VETS-4212 Reporting Requirements: Who Files, Deadlines, and Submission

If your company holds a federal contract or subcontract worth $200,000 or more, the VETS-4212 reporting requirements obligate you to file an annual report with the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service between August 1 and September 30. The report tracks how many protected veterans you employ and hire across your workforce, and skipping it can cost you the ability to win or keep government contracts.¹

Who Has to File

The trigger is a single covered federal contract or subcontract of $200,000 or more. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs adopted that figure in 2025 after the FAR Council raised the VEVRAA threshold from $150,000.² Headcount does not matter, and neither does whether you actually employ any veterans. If the contract exists, you file.¹

Some employers are outside the requirement:

State and local government agencies and their own contractors, when they are not performing work under a federal contract.³
Companies with no qualifying contract in place as of January 1 of the reporting year.¹
Employees working outside the United States and its territories; you do not report on them.¹
Subsidiaries that do not themselves hold a federal contract. Do not fold them into a parent’s report.¹

Subcontractors file their own reports. A prime contractor does not file on a subcontractor’s behalf, and each entity is independently responsible once its own contract hits the dollar threshold.⁴

What You Have to Report

The report counts employees who fall into four categories of protected veterans defined by statute:⁵

Disabled veterans with a VA-rated service-connected disability, or who were discharged for a service-connected disability.
Active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans.
Armed Forces service medal veterans, who participated in a military operation that earned the medal.
Recently separated veterans, meaning veterans within three years of discharge or release from active duty.

At each hiring location, you count protected veterans across ten job categories: executive and senior-level officials and managers; first and mid-level officials and managers; professionals; technicians; sales workers; administrative support workers; craft workers; operatives; laborers and helpers; and service workers.¹ These match the EEO-1 categories closely, so contractors filing both can use the same pay period.

You also report:³

Total new hires during the reporting period, split between protected veterans and non-veterans.
The maximum and minimum total headcount at each hiring location during the period.
Your Employer Identification Number and NAICS code, matching what you use on other federal filings.

Self-Identification Is Voluntary

Employees do not have to tell you they are veterans. The Department of Labor’s sample VEVRAA form describes self-identification as “completely voluntary.”⁶ Your counts will likely undercount the actual veteran population. Invite self-identification before making an offer, again after hire, and at least annually while the person is employed. More touchpoints mean better data and a stronger record if OFCCP reviews your program.

Reporting for Multiple Locations

Single-location employers file one report. If you operate from more than one location, the structure changes. You file a report for the headquarters office, plus a separate report for each hiring location within a state that employs 50 or more people. For locations within a state that employ fewer than 50 people, you can either file a report for each one or consolidate them into a single state-level report.¹ The online system’s batch upload feature exists for employers who would otherwise face dozens or hundreds of individual entries.

The Filing Window and Reporting Period

The filing window runs August 1 through September 30 every year. The data you file covers a twelve-month period ending on a date you choose, and that end date must fall during a pay period between July 1 and August 31 of the filing year.³ Pick a consistent end date so your year-over-year numbers stay comparable. Contractors who also file EEO-1 can use the same pay period for both, which reduces the chance of the two filings contradicting each other.

How to Submit

You have three ways to file:¹

Online, through the VETS-4212 Reporting Application at vets4212.dol.gov. It accepts direct entry or batch uploads and returns a confirmation on screen and by email.
Email, by submitting an electronic file to the Department of Labor’s designated address.
U.S. Mail, to the VETS-4212 Submission Center. Processing takes longer and delivery proof is your responsibility.

First-time online users must register before filing. The system routes your registration request to your company’s designated primary point of contact, and the request expires within 24 hours if that person does not act on it, forcing you to start over.¹ Set up the account well before late September.

What Happens If You Don’t File

There is no monetary fine, but the consequence is severe. Federal agencies are prohibited from spending funds on contracts with a noncompliant contractor. Existing contracts can be suspended, and new awards are unavailable until you come back into compliance. OFCCP also uses VETS-4212 data during compliance evaluations, so a missing or late filing can invite a broader review of your VEVRAA affirmative action program.¹

What to Keep After You File

Hold onto every filed report and its supporting documentation for at least three years. That includes payroll records, self-identification surveys, and the methodology you used to count protected veterans.³ If OFCCP opens a compliance evaluation, this is the first material they request, and contractors who can show clean documentation of how they reached their numbers are in a considerably better position than those reconstructing the file after the fact.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. VETS-4212 Federal Contractor Reporting
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Jurisdiction Thresholds and Inflationary Adjustments
3
Acquisition.GOV. 48 CFR 52.222-37 – Employment Reports on Veterans
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Federal Contractor Reporting
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 4212 – Veterans Employment Emphasis Under Federal Contracts
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Sample VEVRAA Self-Identification Form