Employer guideRead at source September 28, 2026

Maryland New Hire Reporting: Deadline, Required Items and How to File (2026)

Maryland employers must report each new or rehired employee within 20 days of their first day of work to the Maryland State Directory of New Hires, online or by fax or mail. Maryland requires more than the federal list, including starting wage, health insurance availability and the state UI account number. Contractors are not required, and after a written warning the penalty is $20 per month of violation ($500 for conspiracy).

Maryland new hire reporting at a glance

Maryland asks for more than the federal minimum and handles penalties in two steps: a warning first, then a monthly charge. Both are covered below. For the federal baseline and other states, see the new hire reporting requirements guide.

Maryland's nine required items

Section 8-626.1(b) lists what the employing unit must submit:

• 1. the employee's Social Security number;
• 2. the employee's name;
• 3. the employee's address;
• 4. the date of employment;
• 5. the employing unit's name and address;
• 6. the employee's starting wage;
• 7. whether the employee has health insurance provided by the employing unit;
• 8. the federal employer identification number; and
• 9. the State unemployment insurance account number.

Items 6, 7 and 9 go beyond the federal list. The Directory's guide describes them as salary and pay frequency, availability of medical benefits, and the Maryland unemployment insurance number (SUI). Its paper form asks for salary in dollars and cents with an hourly, monthly or yearly box, and a yes or no on whether health care benefits are available. Employee date of birth, employer phone, fax, contact name and email are optional on the form.

Filing with the Maryland State Directory of New Hires

The Directory portal accepts reports entered online or uploaded as a file, and the Directory will set up automatic file transfer for high-volume filers. Payroll service providers, CPAs and service bureaus reporting for clients must contact the Directory before submitting, because their registration process is different. On paper, fax or mail the Maryland new hire reporting form, a W-4, or another list that includes every required item:

• Mail: Maryland State Directory of New Hires, P.O. Box 1316, Baltimore, MD 21203-1316
• Fax: 888-657-3534 or 410-281-6004

A W-4 on its own will usually be short of the starting wage, health insurance answer and SUI number, so add them or use the state form.

How Maryland counts the 20 days

The statute defines "date of employment" as the date on which an employee commences working for an employing unit, and requires the report within 20 days of the employee's beginning employment. The Directory's guide puts it as 20 days after the employee is hired, re-hired or returns to work. If you report electronically twice a month, the statute requires the transmissions to be not less than 12 or more than 16 days apart.

The Directory itself names a common failure: new hires often begin working before they are entered in payroll or HR systems, and if the delay is long enough, the report is generated before their record exists and they are missed. For frontline employers with rolling start dates, the fix is to trigger the report from the first worked shift, not from payroll setup.

Contractors and household workers

Maryland does not require independent contractor reporting. The federal OCSS state contact guide (Maryland entry updated May 27, 2026) says legislation to mandate it has not passed. The Directory's guide still says it is highly recommended that employers report contractors with a copy of the W-9 or 1099.

The Directory adds a threshold for domestic workers: they must be reported if they make more than $1,000 within a calendar quarter. It also says sole proprietors do not need to report themselves, a spouse, their children under 21 or their parents.

Penalties: a warning, then a monthly charge

Under § 8-626.1(d), an employing unit that fails to report:

• gets a written warning for the first violation;
• is then subject to a civil penalty of $20 for each month in which a subsequent violation occurs, or $500 if the failure results from a conspiracy between employer and employee not to report or to report falsely, unless the penalty is waived for cause.

The statute also says all violations occurring in a single month for the same employing unit count as a single violation, and an assessment becomes final unless the employer applies for a hearing within 15 days after it is mailed. The Directory's own penalties page describes the fine as $20 per newly hired employee, but the statute's per-month wording is the controlling text.

Rehires and returning seasonal staff

The Directory's guide covers employees who return after being laid off, furloughed, separated, granted leave without pay or terminated for 60 days, and employees who stayed on the payroll through a break in service or gap in pay and return after 60 days, naming teachers, substitutes and seasonal workers. Temporary agencies report a worker once, and again after a break of 60 days or more.

Summer and holiday staff at shore towns, distribution centers and retailers will usually clear 60 days between seasons. Our rehire policy guide covers the rest of the return process.

Multistate employers

The statute lets an employing unit with employees in two or more states that transmits electronically designate one state to receive its reports, provided it gives Maryland the name of that state. The federal registration steps are on the parent page.

Hiring in Maryland

Our Maryland labor laws guide covers the state's pay transparency law, ban-the-box rule and minor work permits, and the Maryland minimum wage page has the state and county rates. Every hire needs a Form I-9; Maryland does not require private employers to use E-Verify (E-Verify requirements by state).

Boostpoint runs Facebook and Instagram job ads for hourly roles in healthcare, warehousing, hospitality and the trades. Our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta) found a median campaign cost of $13.88 per applicant. That is advertising cost, not cost per hire, and it is not split by state.

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