Does Missouri require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes, at five employees, or at one in construction. Under RSMo 287.030, a Missouri business must carry workers' compensation once it has five or more employees, and a construction employer that erects, demolishes, alters, or repairs improvements needs it from the first employee. Part-time and family workers count, and so do LLC members and corporate officers, according to the Division of Workers' Compensation. Sole proprietors and partners do not count toward the five.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before Missouri requires workers' comp?
Missouri sets the line at five employees. Under RSMo 287.030 a business becomes an employer under the Workers' Compensation Law when it has five or more employees, while a construction-industry employer, one that erects, demolishes, alters, or repairs improvements, is covered at one. Relatives within the third degree count toward the total. RSMo 287.090 leaves farm labor, domestic servants in a private home, qualified real estate agents, and direct sellers outside the law.
Source: RSMo 287.030, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in Missouri?
Sole proprietors and partners are not covered, and do not count toward the five, unless they elect coverage with their insurer (RSMo 287.035). LLC members and corporate officers do count, and the Division says LLC members are presumed covered unless they opt out with their insurer. Under RSMo 287.037, an S corporation shareholder owning 40% or more can also reject coverage by written notice to the corporation and its insurer. Relatives employed by a sole proprietor or partner are covered unless the owner lists them for withdrawal on the policy.
Source: Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation Insurance, checked .
What happens to a Missouri employer with no workers' comp?
An employer that knowingly fails to insure commits a class A misdemeanor under RSMo 287.128 and owes the state a penalty of up to three times the annual premium it would have paid, or up to $50,000, whichever is greater. A second offense is a class E felony. Providing an invalid certificate of insurance as proof of workers' comp is a separate class E felony under the same section.
The civil exposure can be larger. Under RSMo 287.280, an employee hurt while working for an uninsured employer can sue for damages, and the employer loses the defenses that the worker was negligent, assumed the risk, or was hurt by a co-worker.
Source: RSMo 287.128, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in Missouri?
The Division of Workers' Compensation, part of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, enforces the requirement. Its Fraud and Noncompliance Unit takes complaints about uninsured employers at 800-592-6003, investigates them as criminal matters, and presents findings to the Division director, who can refer the case to the Attorney General. The Department of Commerce and Insurance regulates carriers and rates, not employers.
Source: Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation, Fraud and Noncompliance, checked .
Where do Missouri employers buy coverage?
Missouri is a private-market state with no state fund. Missouri Employers Mutual (MEM) started as the state's workers' comp fund, but RSMo 287.921 let it convert to a private mutual insurance company effective January 1, 2025, and the sections that created the fund were repealed the same day. Employers buy from any carrier licensed in Missouri, or self-insure with the Division's approval.
An employer no carrier will write goes to the Missouri Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan, the assigned risk pool, which the Department of Commerce and Insurance says is administered by contract carrier Travelers. The Division notes that pool employers are mostly hard-to-place risks and small premiums under $10,000.
Source: RSMo 287.921, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in Missouri?
Missouri is an NCCI state. The Department of Commerce and Insurance names NCCI as Missouri's approved advisory organization under RSMo 287.955, so every carrier uses NCCI's classification system, experience rating plan, and statistical plan. NCCI files advisory loss costs; each carrier files its own loss cost multiplier with the Department, which publishes them by company.
Source: Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, NCCI, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in Missouri?
Not a general one. Missouri has no state-issued waiver that an owner files to prove an exemption; most opt-outs go to the insurer. Under RSMo 287.037, an LLC member rejects coverage on a Department of Commerce and Insurance form given to the LLC and its insurer, and stays without benefits until they file a rescission, which only works going forward.
Two filings do go to the Division. A corporation whose only employees are its two or fewer owners can file a notice of election to be withdrawn from the law (RSMo 287.090), and an employer and employee who both belong to a recognized religious sect with an approved IRS Form 4029 can apply together for a religious exception on forms WC-138, WC-138-3, and WC-138-5.
Below the threshold nothing needs filing, though a general contractor or client can still ask for a certificate of insurance.
Source: RSMo 287.037, checked .
Sorting out Missouri workers' comp for your business
Tell Redoubt what the business does, who works in it, and what the Missouri 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 Missouri pages that go deeper
Missouri workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in Missouri with fewer than five employees?+
Outside construction, no. RSMo 287.030 sets the threshold at five, and the count includes part-time workers, family members, LLC members, and corporate officers. You can still buy a policy voluntarily, and the Division of Workers' Compensation warns that employers who go without remain open to lawsuits from injured employees.
Does a Missouri construction business with one employee need workers' comp?+
Yes. RSMo 287.030 makes a construction-industry employer, one that erects, demolishes, alters, or repairs improvements, subject to the law at one employee. An LLC member or corporate officer who works in the business counts toward that one.
Can a Missouri LLC owner opt out of workers' comp?+
Yes. Under RSMo 287.037 an LLC member can reject coverage on a Department of Commerce and Insurance form given to the LLC and its insurer. The member then has no workers' comp benefits under the policy until they file a rescission, and the rescission only covers injuries going forward.
Do corporate officers count toward Missouri's five-employee threshold?+
Yes. RSMo 287.020 includes executive officers of corporations in the definition of employee, and the Division counts them toward the five. An S corporation shareholder who owns 40% or more can reject coverage for themselves by written notice to the corporation and its insurer under RSMo 287.037.
Is MEM still Missouri's state workers' comp fund?+
No. RSMo 287.921 converted Missouri Employers Mutual from an independent public corporation to a private mutual insurance company effective January 1, 2025, and the statutes that created the fund were repealed. MEM now competes as one private carrier among many.