UNITED STATES RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD - 1 

Program

Letter

 United States

 Railroad Retirement Board

 Office of Programs

Quality Reporting Service Center

E-Mail: QRSC@rrb.gov 

Phone: (312) 751-4992

 Fax: (312) 751-7123

Letter No. 2014-05 Date: August 29, 2014

 [Revised: March 7, 2018] 

TO: Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT: Elimination of the Use of Paper Forms 

BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments 

BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report 

BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings 

Please distribute this notice to all individuals within your organization who may need the 

information in connection with their work. 

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is eliminating the use of the following three paper

reporting forms used by employers covered under the Railroad Retirement (RRA) and Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance (RUIA) Acts effective January 1, 2015; 

• BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments;

• BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report; and

• BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings

Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments, is used when service and/or 

compensation earned by an employee was omitted or incorrectly reported on a previously filed 

Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation. This report is filed as needed.

Form BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report, is used to submit the address information for newly 

hired employees. If a company has no new hires, no address report is necessary. The records are 

maintained for the purpose of mailing to the employee Form BA-6, Certificate of Service 

Months and Compensation. This report is due by April 1 of each year. 

Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings, is used to report the actual gross earnings of a sample 

group of covered employees with Social Security Numbers ending in “30”. The data collected in 

the gross earnings is used to estimate future tax income and to compute taxes owed for the 

financial interchange between the Railroad Retirement and Social Security/Medicare programs. 

This report is due by the end of February of each year. 
UNITED STATES RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD - 2 

Annual service and compensation reports are to be filed through the Employer Reporting System 

(ERSNet) or through an RRB-approved automated process. So the elimination of the use of 

the paper form does not affect employers that currently file reports via the other RRB approved 

automated processes. You can continue to file your reports using the following methods: 

• CD-ROM

• Secure E-mail

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

However, if you previously filed your service and compensation reports on paper, you should now 

begin using ERSNet. 

The current forms available to users via ERSNet are as follows: 

• BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation

• BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments

• BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report

• BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings

• G-88A.1, Request for Verification of Date Last Worked

• G-88A.2, Notice of Retirement & Request for Service Needed for Eligibility

• GL-129a, Record of Employer Determination on Employee Protest of Service and

Compensation

• Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determination

• Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employees Applications and Claims for Benefits

under the RUIA

• ID-6, Monthly Report of Tier I Tax Transactions

• ID-6Y, Annual Summary of Tier I Tax Transactions

• ID-40Q, Quarterly Notice to Employers - RUIA

• ID-40R/S, Annual Notice to Employers - RUIA

To apply for access to the ERSNet system, please do the following:

• Read the Security Guidelines which explains your responsibilities as a user of the ERSNet

system in either the Rail Employer or Labor Employer Reporting Instructions.

• File Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access. Complete Sections

A, B, C, D, and F, then have the designated employee sign Item 5 in Section B. The

certification in Section E must be completed by an official of the company who has

authority to sign official RRB forms. If you have signature authority, sign the certification.

Otherwise, the company president and those persons designated on the Form G-117A,

Designation of Contact Official, are assumed to have signature authority. All employer

forms can be accessed on the RRB website at https://www.rrb.gov/Employers/Forms.

Within three to five days of receipt of an acceptable application, the RRB will mail your user ID 

and password along with instructions for accessing the site. To deter fraudulent use of ERSNet, 

the Form BA-12 cannot be completed or filed on our website as original signatures (no 

reproductions) are needed. The completed Form BA-12 must be transmitted by U.S. or express 

mail carrier. For security reasons, facsimiles are not acceptable. 
UNITED STATES RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD - 3 

For more information about applying for access and using ERSNet, access Part VIII 

“Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions” located in the Rail Employer 

Reporting Instructions or Labor Employer Reporting Instructions. You may also contact 

the Quality Reporting Service Center (QRSC) at the telephone number and e-mail address shown 

above. 

Attachment: Form BA-12, Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access

###
Form BA-12 (11-17)

Application for Employer Reporting Internet Access

General Instructions – This form may be used by employers covered under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Acts to add, modify, or terminate employee access to the Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) 

Employer Reporting System (ERSNet). You may request system access for one or more employees, and you may 

authorize different levels of access for each employee. You may also request that an individual employee file online 

reports on behalf of one or more subsidiary or affiliate employers. In each case, your employees must certify that they will 

adhere to the RRB’s security guidelines, which include the use of an authoritative electronic signature. The Security 

Guidelines are under Part VIII, Chapter 8 of the Reporting Instructions on the RRB’s website. 

• To request new or modified system access, complete the entire form.

• To terminate an employee’s access, complete only Sections A, B(1-4), D1, and E.

Making representations on this form to gain unauthorized access to the RRB Employer Reporting System or 

using an authorized access for fraudulent purposes is a violation of federal law punishable by fine, 

imprisonment, or both.

We estimate this form takes an average of 10 to 20 minutes per response to complete, including the time needed for 

reviewing the instructions, getting the needed data, and reviewing the completed form. Federal agencies may not conduct 

or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB 

number. If you wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimate or any other aspect of this form, including 

suggestions for reducing the completion time, to: Associate Chief Information Officer for Policy and Compliance, Railroad 

Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611-1275.

Section A Employer Information

In this section, enter the BA number, name, and address of the employer whose reports will be accessed online.

Special Instructions to Request Access on Behalf of Multiple Employers – If you are requesting the same level of 

access for the employee listed in Section B on behalf of multiple employers, list all affected BA numbers in Item 1. If you 

are requesting different levels of access for this employee for different employers, file a separate application for each 

level of access.

1. BA Number(s):

2. Name and Address of Employer – If you are requesting access on behalf of multiple employers, provide only the

name and address of the employer serving as primary contact for this account.

Section B Employee Information

1. Name:

2. Title 3. Telephone Number

( )

4. E-Mail Address

5. I have read the document "Security Guidelines" and agree to comply with these guidelines. I understand that my

logon, if used to file forms, has the same status as my signature on a paper document. I also understand that

providing false or fraudulent information through the RRB Employer Reporting System is a violation of federal law

punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.

Signature: _____________________________________________________ Date: _______________________

United States of America

Railroad Retirement Board

Form Approved 

OMB No. 3220-0008

ATTACHMENT
Page 2 Form BA-12 (11-17)

Section C Group or Section E-Mail Address to Receive Notices

Complete this section only if you prefer to designate a group or section e-mail address as the default address for RRB 

work notices, rather than the e-mail address listed in Section B above. 

1. Default E-Mail Address:

2. If you have more than one group or section e-mail address, number each address and specify here which forms or

group of forms are associated with each address.

Section D Requested Action and Level of Access

1. Action (check appropriate box) Add New User Modify Access Terminate Access

2. Explanation of the Levels of Access Used in Section F on the next page.

R Reader User can only view the forms. Restricts access to “read only.”

U Updater User has access to complete or “update” a form that changes the RRB's record of service and 

compensation. User cannot submit the form to the RRB without authorization.

A Approver User has access to approve, update, certify and submit forms to the RRB. Level “A” access is 

appropriate for personnel who work independently and supervisory approval is not needed.

X Terminate User is prohibited from access to ERSNet or a particular form.

For additional information on levels of access, see Part VIII, Chapter 2 of the Reporting Instructions.

Section E Certification of Authority to Approve Access

The form must be signed by an official with signature authority to sign RRB forms for the employer(s) listed in Section A. 

Signatures of two individuals are not required if the employee listed in Section B has authority to sign RRB forms. The 

head of the company and those persons designated on Form G-117A, Designation of Contact Official, have signature 

authority. A contact official may assign signature authority to a designee, but the RRB will verify with the contact official 

any signatures other than those of a contact official.

1. Name (Print) 2. Title 3. Telephone Number

( )

4. I have signature authority to approve this request and authorize the RRB to grant access as indicated above. I

understand that I am responsible for notifying the RRB if, in the future, this individual's access should be terminated.

Signature: _____________________________________________________ Date: _____________________

Questions? Please contact the System Administrator at (312) 751-4961 or the Quality Reporting Service Center at (312) 751-4992.

Mail this completed application to: Quality Reporting Service Center

Railroad Retirement Board

844 N. Rush Street

Chicago, IL 60611-1275

For RRB Use: Access _______________________________ Reviewed by: __________________________________________

Continued on Next Page
Page 3 Form BA-12 (11-17)

Section F Forms and Levels of Access

Check one box for each form. Note: Employee’s level of access will apply for all employers listed in Section A.1.

Form BA-3, Annual Report of Creditable Compensation R U A X 

Form BA-4, Report of Creditable Compensation Adjustments R U A X 

Form BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report A X

Form BA-11, Report of Gross Earnings R U A X 

Form G-73a.1, Notice of Death of Railroad Retirement Annuitant R X

Form G-88A.1, Request for Verification of Last Date Carried on Payroll R U A X 

Form G-88A.2, Notice of Retirement and Request for Service Needed for 

Eligibility R U A X 

Form G-88P, Employer’s Supplemental Pension Report R U A X

Form GL-129a, Record of Employer Determination on Employee Protest of 

Service and Compensation A X 

Form ID-3s, Request for Lien Information; Report of Settlement A X

Form ID-3u, Request for Section 2(f) Information A X

Form ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim Determinations R A X

Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employees' Applications and Claims for 

Benefits under RUIA R A X

Form ID-6, Report of Tier I Tax Transactions R X

Form ID-6Y, Annual Summary of Tier I Tax Transactions R X

Form ID-30b, Notice of Lien R X

Form ID-40Q, Quarterly Notice to Employers – Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Act R X

Form ID-40R/S, Annual Notice to Employers – Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Act and Annual Proclamation R X

Form RL-5a, Notice to Employer of Annuity Award R X

Form SI-5F (SUP), Status Report – Personal Injury Claims R A X