Does New Hampshire require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes. New Hampshire requires workers' compensation from the first employee: RSA 281-A:2 makes any business that employs one or more persons an employer, and RSA 281-A:5 requires it to insure. Sole proprietors and partners are covered only if they elect it. A corporation or LLC can exclude up to three executive officers or members, but only through an exclusion its carrier files with the Department of Labor. There is no stand-alone waiver certificate.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before New Hampshire requires workers' comp?
New Hampshire has no minimum head count. Under RSA 281-A:2, VIII, a person, partnership, association, or corporation that employs one or more persons is an employer, and RSA 281-A:5 requires every employer to insure with a company licensed to write workers' compensation in the state or be approved to self-insure. Anyone working under a contract of hire counts, part-time included, and domestic workers in a private home are covered through the homeowner's or tenant's policy (RSA 281-A:6).
Source: RSA 281-A:2, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in New Hampshire?
A sole proprietor or partner who works in the business is not an employee unless they elect to be personally covered (RSA 281-A:2, VI). Corporate executive officers and LLC members and managers are employees, but up to three of them are left out when counting whether the business is an employer at all, and a corporation or LLC can elect to exclude up to three of them from coverage (RSA 281-A:18-a). New Hampshire has no family-member exclusion: a paid spouse or child is an employee.
Someone you pay as a contractor is presumed to be your employee under RSA 281-A:2, VI(b) unless they meet every one of the statute's criteria, including control over how and when the work is done and freedom to work for others.
Source: RSA 281-A:2, VI and VIII, checked .
What happens to a New Hampshire employer with no workers' comp?
The labor commissioner can assess an uninsured New Hampshire employer a civil penalty of up to $2,500, plus up to $100 per employee for each day without coverage, counted from the first day for up to a year (RSA 281-A:7, I). Anyone who controls payroll and knowingly failed to insure is personally liable for those penalties. The commissioner can also get a court order stopping the business until it complies, an injured worker can sue the employer directly, and purposely failing to insure is a class B felony (RSA 281-A:7, II, IV, VI).
Source: RSA 281-A:7, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in New Hampshire?
The New Hampshire Department of Labor, through its Workers' Compensation Division and the labor commissioner (RSA 281-A:2, II), enforces the requirement. Carriers file a notice of coverage with the Department when they insure an employer and a termination notice when coverage ends, which is how it tracks who is insured. The commissioner assesses the penalties above and approves employers that self-insure.
Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Lab 302.01, checked .
Where do New Hampshire employers buy coverage?
New Hampshire is a private-market state with no state fund. RSA 281-A:5 gives an employer two ways to comply: a policy from a company licensed to write workers' compensation in the state, or Labor Department approval to self-insure. An employer the voluntary market will not write goes to the assigned risk plan administered by NCCI, and under the Department's Lab 300 rules the agent must tell the employer that plan exists.
Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Lab 300, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire is an NCCI state. NCCI publishes the New Hampshire State Advisory Report on its annual filing for the state's workers' compensation system, the 2026 report dated July 23, 2026. Class codes and experience mods come from NCCI, and RSA 281-A:4-a asks nonresidential construction contractors, on the commissioner's request, to report employee hours by NCCI classification code.
Source: NCCI, State Advisory Resources: New Hampshire, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in New Hampshire?
Not for owners without employees. New Hampshire has no waiver or exemption certificate: a sole proprietor or partner with no employees simply is not required to carry a policy. The one filing is the Exclusion of Executive Officers or Members form (6WCex), for a corporation or LLC excluding up to three officers or members. Only the carrier, or NCCI on its behalf, can file it with the Department of Labor, and only once a notice of coverage for the same employer is on file, so the business must have a policy first.
A general contractor whose subcontractor has no coverage carries that subcontractor's workers' comp liability under RSA 281-A:18, which is why New Hampshire contractors ask subs for a certificate. Requirements depend on the business and its worker setup, so confirm yours with your carrier or the Department of Labor.
Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Lab 306.05, checked .
Sorting out New Hampshire workers' comp for your business
Tell Redoubt what the business does, who works in it, and what the New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire pages that go deeper
New Hampshire workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in New Hampshire with one part-time employee?+
Yes. RSA 281-A:2 makes anyone who employs one or more persons an employer, with no minimum hours or payroll. Under the Department of Labor's rule Lab 304.01, the duty to obtain coverage begins before you hire.
Can a New Hampshire LLC owner skip workers' comp?+
A single-owner business with no employees is not required to cover the owner. Once an LLC or corporation has employees, up to three members or officers can be excluded, but only through a 6WCex form the carrier files alongside the policy. There is no certificate that replaces the policy.
What does New Hampshire charge an employer with no coverage?+
Under RSA 281-A:7, up to $2,500 plus up to $100 per employee for each day uninsured, for up to a year. The person who controls payroll can be personally liable, the business can be enjoined from operating, and purposely failing to insure is a class B felony.
Do my 1099 subcontractors need their own coverage in New Hampshire?+
Yes, or their workers' comp liability lands on you. RSA 281-A:18 makes a contractor liable for an uninsured subcontractor's employees, and a worker who fails the RSA 281-A:2 independent contractor test is presumed to be your own employee.