New York Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for New York 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 New York
All for-profit businesses with employees must carry workers' compensation coverage. No coverage is required for: a sole proprietor with no employees; a partnership, LLC, or LLP with no employees; or a one- or two-person corporation where those individuals own all the stock and hold all the offices and there are no other employees/day laborers/leased or borrowed employees/part-timers/other stockholders/unpaid volunteers/subcontractors. Coverage becomes required as soon as any such entity has an employee, or a corporation has more than two officers/shareholders or doesn't meet the all-stock/all-offices condition.
Who can be excluded in New York
Sole proprietors
Not required to carry coverage on themselves if they have no employees (this is a statutory non-employee status, not a filed exemption). May voluntarily elect to cover themselves under a workers' compensation policy. If proof of exemption is needed for a permit/license/contract, the sole proprietor can obtain Form CE-200 from the NYS Workers' Compensation Board.
Partners
Partners in a partnership, LLC, or LLP with no employees are not considered employees and coverage is not required; they may voluntarily elect coverage for themselves. Same CE-200 mechanism applies if proof of exemption is needed for a permit/contract.
LLC members
Same as partners: LLC/LLP members are not considered employees if the entity has no employees, coverage is not required, and members may voluntarily elect coverage. CE-200 available if proof of exemption is needed.
Corporate officers
Coverage is not required for a one- or two-person corporation where those individuals own all the stock, hold all the offices, and there are no other employees. For corporations that DO have employees, officers are otherwise covered as employees unless excluded: under Workers' Compensation Law Section 54(6)(d), the sole officer of a one-person corporation, or two executive officers who between them own all the issued and outstanding stock and hold all the offices (each must own at least one share), may elect to be excluded from the ENTIRE workers' compensation and employer's-liability policy (not just the WC portion) by filing a signed notice of election with the insurance carrier, which then attaches the 'New York Exclusion of Executive Officer Endorsement' (WC 31 03 05 B).
How the exemption is filed
Two distinct mechanisms exist. (1) No-employee sole proprietors/partnerships/LLCs/LLPs and qualifying one-or-two-person corporations are exempt by statute with no filing required for the exemption itself; if they need to PROVE the exemption for a government permit, license, or contract, they file Form CE-200 (Certificate of Attestation of Exemption) electronically with the NYS Workers' Compensation Board -- this certificate is job/permit-specific, not a blanket certificate, and a new one is needed per project/location. (2) For a corporation that has employees, an officer exclusion under WCL Section 54(6)(d) is a carrier-level policy endorsement (WC 31 03 05 B), filed with the insurer, not a standalone state filing with the WCB.
- Statute
- NY Workers' Compensation Law Section 54(6)(d) (executive officer exclusion, incl. two-person corporation rule)
- Market
- Competitive — coverage is bought from a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
Do not conflate CE-200 (a per-permit/contract attestation of an exemption that already exists by statute) with the officer-exclusion endorsement WC 31 03 05 B (a carrier policy change for corporations that DO have employees) -- they solve different problems and are filed with different parties (WCB portal vs. insurance carrier).
Sources
- https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/coverage-required-wc.jsp
- https://www.wcb.ny.gov/icexempt/wavhelp.jsp
- https://www.wcb.ny.gov/icexempt/
- https://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2000/rg009291.htm
Source material dated WCB pages undated (accessed 2026-08-30); NY DFS Office of General Counsel Opinion No. 00-09-13 dated 2000, cited as the standing interpretation of WCL Section 54(6). Compiled from official New York sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with New York State Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in New York
Tell us about your New York business and we'll confirm whether you qualify for an exemption.