Nebraska File Format for Employers

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) / Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Transactions

1. Your company transmits the payment and remittance information to your financial institution. The data is typically transferred via modem to your financial institution (ACH credit).
2. Your financial institution creates the ACH entries required to transfer child support withholdings via the ACH network to the financial institution that the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center uses to collect the funds.
3. The Nebraska Child Support Payment Center (NCSPC) will electronically collect your information and funds for processing.

Implementation of EFT/EDI

To implement EFT/EDI, your payroll system or other computer system must be able to create the data structure to build the ACH file you will transfer to your financial institution. The Task Force on Electronic Child Support Payments: A Guide for Employers and Their Financial Institutions prescribes the appropriate formats and standards for transmitting EFT/EDI child support withholdings.

You can order this publication from the National Automated Clearinghouse Association (NACHA) by calling 703-742-9190 or via the web at http://ecsp.nacha.org (opens in new window)

Attached, you will find materials adapted from this guide. There are software applications that accommodate the required data (your existing payroll system may already offer this function). You can also contact your financial institution regarding available ACH software.

Contact your financial institution to determine its capabilities and requirements. In most instances, your financial institution is already accustomed to receiving and sending EFT/EDI transmissions. Complete an agreement with your financial institution that authorizes you to transfer EFT/EDI child support withholdings to the NCSPC.

NACHA Record Format for Employers Withholding Child Support Payment

The following record formats are necessary to send EFT transactions over the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network:

• File Header Record
• Company/Batch Header Record
• Entry Detail Record
• Addenda Record - this is the record that contains the payment information
• Company/Batch Control Header
• File Control Record

The ACH starts with a File Header Record and ends with a File Control Record. The file may contain one or more unique batches each starting with a Company Batch Header Record and ending with a Company Batch Control Record. Your company can send multiple batches in the same file. This gives you the opportunity to group your transactions by division, location payroll frequency, etc.

The heart of the ACH file consists of the Entry Detail Record and the Addenda Record. The Entry Detail Record contains the information necessary to transfer the funds from your financial institution to the NCSPC's financial institution.

The Addenda Record is used to supply information about your employee and how to apply the child support payment.

There are two types of Entry Detail Record that your company can use: "CCD+" or "CTX, 820"

Please check with your financial institution to see if it supports both types.

For specific information on the CTX 820 Transaction Set, please refer to: Child Support User Guide (opens in new window)

Attachment A: CCD+ Record Layout Information

Entry Flow

When using the CCD+ Record Layout, employers should ensure that entries flow in the following order:

• File Header Record
  • Company/Batch Header Record
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record (1 addenda with 80 byte payment related information field)
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record (1 addenda with 80 byte payment related information field)
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record (1 addenda with 80 byte payment related information field)
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record (1 addenda with 80 byte payment related information field)
  • Company/Batch Control Record
• File Control Record

Entry Detail Record Layout

Legend: M = Mandatory for ACH; R = Required for this application; O = Optional for ACH, but may be required by the state child support agency

Attachment B: CTX820 Record Layout Information

Entry Flow

When using the CTX820 Record Layout, employers should ensure that entries flow in the following order:

• File Header Record
  • Company/Batch Header Record
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record (up to 9,999 addenda with 80 byte payment related information)
      • Addenda Record
      • Addenda Record
      • Addenda Record
    • Entry Detail Record
      • Addenda Record
      • Addenda Record
      • Addenda Record
      • Addenda Record
  • Company/Batch Control Record
• File Control Record

Entry Detail Record Layout (CTX820)

Legend: M = Mandatory for ACH; R = Required for this application; O = Optional for ACH, but may be required by the state child support agency

Attachment C: Addenda Record Layout

Legend: M = Mandatory for ACH; R = Required for this application; O = Optional for ACH, but may be required by the state child support agency

The remittance information for each payment is within this field, which is presented in the banking convention as described within the "CCD+ DED Child Support Segment/Convention for Employers" section of this attachment.

The payment information is a REQUIRED field for each support withholding.

Each element (DEDOX) occupies a specific position within the record segment and is identified by a unique identifier. In constructing the record segment, each data element is preceded by the separator character. The ACH Network requires that an asterisk (*) be used as the data element separator. Each segment must end with a terminator, which for the ACH Network is a backslash (\).

DED Segment Example

The following is an example of the Deduction Data (DED) Segment as used in the Payment Related Information segment of the Support Payment addenda record:

(Note the use of the "*" and the "\")

Example:

Definition of Elements

DED01 - Application Identifier

Always enter the fixed value of "CS" in this field. This is a mandatory field.

DED02 - Application Identifier - Case Number

13 character number usually begins with CA2. If the case number does not begin with CA2, do not include hyphens or slashes. This is a mandatory field.

DED03 - Payment Date

This is the date that your company will deduct the support funds from the employee's pay. This date must be equal to or prior to the date that the EFT transaction reaches the NCSPC. Please note that the date is expressed in this format: Year, Month, and Day (YYMMDD). This is a mandatory field.

DED04 - Payment Amount

This is the amount that your company is withholding from an employee in compliance with an income withholding notice or order. The decimal point is implied to be the last two positions of the number shown. Do not include a decimal point (leading zeros are optional). This is a mandatory field.
Example: $135.00 would appear as *13500* or *0000013500*

DED05 - Parent Paying - SSN

This is the line position. This field is the employee's Social Security Number. This is a mandatory field.

DED06 - Medical Support Indicator

A "Y" in this field indicates that the employee has family medical coverage available through your company. Please note the questions are "Does your company offer family medical coverage?" and not "Does the employee have family medical coverage?" If there is no medical coverage available through your company, place an "N" in this field. This is a mandatory field.

DED07 - Name of Parent Paying

This is the employee's name. The format is last name, first name. The length of the field is from one to ten positions long. Do not enter more than ten positions even if you do not have enough room for the full name. Include a comma between the last name and the first name when the last name is less than seven characters. In most cases you will not be able to fit the full name in this field. This is a required field.
Examples:

• Jennifer Smith would appear as *SMITH,JENN*
• Henry Jackson would appear as *JACKSON,HE*
• Susan Hilgenbrandt would appear as *HILGENBRAN*

DED08 - FIPS Code

Always enter the fixed value of "31000" in this field for the Nebraska child support payments. This is a required field.

DED09 - Employment Termination Indicator

Enter "Y" in this field if the employee is no longer employed at your company, or if this is the last pay period that the employee will be employed at your company. Please do not enter "Y" in this field when an employee is laid off or on temporary leave. This is an optional field.

Contact Information

Questions should be directed to NCSPC Customer Support:

• Phone: 1-877-631-9973
• Email: nst.employer@nebraska.gov