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Free table · Employer insurance

Workers' compensation requirements by state

How many employees trigger required coverage in each state, the construction and farm exceptions, how owners and officers are treated, the four state-fund states, and what going without can cost, from the agencies' own pages.

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Quick answer. Most states require workers' compensation insurance once you have one employee. 13 states start at a higher count, from 3 to 5 employees, and several of those drop to one for construction. Texas lets private employers choose, and North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming run the coverage through a state fund.

Have a business in mind? The do I need workers' comp checker takes the state, your headcount, your industry and your business type, and shows the answer with the state's own wording.

Workers' comp rules in all 50 states and DC

Select a column heading to sort. "Who must carry it" is the general rule on the agency's page; "State fund" marks the four states where the state is the insurer. "Not stated" means the official page we read didn't address it.

Sources: each state's workers' compensation agency or statute site, checked November 2026. State names with a link have their own page.
Source
Alabama5 or more employees1 or more employeesStatedNot statedContact the agencyOfficial page
Alaska1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
ArizonaEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
Arkansas3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedNot statedOfficial page
California1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedLookupOfficial page
Colorado1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
ConnecticutMost employersNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
Delaware1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
District of Columbia1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
Florida4 or more employees1 or more employeesStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
Georgia3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedNot statedOfficial page
Hawaii1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
Idaho1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
IllinoisMost employersNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
IndianaNot confirmedNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
IowaMost employersNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
KansasPayroll over $20,000No separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
Kentucky1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
LouisianaEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedNot statedOfficial page
MaineMost employersNo separate rule statedStatedStatedLookupOfficial page
MarylandEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
Massachusetts1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedNot statedOfficial page
Michigan3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedNot statedOfficial page
Minnesota1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedNot statedOfficial page
Mississippi5 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
Missouri5 or more employees1 or more employeesStatedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
MontanaEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedContact the agencyOfficial page
Nebraska1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedLookupOfficial page
Nevada1 or more employees1 or more employeesNot statedStatedNot statedOfficial page
New Hampshire1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
New JerseyEvery employerNo separate rule statedStatedStatedLookupOfficial page
New Mexico3 or more employees1 or more employeesStatedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
New YorkMost employers1 or more employeesStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
North Carolina3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
North DakotaState fundEvery employerNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
OhioState fund1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
OklahomaMost employersNo separate rule statedStatedStatedNot statedOfficial page
OregonMost employersNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
Pennsylvania1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedNot statedOfficial page
Rhode Island1 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
South Carolina4 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
South DakotaMost employersNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
Tennessee5 or more employees1 or more employeesStatedNot statedLookupOfficial page
TexasOptional for private employersNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
UtahMost employersNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedLookupOfficial page
VermontEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
Virginia3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedStatedStatedLookupOfficial page
WashingtonState fundNot confirmedNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
West VirginiaEvery employerNo separate rule statedNot statedStatedContact the agencyOfficial page
Wisconsin3 or more employeesNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page
WyomingState fundNamed industries onlyNo separate rule statedNot statedNot statedNot statedOfficial page

New Jersey contractors: the home improvement contractor guide covers the registration insurance minimum alongside workers' comp, and the start-a-business checklist puts coverage in the hiring steps. Rule not confirmed for: Indiana, Washington.

How states set the line

Most agencies count employees, and most count part-time workers the same as full-time. A few use something else: Kansas looks at annual payroll, Wisconsin adds a $500-a-quarter wage test, Michigan adds a 35-hours-a-week test for a single employee, and Wyoming requires coverage only in the industries it classes as extra-hazardous. Farm and household employers often get their own rules, and the table's linked pages quote them.

Owners, officers and contractors

Whether the people who own the business count is where states differ most. The common pattern on the pages we read: sole proprietors and partners are out unless they elect coverage, corporate officers are in unless they file to be excluded, and LLC members fall on either side depending on the state. Independent contractor status is a question of fact; New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee all say the label or a 1099 doesn't decide it, and Florida and Georgia make a contractor answer for an uninsured subcontractor's crew.

General information, not legal or insurance advice; we are not lawyers or insurance agents. Checked November 2026 against each state's workers' compensation agency or statute site, linked in the table. Rules, exemptions and penalties change; the state agency, an attorney or a licensed insurance agent can tell you how a rule applies to one business. We don't recommend or sell any insurer.

Common questions

Which states require workers' comp with just one employee?

On the official pages we read: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia. Several more say most or almost all employers must carry it without giving a number (Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah).

Which states let small employers go without it?

The pages we read set a higher headcount in 13 states: Arkansas (3), Georgia (3), Michigan (3), New Mexico (3), North Carolina (3), Virginia (3), Wisconsin (3), Florida (4), South Carolina (4), Alabama (5), Mississippi (5), Missouri (5), Tennessee (5). Kansas uses payroll instead (over $20,000 a year outside agriculture), and Texas lets private employers choose.

Is the rule different for construction?

Often. 7 states on our list set a lower bar for construction: Alabama (1 or more), Florida (1 or more), Missouri (1 or more), Nevada (1 or more), New Mexico (1 or more), New York (1 or more), Tennessee (1 or more). New York presumes a contractor's injured worker is its employee, and Alabama's rule covers building new single-family homes.

Which states make you buy from a state fund?

North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming. In these four, private carriers don't write workers' comp; coverage comes from the state fund or, where allowed, approved self-insurance.

Do owners have to cover themselves?

It depends on the state and the business type. Many states leave sole proprietors and partners out unless they choose coverage, count corporate officers as employees, and let officers or LLC members opt out with a form. The checker shows each state's wording for your business type.

Why do some states show 'Not confirmed'?

We fill in a rule only after reading it on the state's own workers' comp agency or statute site. For Indiana and Washington no page we could open stated who must carry it, so the row is blank rather than guessed. Penalties are stated for 25 jurisdictions, a required notice for 15, and an online coverage lookup for 20.

Related: Do I need workers' comp? checker · New hire reporting by state · Final paycheck laws by state · Employee cost calculator · Contractor vs employee cost calculator · Contractor vs employee, the bookkeeping view

Keeping coverage records?

Workers' Comp and Business Insurance Records Kit

A workbook that tracks your policies, renewal dates and every subcontractor's certificate of insurance with expiry alerts, plus a state coverage checklist, a COI collection log and an injury report and claim log, as Word files and PDFs.

Get the kit ($15)

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