Does North Dakota require workers’ compensation insurance?
Yes. North Dakota requires workers' compensation from the first employee, including part-time, seasonal, and occasional workers, and the coverage can only come from Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI): state law does not let private insurers write it. Owners, partners, corporate officers, spouses, and children under 22 are exempt unless the business buys elective coverage for them, and an owner with no employees can file a Verification of Nonemployment with WSI.
Updated . Written by Andre Beukers, principal at Redoubt, a commercial insurance agency in Salt Lake City, not a government office.
How many employees before North Dakota requires workers' comp?
One. North Dakota requires every employer, with limited exceptions, to insure all employees with WSI before they start work, whether they are full-time, part-time, seasonal, or occasional. The employer applies to WSI before hiring anyone (N.D.C.C. 65-04-33). Out-of-state employers need WSI coverage once they hire in North Dakota or 25% of a worker's wages or of total payroll is earned there.
Source: WSI, Coverage Requirements, checked .
Which owners, officers, and family members are exempt in North Dakota?
WSI lists these as exempt from Title 65: an owner, partner, corporate officer, or spouse; the employer's children under 22; certain licensed real estate brokers; newspaper delivery people; farm and ranch labor; certain custom farm operations; household domestic workers; workers at a place of worship; and federal and railroad employees. The exemption is automatic. An employer may buy elective coverage for itself or any exempt worker, effective once WSI approves the application.
The statute behind the list is N.D.C.C. 65-01-02: an employer is not its own employee, and the definition of employer names corporate officers and LLC managers, so both are outside mandatory coverage. Children 22 and older are employees and must be covered.
Source: WSI, Coverage Types, checked .
What happens to a North Dakota employer with no workers' comp?
An employer with workers and no active WSI account is uninsured. WSI bills the premium for the uninsured period plus penalties and interest, can hold the employer liable for the full cost and reserves of any claim from that period, and an injured worker can sue the employer directly (N.D.C.C. 65-04-33). WSI can also issue a cease and desist order; employing anyone in violation of it carries a $10,000 penalty plus $100 a day (N.D.C.C. 65-04-27.2).
Willful failure is a crime. Under N.D.C.C. 65-04-33(2), an employer that willfully fails to secure coverage owes the state $5,000 plus three times the unpaid premium and is guilty of a class A misdemeanor, a class C felony when the premium due exceeds $1,000. For a corporation or LLC, the president, secretary, treasurer, or person with primary responsibility is liable.
A general contractor carries risk too: N.D.C.C. 65-04-26.2 makes a subcontractor's uninsured workers the general contractor's employees for premium and penalty, limited to work under that contractor.
Source: WSI, Failure to Secure Coverage, checked .
Who enforces workers' comp in North Dakota?
Workforce Safety & Insurance, a state agency, both sells the coverage and enforces the requirement. It sets rates, audits payroll, pays claims, issues cease and desist orders to uninsured employers, and decides whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Its online Employer Search shows whether a business has an active account.
Source: WSI, About WSI, checked .
Where do North Dakota employers buy coverage?
Only from WSI. North Dakota is a monopolistic state: WSI is the sole provider and administrator of workers' compensation, and state law does not allow private insurers to write it. An employer applies to WSI directly and gets a Certificate of Payment as its proof of coverage, which must be posted at the place of business. There is no private carrier to shop.
A WSI account covers work in North Dakota. WSI's all states coverage, included with an active account, handles North Dakota-based employees on temporary trips of up to 30 consecutive days in every state except Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming, and WSI says it does not provide employer liability coverage. Staff based in another state need a policy in that state.
Source: WSI, Coverage Requirements, checked .
Who sets the class codes and rates in North Dakota?
WSI does its own rating; NCCI's class codes and loss costs do not set North Dakota premiums. WSI assigns each type of work a classification with its own rate, then multiplies that rate by payroll in the class. Each worker's taxable payroll is capped at 70% of the state's average annual wage, reset every July 1, and WSI's minimum premium is $250 per period even with no employees.
Source: WSI, Premium Information, checked .
Is there an exemption or waiver form in North Dakota?
North Dakota has no coverage waiver to file, because exempt owners are exempt automatically. What it has is the Verification of Nonemployment: a business with no employees, and no plans to hire, signs it and WSI issues a letter saying coverage is not required, sent to the Secretary of State for a contractor's license or to the business itself. A separate Independent Contractor Questionnaire, requested from WSI, gets a status determination good for no more than one year.
WSI treats every paid worker as an employee unless the business can prove otherwise under the 20-factor common-law test (N.D. Admin. Code 92-01-02-49). WSI says a 1099, a Secretary of State registration, or another state's exemption certificate does not make someone an independent contractor in North Dakota.
Source: WSI, Verification of Nonemployment, checked .
Working around a North Dakota WSI account
WSI writes every North Dakota workers' comp policy, so apply with WSI directly. Redoubt can help with what sits around it: whether workers in other states need a policy there, employer liability that WSI does not provide, and the liability certificate a general contractor asks for next to your Certificate of Payment.
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.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
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- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
The hub, and the North Dakota pages that go deeper
North Dakota workers’ comp FAQ
Do I need workers' comp in North Dakota for one part-time employee?+
Yes. WSI requires coverage for all employees, including part-time, seasonal, and occasional workers, before they begin working. Apply with WSI before the first day; an employee hired while the business has no active account leaves it uninsured.
I own an LLC with no employees. What do I show a contractor?+
Owners, partners, and corporate officers are exempt automatically. To document it, complete WSI's Verification of Nonemployment; WSI then issues a letter saying coverage is not required, and can send it to the Secretary of State for a contractor's license. Once you hire, WSI coverage is due.
Does my WSI policy cover employees working in another state?+
Only briefly. WSI's all states coverage handles North Dakota-based employees on temporary trips of up to 30 consecutive days, in every state except Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming. Employees who live and work in another state need coverage in that state.
Does another state's contractor exemption work in North Dakota?+
No. WSI says an exemption certificate issued in another state does not transfer into North Dakota. A worker is presumed to be an employee unless the business proves independent contractor status under the common-law test.