Florida Workers' Compensation Requirements: Who Has to Carry It?

Workers’ compensation is the one business coverage Florida law makes mandatory for most employers, and the rules change depending on what kind of work you do. A roofing crew in Lakeland and a three-person office on South Florida Avenue face very different thresholds, and owners in both often assume they’re exempt when they aren’t.

This guide walks through Chapter 440, Florida Statutes, as of October 2026: who has to carry coverage, how owner exemptions work, what happens if you don’t comply, and how independent contractors fit in.

Who is required to carry workers’ compensation in Florida?

Florida sets the requirement by industry and employee count. Construction employers need coverage with one or more employees, non-construction employers with four or more, and agricultural employers with six regular employees or 12 seasonal workers on longer jobs.

The thresholds come from the definition of “employment” in section 440.02, Florida Statutes, and the Division of Workers’ Compensation at the Department of Financial Services (DFS) summarizes them this way:

Industry	Coverage required when you have	Who counts
Construction	1 or more employees	Full-time and part-time workers, plus owners who are corporate officers or LLC members unless exempt
Non-construction	4 or more employees	Full-time and part-time workers, plus owners who are corporate officers or LLC members unless exempt
Agriculture	6 regular employees, or 12 seasonal workers	Seasonal workers count when they work more than 30 days in a season or more than 45 days in the same calendar year

Two details trip people up. First, part-time employees count toward the total. Second, a corporate officer who draws pay is an employee under section 440.02 unless that officer has a valid exemption on file. A small corporation with two officers and two part-time staff has four employees for this purpose.

“Construction” covers more than general contracting. The statute defines the construction industry broadly, and DFS uses classification codes to decide which trades fall inside it. If your business does any building, remodeling, repair or demolition work, confirm your classification before assuming the four-employee threshold applies.

How do corporate officer exemptions work?

An officer of a corporation, or a member who owns at least 10 percent of an LLC, can file a notice of election to be exempt with DFS. Once approved, that person isn’t counted as an employee and can’t collect workers’ comp benefits from the business’s policy.

The limits are tighter in construction.

Construction industry exemptions

Under section 440.02(18)(b), as of October 2026:

• No more than three officers of a corporation, or of any group of affiliated corporations, can be exempt.
• Each exempt officer must own at least 10 percent of the corporation’s stock (or attest to 10 percent ownership of an LLC).
• Each must be listed as an officer with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, and the company must be active there.
• DFS charges a $50 fee for each construction exemption application or renewal, under section 440.05(8).

Sole proprietors and partners in construction are counted as employees under the statute, and the exemption is available only to corporate officers and qualifying LLC members. That’s why most owner-operators in the trades organize as an LLC or corporation before applying.

Non-construction exemptions

Outside construction, any corporate officer listed with the Division of Corporations may elect to be exempt. The three-officer cap and the stock-ownership minimum apply only in construction, and so does the $50 fee in section 440.05(8). LLC members still need at least 10 percent ownership, and DFS allows no more than 10 members of an LLC to be exempt. Sole proprietors and partners outside construction aren’t counted as employees unless they choose to be covered.

In either industry, DFS won’t approve an exemption for someone affiliated with an active stop-work order.

How do you apply for a workers’ comp exemption?

You apply online with DFS, and the certificate lasts two years. Section 440.05 spells out what the application needs.

1. Confirm the business is active with the Division of Corporations and that you’re listed as an officer or member.
2. Gather your driver license or Florida ID number, date of birth, the company’s Division of Corporations registration number and federal tax ID, and any Chapter 489 contractor licenses you hold.
3. Complete DFS’s online workers’ compensation coverage and compliance tutorial, which the application requires you to certify.
4. Submit the notice through DFS’s online exemption system, state your ownership percentage, and certify that any employees of the company are covered by workers’ comp.
5. Pay the $50 fee if you’re in construction.
6. Keep the certificate. It becomes effective when DFS issues it (or 30 days after DFS receives the notice, whichever comes first) and expires two years from its issue date. DFS sends a renewal notice at least 60 days before it expires.

A few rules to keep in mind. The certificate names a specific company, so you need a new one for each different corporation you work for. It covers only the named officer, not anyone else at the company. And the certificate itself says it is not a contractor license issued by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).

What happens if a Florida employer doesn’t have required coverage?

DFS can shut the business down until it complies. Under section 440.107, failing to carry required coverage, or failing to produce business records within 21 days of a DFS request, justifies a stop-work order that requires all business operations to stop.

Here is how the enforcement works, as written in the statute as of October 2026:

• Stop-work order. DFS issues it within 72 hours of its determination, and it takes effect when served on the employer or posted at a worksite. It applies to every worksite in Florida where the employer isn’t in compliance and stays on the Division’s website for at least five years.
• Penalty assessment. The penalty is twice the premium the employer would have paid, at approved manual rates, for the uninsured payroll in the preceding 12 months, or $1,000, whichever is greater. The look-back is 24 months for employers who concealed payroll or had a prior order.
• Working in violation. DFS assesses $1,000 per day for each day the business keeps operating in violation of a stop-work order.
• Release. The order stays until the employer gets coverage and pays the penalty. DFS may grant a conditional release after a $1,000 down payment and a payment agreement for the rest.
• Successor companies. The order follows a new company with the same principals doing the same kind of work.

The penalty is based on payroll and rates, so it can grow well past the minimum quickly. Fixing a coverage gap before an audit is almost always cheaper than fixing it after.

Independent contractors vs. employees in Florida

Outside construction, a genuine independent contractor isn’t your employee for workers’ comp. In construction, the law treats independent contractors and uninsured subcontractors as employees of the contractor who hired them.

For non-construction work, section 440.02(18)(d) lists six criteria, and at least four must be met for someone to qualify as an independent contractor:

1. They keep a separate business with their own work facility, truck, equipment or materials.
2. They hold, or have applied for, a federal employer identification number (unless they’re a sole proprietor who isn’t required to have one).
3. They’re paid as a business rather than as an individual.
4. They have business bank accounts for business expenses.
5. They can work for others at their own choice without an employment application.
6. They’re paid by the job or on a competitive-bid basis, not by the hour or week.

In construction, the rules are different. Under section 440.10, when a contractor sublets work, all employees of the contractor and its subcontractors on that job are treated as part of one business, and the contractor is responsible for coverage on any subcontractor’s workers who aren’t insured. The contractor is required to collect evidence of the subcontractor’s workers’ comp, or a copy of the officer’s exemption certificate.

That’s why general contractors in Polk County ask every sub for a certificate of insurance or exemption before the first day on site, and why building permits require proof of coverage too. If a sub’s policy lapses mid-job, the uninsured payroll can show up on the general contractor’s next premium audit. Our guide to contractor insurance in Florida covers certificates of insurance and subcontractor paperwork in more detail.

How workers’ comp premiums are figured

Workers’ comp is priced on payroll. The carrier assigns a classification code to each type of work, applies a rate per $100 of payroll for that class, and then adjusts for your claims history once you’re large enough to have an experience modification.

Because the premium depends on payroll, the policy is usually estimated up front and audited after it ends. If payroll grew, or a subcontractor without coverage was paid during the year, the audit can produce an additional premium bill. Keeping certificates for every sub and accurate payroll by job type makes that audit much smoother.

Exempt officers aren’t counted as employees for premium purposes under section 440.05(13), so an approved exemption can reduce the payroll the carrier rates. It also means the officer has no workers’ comp benefits if hurt on the job, which is a real trade-off for owners who work in the field. Talk with a licensed agent about how that fits with your health and disability coverage.

What to have ready before you request a quote

You can start a workers’ comp quote with a licensed agent faster if you gather these first:

1. Legal business name, FEIN and Division of Corporations registration.
2. A description of the work you do, split by type if you do more than one (for example, office staff vs. field crews).
3. Estimated annual payroll for each type of work, and the number of full-time and part-time employees.
4. Names and ownership percentages of officers or members, and copies of any current exemption certificates.
5. Prior carrier and policy dates, plus loss runs (claims history) for the last three to five years if you’ve had coverage.
6. For contractors, a list of subcontractors you use and whether you collect their certificates.

Workers’ comp is often quoted alongside general liability and commercial auto. If you’re building a full package for a new company, our new business startup insurance page and the overview of small business insurance in Lakeland show how the pieces fit together. You can also request a quote online and we’ll follow up.