Employer guideRead at source September 28, 2026
Montana New Hire Reporting: Deadline, What to Report and How to File (2026)
Montana employers must report each new or rehired employee within 20 days of the date of hire, counted from the first day of work the employee is owed pay for, under MCA 40-5-922. File online through the DPHHS New Hire Reporting Program (NHRP) app, the Montana File Transfer Service, fax, mail, or by phone for one to four hires. Independent contractors are not reportable, a returning worker is a new report only after a separation of more than 60 consecutive days, and Montana publishes no penalty.
Montana runs its program through the Child Support Services Division of the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), and the rules sit in MCA 40-5-922. The deadline is the federal one. The details that matter are a short list of practical rules, including a written 60-day rehire test and a re-reporting duty when your FEIN changes. For the federal framework and every other state, see our new hire reporting requirements guide.
Montana new hire reporting at a glance
| Deadline | Within 20 days of the date of hire or rehire; electronic reports may go twice monthly, 12 to 16 days apart (MCA 40-5-922) |
|---|---|
| Who must report | Every employer doing business in Montana, for each employee hired or rehired to whom it anticipates paying income |
| What to report | Employee full legal name, date of hire, SSN, and mailing and home address; employer FEIN, business name and address |
| How to file | Online through the New Hire Reporting Program (NHRP) app with an Okta account, the Montana File Transfer Service, fax, mail, or phone for 1 to 4 hires |
| Independent contractors | Not required |
| Penalty | None in MCA 40-5-922 or on the DPHHS pages |
| Agency and phone | DPHHS Child Support Services Division, New Hire Reporting Program: (888) 866-0327 or (406) 444-9290 |
One address check before you mail anything
On September 28, 2026 the Montana entry in the federal Office of Child Support Services state contact guide (updated September 24, 2026) listed a website and PO box belonging to another state’s new hire center. The Montana phone and fax numbers in that entry match DPHHS, but for paper reports use the Montana address below, taken from the DPHHS guide and form.
Required and optional fields in Montana
The Montana employer guide splits the report into two tiers. Required:
- Employer: Federal Employer Identification Number, business name, business address
- Employee: full legal name, date of hire, Social Security number, and both a mailing and a home address
Encouraged but optional: work and fax numbers for the employer; home or cell and work phone for the employee; state of hire; date of birth; and whether health insurance is available. The statute lets the report include the date the employee becomes eligible for coverage where the plan extends to children.
Asking for both a mailing and a home address is a Montana detail worth noting, since many onboarding forms collect only one. The paper form also tells employers to report online instead when the business address is outside the United States or the individual has no Montana address.
Filing a Montana report
DPHHS prefers the two electronic routes:
- Online: the New Hire Reporting Program (NHRP) application, reached through a free Okta account. Do not use punctuation in entries; the state says it causes errors.
- Montana File Transfer Service: for files built from the state’s Excel template or ASCII layout, and for scanned reports. Name files with your company name and the date, for example CompanyNameMMDDYYYY. The state asks employers not to email new hire reports; scanned or electronic reports go through this service instead.
Paper remains available. Fax the Montana New Hire Reporting Form or a copy of the W-4 to (888) 272-1990 or (406) 444-0745, or mail a report to Montana New Hire Reporting Program, PO Box 8013, Helena, MT 59604-8013. Employers with one to four new hires may report by phone at (888) 866-0327 or (406) 444-9290, including by voicemail with the required information.
When Montana’s 20 days start
Montana’s definitions section, MCA 40-5-901, sets the date of hire as the first day an employee starts work for which the employee is owed compensation. Written reports are due within 20 days of the date of hire or rehire; electronic or magnetic reports may be sent in two transmissions a month, 12 to 16 days apart.
That definition is what protects employers whose start dates move. A cook scheduled for Monday who first works Thursday has a Thursday hire date. The risk runs the other way when an HR system stores the planned date and nobody updates it, so the report is dated three days before the first paid shift. DPHHS also treats an FEIN change as a new hire: when employees start being paid under a new FEIN, report each of them with the first day under the new number as the hire date.
Contractors, temps and hiring halls
Montana does not require independent contractor reporting. The DPHHS guide says the employer first decides whether an employer-employee relationship exists; if the work is performed under a contract instead, no report is needed, and the contractor reports his or her own employees. A staffing agency that pays the worker’s wages must report; one that only refers people does not. Labor organizations and hiring halls report individuals who work directly for them.
Penalties
Montana publishes none. MCA 40-5-922 sets the duty but contains no fine, and the DPHHS program pages and employer guide do not describe one. That does not make the report optional; it is still required by state and federal law, and a late record is a delayed match against a child support order.
The 60-day rule for rehires and seasonal crews
Montana writes its threshold down. The DPHHS FAQ says a rehired employee is reported only if separated for more than 60 consecutive days, and MCA 40-5-901 says a termination does not include temporary separations of less than 60 days, such as unpaid medical leave, an unpaid leave of absence, or a temporary or seasonal layoff. On-call employees are reported within 20 days as new hires, and again when they return after a 60-day separation.
Two further rules from DPHHS catch high-turnover employers. Someone who quits or is let go before the report is filed must still be reported, and a rehire is reported with the rehire date as the date of hire. For a ranch, resort or construction crew that returns each spring, the 60-day test decides which returning workers are new reports.
Reporting from more than one state
A multistate employer that files electronically may send every report to one state after giving written or electronic notice to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The DPHHS guide lists what HHS asks for, including the FEIN, the chosen state and the states where you have employees. The national new hire reporting guide covers when that trade is worth making.
Hiring in Montana
For break, overtime and final pay rules, see Montana labor laws; for the wage floor, see the Montana minimum wage page. The Form I-9 deadline and our new hire forms checklist cover the rest of the first-week paperwork. Boostpoint runs social job ads for frontline roles; in our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 Boostpoint-managed campaigns on Meta) the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant, with no state breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
How long do employers have to report new hires in Montana?
Twenty days from the date of hire or rehire under MCA 40-5-922. The date of hire is the first day the employee starts work for which the employee is owed compensation. Employers that report electronically may instead send two transmissions a month, not less than 12 or more than 16 days apart.
Where do I report new hires in Montana?
To the DPHHS Child Support Services Division. The preferred routes are the online New Hire Reporting Program app, reached with an Okta account, and the Montana File Transfer Service. You can also fax (888) 272-1990 or (406) 444-0745, mail PO Box 8013, Helena, MT 59604-8013, or phone (888) 866-0327 if you have one to four hires.
Does Montana require reporting independent contractors?
No. DPHHS says that if the work is performed under a contract rather than an employer-employee relationship, no new hire report is required, and the contractor reports his or her own employees. The federal Office of Child Support Services state contact guide also lists no contractor requirement for Montana.
Do I have to report rehired employees in Montana?
Only if the employee was separated for more than 60 consecutive days. Montana law says temporary separations of less than 60 days, such as unpaid medical leave, an unpaid leave of absence or a temporary or seasonal layoff, do not count as a termination. When a rehire is reportable, use the rehire date as the date of hire.
What is the penalty for not reporting a new hire in Montana?
Montana publishes none. MCA 40-5-922 sets the reporting duty without a fine, and the DPHHS new hire pages and employer guide do not describe a penalty. The report is still required by state and federal law, and late reports delay child support matches.
Do I need to re-report employees if my FEIN changes in Montana?
Yes. DPHHS says that when a business's FEIN changes and employees are paid under the new number, the employer must submit a new hire report for each employee, using the first day the employee started working under the new FEIN as the date of hire. Ownership changes and restructurings are the usual trigger.
Seasonal hiring in Montana moves fast
Spring crews, summer staff and year-round hourly roles all end up on the same 20-day list. If you need more applicants for the Montana roles you rehire every year, talk to Boostpoint about social job ads built for frontline hiring.
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