with staff in several states consider registering as a multistate employer with the federal Office of Child Support Services. Once registered, reports for all employees may be sent electronically twice a month, 12 to 16 days apart, to the one chosen state. The parent guide has the registration steps.

Hiring in Kentucky

The report is one line on a longer checklist. Our Kentucky labor laws guide covers breaks, proof of age for minors and final pay, and the Kentucky minimum wage page has the current rate. Every hire needs a Form I-9; Kentucky does not require private employers to use E-Verify (see E-Verify requirements by state).

Boostpoint runs Facebook and Instagram job ads for hourly roles in healthcare, logistics, manufacturing and the trades. In our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta), the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant. That is advertising cost, not cost per hire, and the data is not broken out by state.

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