Maine Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for Maine sole proprietors, LLC members, and corporate officers. Send us your details and we’ll confirm whether you qualify and handle the filing.
When coverage is required in Maine
No small-employer headcount exemption was found for Maine — an employer with any employees generally must carry coverage. Persons engaged in forest product harvesting are explicitly excluded from the waiver provisions described below and must maintain coverage regardless.
Who can be excluded in Maine
Sole proprietors
Excluded by default (not an 'employee' of their own business) and files nothing to be exempt. They must still cover any employees they hire.
Partners
Excluded by default and files nothing to be exempt, same as a sole proprietor. A parent, spouse/domestic partner, or child of a sole proprietor, partner, or LLC member may also execute a waiver if it is not made a condition of their employment.
LLC members
Excluded by default; LLC 'owners' do not have to file a waiver form to be exempt.
Corporate officers
Corporate (executive) officers of a for-profit corporation ARE employees by default and must be covered under the corporation's policy UNLESS the officer is also an owner of at least 20% of the corporation's outstanding voting stock and has applied for and received a Board-approved waiver (Form WCB-2C), per 39-A M.R.S.A. §102(11)(A). The waiver cannot be made a condition of employment.
How the exemption is filed
For sole proprietors/partners/LLC members: no filing at all — they are excluded by definition. For a qualifying (≥20% voting-stock-owning) executive officer: file Form WCB-2C, 'Application for Waiver,' with the Maine Workers' Compensation Board (by mail, fax, or in person per the Board's guidance). No fee was found in the sources reviewed. A separately-found (secondary, not independently confirmed on an official page in this research) description states a waiver may be revoked with 30 days' written notice to the Board and the employer — flag this specific detail as unverified.
- Statute
- 39-A M.R.S.A. §102(11)(A)
- Market
- Competitive — coverage is bought from a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
The 20%-stock / Form WCB-2C officer-waiver mechanism is confirmed via the official Maine Legislature statute page and the official Maine WCB waivers page. The Board's own 'Instructions for completing the Application for Waiver' PDF and the FAQ-style eligibility detail could not be parsed (binary/compressed PDF content); the sole-proprietor/partner/LLC-member 'file nothing' characterization and the 30-day revocation detail come from secondary sources and should be treated as medium confidence pending a clean read of the instructions PDF. No fee is confirmed either way.
Sources
- https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/39-a/title39-asec102.html
- https://www.maine.gov/wcb/Departments/coverage/waivers.html
Source material dated Retrieved 2026-08-30 from the Maine Legislature's official statute page and the Maine Workers' Compensation Board's official waivers page. Compiled from official Maine sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with Maine Workers' Compensation Board or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in Maine
Tell us about your Maine business and we'll confirm whether you qualify for an exemption.