North Dakota Workers’ Comp Exemption
We file workers’ compensation exemptions for North Dakota 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 North Dakota
North Dakota is a MONOPOLISTIC state: Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) is the exclusive provider of workers' compensation coverage -- there is no private-carrier market. All ND employers must insure all employees (full-time, part-time, seasonal, and occasional) through WSI before those employees begin work. Out-of-state employers become subject to ND coverage requirements once they have 'significant contacts' with the state (e.g., an employee earning 25%+ of annual wages for ND work, or 25%+ of the employer's gross payroll attributable to ND services).
Who can be excluded in North Dakota
Sole proprietors
Not automatically required to be covered. WSI's own 'Coverage Types' page lists 'Owner, partner, corporate officer or spouse' as eligible for ELECTIVE (voluntary) coverage -- 'this coverage is not required by law.' To obtain it, the owner submits a completed, signed application; coverage becomes effective upon WSI's approval of that application and elective coverage contract. There is no private-market endorsement route (monopolistic state) -- election is made directly with WSI, the state fund itself.
Partners
Same as sole proprietors per WSI's official page: partners are in the same 'owner, partner, corporate officer or spouse' elective-coverage category -- not automatically covered, may apply directly to WSI for voluntary coverage.
LLC members
Secondary (non-official) sources describe LLC members as able to 'elect exclusion in writing,' but I could not confirm LLC-member-specific language on the official WSI pages I was able to fetch (they speak in terms of 'owner, partner, corporate officer or spouse' without a distinct LLC-member category). Treat as likely covered by the same owner/elective-coverage mechanism but unverified as a distinct category -- confirm directly with WSI.
Corporate officers
Per WSI's official 'Coverage Types' page, corporate officers fall in the same elective (voluntary) coverage category as owners/partners/spouses -- not automatically covered, coverage only by direct application to and approval from WSI. A secondary-source claim that officer exclusion additionally requires 10%+ ownership was NOT confirmed against an official WSI or NDCC source I could read (the one relevant NDCC PDF I retrieved, Title 65 Chapter 04, could not be parsed as text) -- do not publish the 10% figure as confirmed for North Dakota.
How the exemption is filed
Because ND is monopolistic, there is no state exemption certificate AND no private-carrier endorsement route -- exclusion is simply the default status for owners/partners/officers/spouses. If one of these individuals WANTS coverage, the employer submits a signed application and elective-coverage contract directly to WSI; coverage is effective on WSI's approval. I could not locate or verify an official WSI form name/number for this application, nor an exact North Dakota Century Code section citing the election mechanism, from sources I could actually read.
- Form
- No state exemption form — see above
- Market
- Monopolistic — coverage is bought only from the North Dakota state fund, not a private carrier.
Notes and open questions
North Dakota is a monopolistic state -- coverage is bought only from WSI, the state fund; there is no private-carrier endorsement route. Owners, partners, corporate officers, and spouses are excluded from coverage by default and must proactively apply to WSI if they want elective coverage. Could NOT verify from an official, readable source: exact form name/number, statute citation, an LLC-member-specific exclusion mechanism, or the commonly-repeated '10% ownership' threshold for officers -- these appeared only in third-party aggregator content and are flagged here rather than published as fact.
Sources
- https://www.workforcesafety.com/employers/insurance-coverage-information/coverage-requirements
- https://www.workforcesafety.com/employers/insurance-coverage-information/coverage-types
Source material dated WSI pages undated as displayed; accessed 2026-08-30. Compiled from official North Dakota sources as a starting point, not legal advice — rules change, and your situation may turn on facts this page cannot see. Confirm with North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) or ask us and we’ll check it for you.
Workers' comp exemption filing in North Dakota
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