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) 751-7190

Letter No. 2023-05 Date: 06/15/23

TO: Certification Contact Officials

SUBJECT: Service & Compensation Reporting Instructions for Employers with 

Canadian Employees Without a U. S. Social Security Number

Please share this information with the appropriate members of your staff who file

service and compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this program letter is to instruct employers on how to complete Form BA-3, 

Annual Report(s) of Creditable Compensation, Form BA-4, Report of Creditable 

Compensation Adjustment and Form G-440, Report Specifications Sheet for Canadian 

employees who do not have a United States (U.S.) social security number (SSN). This program 

letter replaces PL 2005-05. Please disregard information in that letter. The record formatting is 

outdated, and we no longer accept paper BA-3s/BA-4s. Use the information in this letter to 

report service and compensation for Canadian employees.

BACKGROUND 

The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has experienced difficulties in recording and 

documenting earnings data for Canadian employees who reside in Canada and do not have a 

valid U.S. SSN but perform service in the U.S. for an employer covered under the Railroad 

Retirement Act (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). The problem 

exists because Canadian employees cannot receive an SSN due to policy changes by the Social 

Security Administration in 1996. 

IMPORTANT REPORTING NOTICE 

As of 2005, employers can no longer report service and compensation to the RRB using 

pseudo numbers (i.e. numbers beginning with “999” or “000” plus the payroll number) for 

Canadian employees without a valid U.S. SSN. Employers are required to either report service 

and compensation for a Canadian employee by using a valid U.S. SSN as required by law or a 

Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN). Employers should only use the Canadian SIN if the 

employee does not have an authorized U.S. SSN. 
Employers should file reports for Canadian employees with a valid U.S. SSN in accordance 

with the Rail Employer Reporting Instructions (RERI) manual. Instructions on how to report 

earnings to the RRB in the various media formats for employees who do not have a valid U.S. 

SSN are explained below. 

ELECTRONIC FILING FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS

To ensure proper crediting of service and compensation for Canadian employees who do not 

have U.S. SSNs, please take the following action: 

Annual (Form BA-3): 

• Enter the Canadian SIN in record positions 21-29 instead of the SSN. 

• Enter ***** in record positions 118-122 instead of the daily pay rate. 

• Leave record positions 146-300 blank instead of inputting the Canadian employee’s 

address. Use a separate Canadian address record file format to provide their addresses. 

This file format is available upon request from the Quality Reporting Service Center.

Adjustment (Form BA-4): 

• Enter the Canadian SIN in record positions 21-29 instead of the SSN. 

• Enter ***** in record positions 118-122 instead of the daily pay rate. 

Accompanying Form (Form G-440): 

• Complete all sections of the G-440, Report Specifications Sheet in the usual manner. 

• Enter in the Remarks Section of the Form G-440 in Red Ink & Bold Print the following: 

“Report Includes Canadian Social Insurance Numbers.” 

FURTHER FILING INSTRUCTIONS (ERSNet)

Employers MAY file service and compensation reports for Canadian employees through the 

Employer Reporting System (ERS). 

When filling in an individual’s service and compensation information manually: 

• Enter Canadian SIN in place of U.S. SSN.

• Ensure “Not U.S. SSN” checkbox is marked. 

Employers can also upload a text file that includes Canadians to the site using the file format 

instructions in this program letter. 

Employers may NOT use the BA-6a to report Canadian addresses. For the correct Canadian 

address record file format, contact the Quality Reporting Service Center.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

We encourage employers to submit their service and compensation reports electronically, 

through either: 

• ERSNet
• Secure/encrypted e-mail

OR

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a Compensation Reporting Specialist by 

e-mail at QRSC@RRB.GOV or by telephone at (312)751-4992.