Michigan Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for Michigan 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 Michigan
Coverage is mandatory for: (1) all private, non-agricultural employers who regularly employ 3 or more employees at one time; (2) private, non-agricultural employers with fewer than 3 employees if at least 1 employee has regularly worked 35+ hours/week for 13+ weeks during the preceding 52 weeks; (3) agricultural employers with 3+ employees working 35+ hours/week for 13+ consecutive weeks; and (4) all public employers regardless of employee count.
Who can be excluded in Michigan
Sole proprietors
A sole proprietor working in their own sole proprietorship is never an 'employee' of that business under the Worker's Disability Compensation Act (WDCA) and is automatically excluded — no filing needed. Employees of the sole proprietorship must still be covered once the applicable threshold is met.
Partners
A WC insurance policy may exclude named partners (or a spouse, child, or parent in the employer's family) from coverage by endorsement under MCL 418.161(2).
LLC members
LLC members who are also managers and hold at least 10% ownership interest in an LLC with 10 or fewer members may elect exclusion from coverage by giving written notice of the election to the insurance carrier, with the consent of the LLC (MCL 418.161(3)). If ALL of the LLC's workers qualify and are excluded this way, a Notice of Exclusion (Form WC-337) is filed with the WDCA director/agency instead.
Corporate officers
An employee-officer who holds at least 10% of the stock in a corporation with 10 or fewer shareholders may elect exclusion from coverage by written notice to the carrier with board approval/consent (MCL 418.161(4)). No specific cap on the number of officers who may be excluded was found beyond the 10-or-fewer-shareholders entity-size limit.
Construction rules in Michigan
No separate statutory employee-count threshold for construction was found (Michigan's general 3-employee / 35-hrs-13-weeks rule applies to construction employers as well). However, general contractors are effectively required to verify subcontractor coverage: if a subcontractor is a sole proprietorship with employees, or is a partnership/corporation/LLC, the general contractor should obtain a certificate of insurance or a copy of a properly executed exclusion form from the subcontractor, or the GC can become liable for an uninsured subcontractor's employee's claim.
How the exemption is filed
Exclusion is elected by written notice, not a state-issued 'certificate' with a fee. Exclusions under MCL 418.161(2)-(4) (partners, family members, qualifying LLC members, qualifying corporate officers) are elected by written notice to the insurance carrier (with any required entity consent). When ALL employees of the business qualify for and elect exclusion, the employer instead files Form WC-337 (Notice of Exclusion), notarized, with the Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency's Insurance Compliance Division. Exclusions remain in effect until revoked in writing.
- Form
- WC-337 - Notice of Exclusion
- Statute
- MCL 418.161
- Market
- Competitive — coverage is bought from a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
The official michigan.gov LEO pages and the official Michigan Legislature statute page (legislature.mi.gov) both returned fetch errors (403 / SSL certificate error) in this session, so the statute text above was read from codes.findlaw.com's reproduction of MCL 418.161, cross-checked against consistent search-engine summaries that quote michigan.gov directly. Could not locate an official direct-download URL for Form WC-337 in this session — formUrl is left null rather than guessed; agency phone line for Insurance Compliance Division found in secondary sources is 517-284-8922 but was not independently verified against an official page and is NOT included as a confirmed fact.
Sources
- https://codes.findlaw.com/mi/chapter-418-workers-disability-compensation/mi-comp-laws-418-161/
- https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/wdca/employers-and-business-owners/employer-frequently-asked-questions
- https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/wdca/insurance-requirements/pages/workers-disability-compensation-insurance-requirements
Source material dated undated (statute as currently codified; search-index page content retrieved 2026-08-30). Compiled from official Michigan sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) — Workers' Disability Compensation Agency (WDCA), Insurance Compliance Division or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in Michigan
Tell us about your Michigan business and we'll confirm whether you qualify for an exemption.