Federal Offset Program

• 1.1 Summary of Changes
• 1.2 Background
• 1.3 Description of Changes
• 1.4 Impact on States
• 1.5 Output Record Specification

• 2.1 Summary of Changes
• 2.2 Background
• 2.3 Description of Changes
• 2.4 Impact on States
• 2.5 Input Record Specification
• 2.6 Output Record Specification

• 3.1 Summary of Changes
• 3.2 Background
• 3.3 Description of Changes
• 3.4 Impact on States
• 3.5 Screen Layout

• 4.1 Summary of Changes
• 4.2 Background
• 4.3 Description of Changes
• 4.4 Impact on States

1. OUTPUT RECORD SPECIFICATIONS
2. INPUT RECORD SPECIFICATIONS

• Figure 3-1. Multi-Year Query Screen - Case Information
• Figure 3-2. Multi-Year Query Screen - Detail Page
• Chart 4-1. Case-Type Change Rules
• Chart A-1. Collection and Adjustment Record Layout
• Chart A-2. Rejected Case Submission and Update Record Layout
• Chart A-3. Case Reconciliation Record Layout
• Chart B-1. Case Submission and Update Record Layout

A

This field will contain one of the following codes to indicate the type of case:
A - TANF

S

OCSE submitted the obligor to DoS for passport denial when the arrearage amount went over the $5,000 threshold.

D

OCSE previously submitted the obligor to DoS for passport denial, but has now forwarded a Delete Record to DoS.

C

The combined arrearages for eligible TANF and Non-TANF cases for the same submitting state went over the $5,000 threshold. OCSE submitted the obligor to DoS for passport denial.

X

The obligor has been manually excluded from the Passport Denial Program as a result of a Notice of Withdrawal of Passport Denial form provided to OCSE by a state.

N

The obligor meets the criteria for the Passport Denial Program, but certain information is missing from the submitted record and is unavailable from SSA. Cases cannot be forwarded to DoS unless the date of birth, place of birth, and gender designation are included.

R

OCSE submitted the obligor to DoS for passport denial, but DoS rejected the case for one of the following reasons: invalid name code or country code, duplicate Add Case transaction, or the record was not found. These cases will be corrected by OCSE if possible and re-submitted to DoS.

Space

The obligor is eligible to receive their passport based on one of the following conditions: the current arrearage amount is less than the $5,000 threshold, or the Passport Denial exclusion indicator was set prior to the arrearage amount going over $5,000, or the case was submitted with the Passport Denial exclusion indicator set when the arrearage amount was over $5,000.

ADM

Exclude all Administrative Offsets (RET, SAL, VEN)

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

RET

Exclude Federal Retirement

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

VEN

Exclude Vendor Payment/Miscellaneous

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

SAL

Exclude Federal Salary (pre-set on all cases)

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

TAX

Exclude Tax Refund Offset

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

PAS

Exclude Passport Denial

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

FIN

Exclude MSFIDM

Space

Exclusion indicator does not apply

• This field is required for all Transaction Types. This field must contain a valid, two-character, alphabetic State abbreviation code for the submitting State. Refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Appendix H, “State and Territory Abbreviations; Country Codes”, for a list of these codes.
• For Transaction Types 'B', 'C', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D', all key fields (Submitting State Code, SSN, Case Type Indicator) must match key fields on the OCSE Case Master File in order for the transaction to be processed. If there is no match, the transaction will be rejected.

• This field is used with Transaction Types 'A' and 'L'. This field contains the code that will be used to associate the obligor with a State or local contact address when the Pre-Offset Notice is produced by OCSE or an offset notice is produced by FMS.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Add/Recertify Case), the local code submitted is compared against the State's Local Code File. If the local code contains spaces or is not found, the local code for the case will be set to zeros on the OCSE Case Master File, and a local code of zeros will be submitted for the case to FMS.
• For Transaction Type 'L', if the local code submitted contains spaces, the local code for the case will be set to zeros on the OCSE Case Master File, and a local code of zeros will be submitted for the case to FMS. Otherwise, the local code submitted is compared against the State's Local Code File. If the local code is not found, the transaction will be rejected.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'M', 'S', 'R', 'D', 'Z' and 'T'), the local code, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS. Refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Section 2.2.1.1, "State/Local Contact Phone and Address File", for information on keeping local codes and addresses up to date at OCSE.

• For Transaction Type 'A' (Add/Recertify Case) the SSN is verified using an SSA-defined range check that automatically validates the area portion of the SSN (the first three positions of the SSN) against the current high digit being used for area . In addition, the group portion of the SSN (the fourth and fifth positions of the SSN) is compared against the area to ensure that the group number was issued with the particular area number. To verify the current high digits for area and group issued by SSA, refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Chart D-3, "Useful Web Sites".
• For Transaction Types 'B', 'C', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D', all key fields (Submitting State Code, SSN, and Case Type Indicator) must match key fields on the OCSE Case Master File in order for the transaction to be processed. If there is no match, the transaction will be rejected.

• For Transaction Type 'A' (Add/Recertify Case), if present, OCSE will store the field on the Case Master File without performing any edits. This field is not sent to FMS or DoS.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D'), the Case ID, if present, will not be updated at OCSE.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'B' (Name Change), the entire last name is stored on the OCSE Case Master File after the last name passes the edit check above.
• For Transaction Types 'C', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D', the first 4 characters submitted must match the first 4 characters stored on the OCSE Case Master File or the first 4 characters of a Transaction Type 'B' (Name Change) transaction for the same case in the same process. If there is no match, the transaction will be rejected.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), if the last name does not match against the OCSE Case Master File, the name is processed as a name change.

If imbedded spaces or special characters exist after the first four characters, the case will be submitted to FMS for offset. However, DoS may reject the case for passport denial.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'B' (Name Change), the entire first name is stored on the OCSE Case Master File after the first character passes the edit check above.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), the first character must pass the edit above. The obligor first name is not matched against the first name stored on the OCSE Case Master File; the entire first name is stored on the OCSE Case Master File.
• For all other Transaction Types ('C', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D'), the obligor first name, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Type 'A' (Add/Recertify Case), the arrearage amount is the current amount owed by the obligor. If the arrearage amount is less than $25, the Add Case transaction will be rejected.
• For Transaction Type 'D', this field is not required. However, the existing arrearage amount will be zeroed out.
• For Transaction Type 'M', the arrearage amount is the current amount owed by the obligor. If the arrearage amount is equal to zero, the case will be flagged as deleted.
• For Transaction Type 'S', this field functions as the Accumulated Payment Amount Field, and is referred to by that name. The accumulated payment amount is the accumulated State Payment Amount for the processing year.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'L', 'R', 'Z' and 'T'), the arrearage amount, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• A - Add/Recertify Case
• B - Name Change
• C - Case ID Change
• D - Delete Case
• L - Local Code Change
• M - Modify Arrearage Amount
• R - Replace Exclusion Indicator(s)
• S - State Payment
• T - Transfer for Administrative Review
• Z - Obligor Address Change

• This field is required for all Transaction Types. This field must contain one of the following valid case type codes:

A - TANF
N - Non-TANF


• For Transaction Types 'B', 'C', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'S', 'T', 'Z' and 'D', all key fields (Submitting State Code, SSN, and Case Type Indicator) must match key fields on the OCSE Case Master File in order for the transaction to be processed. If there is no match, the transaction will be rejected.

• For Transaction Type 'T', This field must contain a valid, two-character, alphabetic State abbreviation code for the transfer State. Refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Appendix H, "State and Territory Abbreviations; Country Codes", for a list of these codes.
• For all other Transaction Types ('A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'Z' and 'R'), this field, if present, will not be updated at OCSE.

• For Transaction Type 'T', this field should contain a three-position, alpha-numeric local code for the transfer State. If present, this field is stored on the OCSE Case Master File.
• For all other Transaction Types ('A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'Z' and 'R'), this field, if present, will not be updated at OCSE.

• For Transaction Type 'S', this field must be in the Year 2000-compliant format of CCYY, and must contain the year the tax refund or administrative payment was offset. The date must fall within the previous seven years of the current year.
• For all other Transaction Types ('A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'R', 'Z' and 'T'), this field, if present, will not be updated at OCSE.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'Z' (Address Change), this field contains the first address line of the obligor's mailing address. If this line is blank, the Obligor Address Line 2 Field will be checked for an address (refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Part 3, "Federal Offset Program Pre-Offset Notices", for information regarding address processing).
• For Transaction Type 'Z' (Address Change), Obligor Address Line 1, Obligor Address Line 2, Obligor City, Obligor State, and Obligor Zip Code cannot all be spaces.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), this field is not required. If present, the address currently stored at OCSE will be updated with the submitted address.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R' and 'T'), the address, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'Z' (Address Change), this field may contain the second address line for the obligor. On an Add Case, if OCSE sends the Pre-Offset Notices and no address information is submitted in either address line, OCSE will attempt to obtain an address (refer to Part 3, "Federal Offset Program Pre-Offset Notices", for information regarding address processing).
• For Transaction Type 'Z' (Address Change), Obligor Address Line 1, Obligor Address Line 2, Obligor City, Obligor State, and Obligor Zip Code cannot all be spaces.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), this field is not required. If an address is present, the address currently stored at OCSE will be updated with the submitted address.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R' and 'T'), the address, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'Z' (Address Change), this field contains the city of the obligor's mailing address (refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Part 3, "Federal Offset Program Pre-Offset Notices", for information regarding address processing).
• For Transaction Type 'Z' (Address Change), Obligor Address Line 1, Obligor Address Line 2, Obligor City, Obligor State, and Obligor Zip Code cannot all be spaces.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), this field is not required. If an address is present, the address currently stored at OCSE will be updated with the submitted address.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R' and 'T'), the address, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'Z' (Address Change), this field contains a two-character, alphabetic State abbreviation code for the State of the obligor's mailing address (refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Part 3, "Federal Offset Program Pre-Offset Notices", for information regarding address processing).
• For Transaction Type 'Z' (Address Change), Obligor Address Line 1, Obligor Address Line 2, Obligor City, Obligor State, and Obligor Zip Code cannot all be spaces.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), this field is not required. If an address is present, the address currently stored at OCSE will be updated with the submitted address.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R' and 'T'), the address, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add Case) and 'Z' (Address Change), this field contains a 5 or 9 digit zip code (refer to the Federal Offset Program User Guide Part 3, "Federal Offset Program Pre-Offset Notices", for information regarding address processing).
• For Transaction Type 'Z' (Address Change), Obligor Address Line 1, Obligor Address Line 2, Obligor City, Obligor State, and Obligor Zip Code cannot all be spaces.
• For Transaction Type 'A' (Recertify Case), this field is not required. If an address is present, the address currently stored at OCSE will be updated with the submitted address.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R' and 'T'), the address, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Type 'A' (Add/Recertify Case), if the State issues their own Pre-Offset Notices, this field is required. The date must be in the Year 2000-compliant format of CCYYMMDD. This field indicates the date the Pre-Offset Notice was mailed. If OCSE issues the Pre-Offset Notices, OCSE will fill in the date.
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'R', 'T' and 'Z'), the date issued, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Types 'A' (Add/Recertify Case) and 'R', this field is optional. If setting more than one exclusion indicator, the indicators must be separated with a comma or space (e.g., RET,PAS,FIN, or RET PAS FIN).
• Valid exclusion indicators are:
• ADM - Exclude all Administrative Offsets (RET, SAL,VEN)
• RET - Exclude Federal Retirement Offset
• VEN - Exclude Vendor Payment/Miscellaneous Offset
• SAL - Exclude Federal Salary Offset (not yet activated)
• TAX - Exclude Tax Refund Offset
• PAS - Exclude Passport Denial
• FIN - Exclude Multistate Financial Institution Data Match
• DCK - Exclude Debt Check
• Space - Remove all existing exclusion indicators
• For all other Transaction Types ('B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'M', 'S', 'Z' and 'T'), this field, if present, will not be updated at OCSE or FMS.

• For Transaction Type 'M', this field should contain a 'P', to request a Pre-Offset Notice be generated by OCSE. If present, this field will generate a PON if all edits are passed for updating an arrearage amount and processing a notice.
• For all other Transaction Types ('A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'L', 'R', 'S', and 'Z'), no action will be taken at OCSE or FMS if this field contains a value.