How to Complete and Submit NJ Form BC-10: Timing and Penalties

NJ Form BC-10 is the one-page separation notice that every New Jersey employer must give a worker on their last day, no matter why the job is ending. The employer fills in a short block of identifying information; the rest of the sheet is printed instructions telling the former employee how to file for unemployment. Under N.J.S.A. 43:21-6, handing over the form at the moment of separation is a legal duty, and as of December 8, 2025, you must also report the separation electronically through the state’s Employer Access portal.¹

What the Employer Fills In

The employer section is short. You complete only these fields:

Employer name and address (your registered business name and the address where the employee worked).
Work location, if the employee’s actual work site is different from your business address.
Your New Jersey Employer Identification Number, which is the number assigned for state unemployment tax purposes and is not the same as your federal EIN.
An employer telephone number where the Department of Labor can reach you.
Date of separation — the last day the employee worked or was on payroll.
Whether the separation is permanent or temporary, with an expected recall date if temporary.

That is the whole employer portion. The form does not ask for the worker’s Social Security number, hire date, or a written reason for the separation. Those details come up later, if and when the Division of Unemployment Insurance contacts you after the employee files a claim.²

Where to Get the Current Form

Download the fillable PDF directly from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s forms page so you know you have the current version.³ Type the entries into the PDF before printing; legible fields prevent processing delays when the worker files a claim. The statute requires the state to supply the forms at no cost, so paper copies are available on request from the Division of Unemployment Insurance.⁴

When to Give It to the Employee

The statute requires you to give the form to each worker “at the time he becomes unemployed, for any reason, whether the unemployment is permanent or temporary.” In practice, hand it over during the exit conversation or on the employee’s last day. Do not wait for the next pay cycle or mail it later.⁴

The requirement covers every type of separation: voluntary quits, layoffs, firings, retirements, and temporary furloughs. Even a seasonal worker you plan to bring back in a few months gets a BC-10 at the start of the break.⁵ For remote separations, email or overnight delivery to the worker’s personal address is the practical substitute for a physical handoff.

Reporting the Separation Through Employer Access

Handing the worker a BC-10 is only half of what the law now requires. Since December 8, 2025, every New Jersey employer must also report every separation electronically through the state’s Employer Access portal, covering layoffs, terminations, resignations, and retirements alike. Submit the separation within seven days of the employee’s last day.¹

To register at the NJDOL portal you need three things:

Your 15-digit Employer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal EIN followed by a six-digit suffix (often zeros for a single account).
Your official business name exactly as it appears on your quarterly report (Form NJ-927) and wage report (Form WR-30).
Your four-digit authorization code, which appears on the annual assessment bill mailed in mid-summer. If you cannot find it, you can obtain it during registration by entering the total wages from Line 8 of your most recent NJ-927, or by contacting the Division at EmployerAccess@dol.nj.gov or (609) 633-6400.

Once you are registered, the Employer Response Portal is where you submit separation details and answer claim inquiries. All communication with the Division of Unemployment Insurance is now electronic, though an employer with no computer access through any means can request a written waiver by sworn affidavit.⁶

Why the Reason for Separation Still Matters

The BC-10 itself only asks whether the separation is permanent or temporary, but the Division will contact you for details once the worker files a claim. Your answer decides whether benefits are approved and whether they are charged to your account.

A worker laid off for lack of work or let go through no fault of their own will almost certainly qualify. A worker who quit without good cause or was fired for misconduct may be disqualified, but the burden of proving misconduct falls on the employer, and you need written documentation to carry it. Vague descriptions like “poor performance” usually fail: the state distinguishes between someone who genuinely could not meet production standards, which is generally not disqualifying, and someone who deliberately ignored workplace rules.

Respond to the Division’s inquiries promptly and with specifics. If your records are thin when the fact-finding interview arrives, the adjudicator is likely to side with the worker. Approved claims reduce the reserve balance that sets your unemployment insurance contribution rate, so uncontested claims can push your tax rate up for years.⁷

Keep a Copy in Your Records

Save a copy of every BC-10 you issue. New Jersey requires employers to keep separation records, including the date and reason for each separation, for the current calendar year plus the four preceding calendar years. If the business becomes inactive, hold the records for an additional six quarters. All records must be stored safely and remain readily accessible at your New Jersey place of business.⁸ Filing the BC-10 with any related notes, written warnings, and correspondence gives you a defensible record if a claim is challenged months later.

Penalties for Skipping the Notice

An employer who willfully fails to provide the required separation information faces a fine of $500 or 25 percent of any amount fraudulently withheld, whichever is greater. Each day the employer continues to withhold the information counts as a separate offense, so the fines can stack quickly. The Division of Unemployment and Temporary Disability Insurance collects the money and deposits it into the unemployment compensation auxiliary fund.⁹

Beyond the fines, failing to report a separation delays the former employee’s benefit determination, which tends to generate complaints and closer scrutiny from the Division. Employers who miss response deadlines may also lose the right to contest benefit charges, so approved claims get charged to the account by default.

Large Layoffs Trigger Separate WARN Notices

If your company has 100 or more full-time employees and you are planning a plant closing or mass layoff, WARN Act notice duties apply on top of the BC-10 and Employer Access reporting. The federal WARN Act requires at least 60 calendar days of advance written notice when a closing or layoff affects 50 or more employees at a single site.¹⁰ New Jersey’s Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act adds state-level notice to the Commissioner of Labor, the local municipality, each affected employee, and any collective bargaining unit at the establishment.¹¹ Those advance notices do not replace the BC-10; you still hand each departing worker a BC-10 on their last day and report the separation through the portal within seven days.

1
Business.NJ.gov. Employers Must Report All Worker Separations Through Online Portal
2
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. New Jersey Form BC-10
3
Division of Unemployment Insurance. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development – Forms and Publications
4
Justia. New Jersey Code 43-21-6 – Claims for Benefits
5
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Instructions for Claiming Unemployment Benefits
6
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Get Started with Employer Access
7
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Rate Information, Contributions, and Assessments
8
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Employer Obligation to Maintain and Report Records Regarding Wages, Benefits, Taxes and Other Contributions and Assessments
9
Justia. New Jersey Code 43-21-16
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Plant Closings and Layoffs
11
New Jersey Legislature. P.L. 2007 c.212 – Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act