Missouri Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for Missouri 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 Missouri
General rule: mandatory once an employer has 5 or more employees (RSMo §287.030), counting family members within the third degree of relationship toward that count. CONSTRUCTION-SPECIFIC RULE (different from the general threshold): employers in the construction industry who erect, demolish, alter, or repair improvements are required to carry coverage if they have just 1 or more employees.
Who can be excluded in Missouri
Sole proprietors
Not automatically an 'employee' under the Act; not required to be covered. May elect to come under the law and carry coverage voluntarily.
Partners
Same as sole proprietors: not automatically covered; may elect coverage voluntarily.
LLC members
Per official Missouri Dept. of Labor guidance, LLC members are presumed covered by default, but may reject/opt out of coverage (mechanism addressed in RSMo §287.037, the same statute section that also covers the S-corp shareholder election below — official title: 'Member of limited liability company to receive coverage, rejection of coverage, rescission of rejection'). The exact ownership-percentage threshold and notice mechanics for the LLC-member rejection specifically were not independently confirmed against the statute text in this session (only the S-corp portion of §287.037 was fetched and read in full) — treat the LLC-member percentage/process detail as unverified.
Corporate officers
Corporate officers are included in the statutory definition of 'employee' (RSMo §287.030) and are presumed covered. Verified exceptions: (1) Per RSMo §287.090.5, a corporation with no more than 2 owners who are also the corporation's only employees may withdraw entirely from the Workers' Compensation Law by filing a written notice of withdrawal with the Division of Workers' Compensation; withdrawal is effective on filing, and can be rescinded by filing another notice (effective 30 days after filing or a later specified date). (2) Per RSMo §287.037, effective January 1, 2018, a shareholder of an S corporation with at least 40% or greater ownership interest may individually elect to reject coverage by written notice to the S corporation and its insurer; a shareholder who rejects loses all WC benefits while the rejection is in effect, and may later rescind (rescission is prospective only, effective when the insurer receives the rescission notice).
Construction rules in Missouri
Construction employers who erect, alter, demolish, or repair improvements must carry WC coverage once they have just 1 employee (vs. the general 5-employee threshold) — RSMo §287.030. Missouri also publishes Form WC-134-AI ('Affidavit of Exemption for Workers' Compensation Insurance Pursuant to §287.061, RSMo'), but this affidavit is explicitly for construction business owners to present when applying for local city/county business licenses, and the state's own guidance says it 'should not be sent to the Division of Workers' Compensation' — it is not itself a mechanism for obtaining a WC exemption from the state.
How the exemption is filed
No single unified 'exemption certificate' — the mechanism differs by structure. Two-owner corporations withdrawing entirely: written notice of withdrawal filed with the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) under §287.090.5 (no fee or form number confirmed). S-corp shareholders (40%+ owners) rejecting individual coverage: written notice to the S corporation and its insurer under §287.037 (not filed with the state). LLC members: rejection appears to run through the insurer/policy application rather than a state filing, per secondary sources, but this was not independently verified against statute text this session.
- Agency
- Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)
- Statute
- RSMo §287.030; §287.090.5; §287.037
- Market
- Competitive — coverage is bought from a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
RSMo §287.030, §287.090 (subd. 5), and §287.037 were all read directly from the official Missouri Revisor of Statutes site (revisor.mo.gov) — highest-confidence source tier, along with Minnesota. The WC-134-AI form's official download URL returned 404 on direct fetch in this session but was located via labor.mo.gov's own search index at a working alternate path (labor.mo.gov/media/21716/download per search results) — confirm this link resolves before publishing. Important nuance already correctly reflected here per the task's hard rule: Missouri's CONSTRUCTION threshold (1+ employees) is genuinely different from and stricter than its GENERAL threshold (5+ employees).
Sources
- https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=287.030
- https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=287.090
- https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=287.037
- https://labor.mo.gov/faqs/knowledge-base/who-required-carry-workers-compensation-insurance-coverage
- https://labor.mo.gov/faqs/knowledge-base/i-am-s-corporation-am-i-subject-law-and-do-i-need-carry-workers-compensation
Source material dated undated (current codified statute text, retrieved 2026-08-30). Compiled from official Missouri sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in Missouri
Tell us about your Missouri business and we'll confirm whether you qualify for an exemption.