Does Georgia require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes, once a Georgia business regularly employs three or more people. Full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers all count, and so do corporate officers and LLC members, even the ones who exempt themselves, according to the State Board of Workers' Compensation. Sole proprietors and partners are not employees unless they elect coverage. Georgia has no waiver program: Form WC-10 records an owner's election, and it is not proof of exemption.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before Georgia requires workers' comp?
Georgia requires workers' compensation from a business that regularly employs three or more people. The State Board of Workers' Compensation counts full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers, and in a corporation or LLC the officers or members are in the count whether or not they exempt themselves. Railroad carriers, U.S. government agencies, farm laborers, and domestic servants are outside the requirement.
A regular part-time worker, in the Board's words, is someone who works on a regular part-time basis, such as weekends only, and a crew you add every busy season counts too. Two full-time employees and one regular weekend worker make three.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Employer Coverage Verification, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in Georgia?
Georgia treats the two business forms in opposite ways. In a corporation or LLC every officer or member is an employee, but up to five of them can reject coverage on themselves, and rejecting coverage does not take them out of the three-employee count. Sole proprietors and partners are employers, not employees; they are covered only if they elect it by telling their insurance carrier in writing.
The Board's pages list no separate exemption for family members. A relative who works regularly in the business is counted like any other worker unless one of the listed exceptions, such as farm labor or domestic service, applies.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Workers' Compensation Insurance FAQs, checked .
What happens to a Georgia employer with no workers' comp?
The State Board of Workers' Compensation can assess a civil penalty of $500 to $5,000 per violation against an employer that fails to carry required coverage. An employer that refuses or willfully neglects to insure is also guilty of a misdemeanor. The Board's Enforcement Division takes reports of uninsured employers.
The fine is rarely the largest cost. Without a policy, the business answers for an injured worker's medical bills and lost wages itself.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Workers' Compensation Law FAQs, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in Georgia?
The Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation administers the law, and its Enforcement Division enforces the insurance requirement: it keeps the historical record of each employer's coverage, investigates reports of uninsured businesses, and pursues the penalties above. The Board does not sell insurance. Questions about rates and adjuster licensing go to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Enforcement Division, checked .
Where do Georgia employers buy coverage?
Georgia has no state fund. Employers buy from private carriers, and the State Board licenses about 400 insurance companies that write workers' compensation policies, along with about 300 companies and 100 governmental entities that self-insure. A business no voluntary carrier will write goes to the Georgia Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan, which NCCI administers.
Self-insurance is for large employers: the Board requires membership in the Georgia Self-Insurers Guaranty Trust Fund and security of at least $250,000.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Licensure & Self-Insurance, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in Georgia?
Georgia is an NCCI state. The National Council on Compensation Insurance publishes the Georgia advisory loss costs by class code that carriers start from, and the State Board posts NCCI's Georgia loss cost pages. NCCI also administers the Georgia Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan. The Board sends rating questions your agent cannot answer to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Workers' Compensation Insurance FAQs, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in Georgia?
The form Georgia has is Board Form WC-10, the Notice of Election or Rejection of Workers' Compensation Coverage. Corporate officers and LLC members use it to reject coverage on themselves, up to five per business; sole proprietors and partners use it to elect coverage; farm employers use it to cover farm laborers. It is signed by each person and filed with the business's insurance carrier, not with the Board.
The Board's own instructions on Form WC-10 say it plainly: the form is not a waiver of coverage, and Georgia does not offer a waiver program. The Board takes a WC-10 directly only when the business has no carrier and its only people are three to five officers or members who have all rejected coverage.
Source: Georgia SBWC, Workers' Compensation Insurance FAQs, checked .
Sorting out Georgia workers' comp for your business
Tell Redoubt what the business does, who works in it, and what the Georgia requirement in front of you says. We will say whether a policy, a waiver, or an exclusion fits.
This is general insurance information, not legal advice or a coverage determination. Statutes, agency instructions, policy forms, and the facts of the business control.
Workers’ comp requirements in every state
Each state page gives the employee threshold, the owner and officer exemptions, the penalty for going without, the rating bureau, the market, the enforcing agency, and the exemption filing, each with its statute or agency source.
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The hub, and the Georgia pages that go deeper
Georgia workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in Georgia with two employees?+
Usually not by law. Georgia's requirement starts at three regular employees, counting part-time and seasonal workers and counting corporate officers and LLC members. An LLC with two working members and one regular part-time employee is already at three. A hiring contractor may still require a policy by contract.
Can I get a workers' comp waiver in Georgia?+
No. Georgia does not offer a waiver program, and the State Board says Form WC-10 is not a waiver and should not be accepted as one. When a general contractor requires coverage by contract, the Board's WC-10 instructions describe two answers: buy a minimum premium policy from a Georgia-licensed agent, or let the contractor withhold premium from your pay and cover you under its policy.
Do exempt corporate officers still count toward the three employees?+
Yes. The Board is explicit that officer exemptions do not reduce the number of employees. A corporation with three officers stays subject to the law after they reject coverage; if it has no other employees, the WC-10 forms go to the Board instead of a carrier, and the first hire needs a policy.
How do I check whether a Georgia business has workers' comp?+
Use the State Board's online Employer's Workers' Compensation Coverage Verification, which also shows self-insured businesses and group fund members. If a business you think should be covered has no coverage on record, the Board's Enforcement Division takes the report.