United States · Payroll · Unemployment insurance
State UI employer account number format.
Check that the number you are about to put on a quarterly report has the length your state documents, and is not your federal EIN.
Check an employer account number
Result
Enter a number and press Check.
What the number is, and what it is not
Every state runs its own unemployment insurance (UI) program and gives each liable employer its own account number. You quote it on quarterly wage reports and tax payments, and the agency uses it to match them to your account. It is not your federal employer identification number (EIN), which is the nine-digit IRS number. Mixing the two is an easy error on a first quarterly filing, which is why this tool says so when you enter nine digits.
Documented lengths
| State | Agency | Digits | What the agency says |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | EDD | 8 | An eight-digit employer payroll tax account number, written 000-0000-0, also called the SEIN or State ID number. EDD |
| New York | Department of Labor | 8 | An eight-digit employer registration number; Form NYS-45 takes the first 7 digits in one box and the check digit in a second. DOL, NYS-45-I |
| Florida | Department of Revenue | 7 | A seven-digit reemployment tax account number is assigned once an employer is found liable. Employer guide |
| Pennsylvania | Labor & Industry | 7 | The PA UC account number consists of seven numeric digits. UC-2 instructions |
| Illinois | IDES | 7 | A seven-digit number issued by IDES. REG-UI-1 |
| Washington | Employment Security Department | 12 | Since July 1, 2022 the ESD Number is 12 digits: an 11-digit number plus one check digit. ESD file spec |
| Minnesota | DEED Unemployment Insurance | 8 | An 8-digit employer account number, with a 4-digit reporting unit number when indicated. UI Minnesota |
Variable by variable
California: eight digits, written with two hyphens
The EDD shows the account number as 000-0000-0. Drop the hyphens when a form or file asks for digits only. The same number is what the EDD calls your SEIN, so a payroll system field labelled State ID or SEIN wants this number and not the nine-digit EIN.
New York: seven digits plus a check digit
The Department of Labor assigns an eight-digit number. On Form NYS-45 it is split into a seven-digit registration number and a check digit in a separate box. A web filer with no number yet sees a placeholder of 00-00000 0, which is not an account number.
Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois: seven digits
All three document seven digits. Pennsylvania also says that a change in entity or legal structure, including a transfer from parent to subsidiary, requires a new account number, so an old number can be the wrong one after a reorganisation.
Washington: twelve digits since 2022
Washington moved from nine digits to twelve on July 1, 2022. Anything older than that in your files, including bulk-filing specifications, may show a nine-digit number. A nine-digit Washington number fails this check because the current format is twelve, and nine digits is also the EIN length, so double-check which number you hold.
Minnesota: the reporting unit number
Minnesota assigns an 8-digit employer account number and, where indicated, a 4-digit reporting unit number. This tool checks the eight-digit account number only.
Worked example (hypothetical numbers)
A bookkeeper sets up payroll for a business with employees in California and Washington. For California she enters 123-4567-8, which strips to 12345678: eight digits, as the EDD documents. For Washington she enters the 9-digit number from an old welcome letter, 123456789. The check fails for two reasons it reports: Washington expects 12 digits, and nine digits is the length of a federal EIN. The fix is to find the post-2022 twelve-digit ESD Number in the Employment Security Department account. All numbers here are made up.
Edge cases and common mistakes
- Entering the federal EIN, or a state income tax withholding number, in a field that wants the UI number. The two are different identifiers with different lengths.
- Typing the number without its check digit when the form wants all eight digits, or the reverse on New York's split boxes.
- Using a number from before a reorganisation, an ownership change or a state numbering change.
- Letting a spreadsheet drop a leading zero.
Who this is for, and what it does not cover
Small employers, payroll preparers and bookkeepers who work from several states' letters. The tool checks length and digits only. It does not verify that the account is open, does not compute the check digit (none of these agencies' pages we read publish the formula), and does not look up rates or wage bases. States not in the table are missing because we could not read a layout at the agency's own site, not because their numbers are unusual. For the sales tax equivalent, see seller permit number formats by state.
Related identifier pages
Other identifier formats on this site: US EIN validator, ITIN format validator, SSN format validator and the full list of ID validators.
Sources
- California EDD: register for a payroll tax account — eight-digit employer payroll tax account number, 000-0000-0, also SEIN
- New York DOL: register for unemployment insurance — eight-digit employer registration number
- New York Tax Department: NYS-45-I instructions — 7-digit UI employer registration number plus a check digit; default 00-00000 0
- Florida DOR: Employer Guide to Reemployment Tax — seven-digit account number
- Pennsylvania L&I: UC-2 instructions — seven numeric digits; new number on change of legal structure
- Illinois IDES: REG-UI-1 — seven-digit number issued by IDES
- Washington ESD: multiple employer tax rate file specifications — ESD Number 12 digits from July 1, 2022
- Unemployment Insurance Minnesota: employer self-service — 8-digit employer account number, 4-digit reporting unit number
Every URL above was fetched in October 2026 and every figure on this page is taken from it. Agencies revise formats, so confirm anything that matters against the current official page.
Frequently asked questions
Is my UI employer account number the same as my EIN?
No. The EIN is a nine-digit federal number from the IRS. The UI account number is issued by your state agency and is seven, eight or twelve digits in the states documented here.
How many digits is a California EDD employer account number?
Eight. The EDD writes it as 000-0000-0 and also calls it the SEIN or State ID number.
Why is a Washington ESD number twelve digits?
The Employment Security Department changed its numbering system from nine digits to twelve on July 1, 2022. The current number is an 11-digit number plus one check digit.
What is the check digit on a New York UI registration number?
New York assigns an eight-digit number. Form NYS-45 asks for the first seven digits in one box and the check digit in a second box. The agency pages we read do not publish how it is calculated.
Where do I find my state UI account number?
The agency assigns it when you register as a liable employer, and it appears on the agency's registration correspondence and on quarterly returns and payments. Florida's guide says to include it on all letters, checks and reports.
What do I enter if I do not have a number yet?
It depends on the state. New York's web filing shows a default 00-00000 0 when no number is available. Pennsylvania says to leave the box blank and give the federal identification number instead.
Does passing this check mean the account is active?
No. The check looks at length and digits only. Your state agency is the only place to confirm that an account is open and in good standing.
Why is my state not listed?
We list only layouts we could read at an official agency page. Several state sites blocked automated reading or did not state a length, so those states are left out rather than guessed.
Format check, not verification
This tool checks the length and digits of a number against what each state agency documents. It does not confirm that an account exists or is active, and it is not payroll, legal or tax advice. Confirm with your state unemployment insurance agency.