COBRA Election Notice Timeline for Employers: Deadlines

Medically reviewed by Jawad Arshad, MD, FACEP. Last reviewed: October 13, 2026.

The COBRA election notice timeline for employers is short, and the clock starts the day an employee loses coverage or hours, not the day HR hears about it. Miss a deadline and the IRS can tax the plan sponsor $100 a day per qualified beneficiary. This guide lays out every deadline, shows a dated example, and ends with a checklist you can hand to your payroll team.

Key facts

• Federal COBRA applies to employers with at least 20 employees on more than 50 percent of typical business days (U.S. Department of Labor, An Employer's Guide to Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA, accessed 2026).
• The employer must notify the plan within 30 days after a qualifying event, and the plan must send the election notice within 14 days after that (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026).
• An employer that is also the plan administrator has 44 days from the qualifying event or loss of coverage to send the election notice (29 CFR 2590.606-4, 2026).
• The qualified beneficiary has at least 60 days to elect, at least 45 days after electing to make the first payment, and a 30-day grace period on later payments (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026).
• The IRS excise tax for a missed notice is $100 per day per qualified beneficiary, capped at $200 per day per family (26 U.S.C. 4980B, 2026).

What are an employer's COBRA election notice obligations?

An employer must notify its plan of a COBRA qualifying event within 30 days, and the plan must send the election notice within 14 days after that (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026). The employer must also make sure a general notice goes to each new participant within the first 90 days of coverage.

COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. It lets a worker or family member keep group health coverage after a job loss or other event, as long as they pay for it. The employer's job is mostly about timing and paperwork. Our COBRA compliance basics guide covers the rules in general. This page focuses on the calendar.

Table: Employer COBRA deadlines at a glance

What is the COBRA election notice timeline from the day an employee leaves?

The COBRA election notice timeline starts on the date of the qualifying event or the date coverage ends, depending on how your plan is written. Count 30 days to notify the plan, then 14 days for the notice, or 44 days total if you run the plan yourself.

Here is a dated example. The dates are hypothetical and use the federal deadlines above. An employee leaves on Monday, March 16, 2026, and the plan ends coverage on March 31, 2026. The employer is also the plan administrator and the plan measures from the loss of coverage.

Table: Worked COBRA timeline for one departing employee

Sending the notice early does not shorten the employee's rights. It does start the election clock sooner, which gives you a firm date to close the file. Write the date you mailed the notice and keep proof of mailing.

Which qualifying events require employer notification?

The events that require the employer to notify the plan are termination of employment, reduced hours, the employee's death, the employee becoming entitled to Medicare, and employer bankruptcy (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026). Divorce, legal separation, and a child aging out of the plan are different, because the family must tell the plan.

For divorce, legal separation, or a dependent child losing eligibility, the plan cannot set a time limit shorter than 60 days for the family to give notice (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026). That means your notice procedures should tell families how and where to send it.

Table: How long COBRA lasts by event

What does the COBRA general notice for 2026 have to do?

The COBRA general notice tells each covered employee and spouse that COBRA rights exist and how to use them. The plan must give it within the first 90 days of coverage (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026).

The Department of Labor publishes a model general notice and a model election notice. Using the model with the blanks filled in correctly is treated as good-faith compliance with the content rules (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026). The election notice must also be written so the average plan participant can understand it, and it must name the plan, the qualifying event, the election deadline, the cost, and what happens if the person does not elect (29 CFR 2590.606-4, 2026).

What are the COBRA rules for employers with fewer than 20 employees?

Federal COBRA does not apply to an employer that normally had fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day in the prior year (26 U.S.C. 4980B(d)(1), 2026). Many states have their own continuation laws for smaller employers, and those rules vary.

If you are near 20 employees, count carefully, because the Department of Labor test is at least 20 employees on more than 50 percent of typical business days (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026). Employers under the line should check with their state insurance department. Our COBRA alternatives guide shows where departing workers can look for coverage, including a Texas version.

What happens if an employer misses a COBRA deadline?

Missing a COBRA notice deadline can cost an employer $100 per day for each qualified beneficiary, capped at $200 per day for a family (26 U.S.C. 4980B, 2026). The IRS excise tax keeps running for as long as the failure continues.

Separately, ERISA lets a court award a participant up to $110 a day against a plan administrator who fails to provide required notice (29 CFR 2575.502c-1, 2026).

Here is a worked example. A hypothetical employee, a spouse and a child are three qualified beneficiaries for one event, and the election notice goes out 30 days late. The IRS tax is capped at $200 per day for the family, so 30 days costs $6,000. A court award at the full ERISA rate would add up to $3,300 (30 days at $110). These are illustrations, not predictions, and actual outcomes depend on the facts.

The tax law has relief for honest mistakes. No tax applies if the failure was due to reasonable cause, not willful neglect, and is corrected within 30 days after the responsible person knew or should have known of it (26 U.S.C. 4980B(c)(2), 2026). A failure that is not corrected before the IRS sends a notice of examination carries a minimum tax of the lesser of $2,500 or the amount otherwise due, rising to $15,000 when the violations are more than minor (26 U.S.C. 4980B(b)(3), 2026).

How much does COBRA cost the former employee?

COBRA coverage costs the former employee up to 102 percent of the plan's cost for similarly situated people, and the extra 2 percent covers administration (U.S. Department of Labor, 2026).

Table: COBRA cost at 2025 national average premiums

Source: KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey (2025) and a 102 percent calculation. Your plan's actual rate will differ. The point for an employer is to put the real monthly number in the election notice, because a former employee deciding in 60 days needs it. Departing workers who find that number too high may ask about the alternatives to COBRA.

How can employers manage COBRA administration efficiently for departing employees?

Employers manage COBRA well by tying every departure to one checklist, one owner, and one calendar date. The goal is that no termination, hours cut, or leave ever depends on someone remembering.

Use this checklist, which is free to copy:

1. Record the qualifying event date and the date coverage ends the day HR learns of it.
2. Send the notice of qualifying event to the plan administrator or carrier by day 30 at the latest.
3. Confirm the election notice mailing date, and keep proof of mailing.
4. Calendar the end of the 60-day election period and the 45-day first payment window.
5. Track each month's premium, the 30-day grace period, and the maximum COBRA period.
6. Note any Social Security disability finding or second qualifying event that could extend coverage.

Copy this note and send it to your plan administrator or carrier the day an employee leaves:

Subject: COBRA qualifying event notice, [Employee Name]

>

Hello, this is notice of a COBRA qualifying event. Employee: [name]. Event: [termination / reduced hours / death / Medicare entitlement]. Date of event: [date]. Date coverage ends: [date]. Covered family members: [names and dates of birth]. Please confirm the date you will send the election notice and the monthly COBRA rate. Thank you.

A Section 125 plan sits beside COBRA, not in place of it. It changes how employees pay premiums while they work, and our Section 125 cafeteria plan guide and FICA tax savings guide show how the payroll tax math works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, An Employer's Guide to Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA (accessed 2026); 29 CFR 2590.606-4, Notice requirements for plan administrators (2026); 26 U.S.C. 4980B, Failure to satisfy continuation coverage requirements of group health plans (2026); 29 CFR 2575.502c-1, Adjusted civil penalty under section 502(c)(1) of ERISA (2026); KFF, 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey (2025); Summit Health Benefits plan pricing and FICA recapture estimate (2026).