Hiring Subcontractors in Florida: Collect Their Workers’ Comp and Liability Certificates

A roofer’s helper falls off a ladder on your job. The roofing company you hired was supposed to carry workers’ comp, but its policy lapsed last month. In Florida, that injured worker can become your responsibility. Here is how the rule works and which papers to collect from every subcontractor before the first day of work.

Why your sub’s crew can become your workers

When a contractor sublets part of its contract work, Florida treats everyone working on that job, the contractor’s people and the subs’ people, as employed in one business. The contractor is liable for workers’ comp benefits for all of them, except the employees of a sub that has secured its own coverage (s. 440.10(1)(b)). The Division of Workers’ Compensation puts it plainly: if the sub has no coverage for its employees, those workers become the contractor’s employees, and the contractor pays the benefits for a work injury (DFS).

Construction reaches this point quickly. A construction employer with even one employee must have workers’ comp (s. 440.02(20)(b)2). People paid by a construction contractor as a subcontractor count as employees unless the sub has a valid exemption or its own coverage, and an “independent contractor” working in construction is also treated as an employee (s. 440.02(18)(c)). A 1099 does not change that; see our guide to helpers: employee or 1099?

What proof the state accepts

The statute says a contractor shall require a subcontractor to provide evidence of workers’ comp, and a corporate sub with an exempt officer must give a copy of the exemption certificate (s. 440.10(1)(c)). DFS Rule 69L-6.032 lists what counts, and DFS says to get it before the job begins (Rule 69L-6.032; DFS FAQ):

• Sub with its own policy: any one of these: a copy of the policy’s Information Page; a screen print from the state’s Proof of Coverage database showing coverage in effect; or a certificate of liability insurance plus written confirmation from the agent or the insurer that workers’ comp is in effect.
• Sub that uses an employee leasing company: a certificate that names the leasing company as the insured, plus the leasing company’s list of employees leased to the sub as of the day it started on your project.
• Owner with an exemption: a copy of the officer’s Certificate of Election to Be Exempt, or a screen print from the state’s Exemption Search.
• Exempt owner with a crew: both. You need proof of a policy for the non-exempt workers and every exemption certificate.

Read the certificate, not just the logo

Under the rule, a certificate counts as evidence only when it shows all of the following (Rule 69L-6.032(2)(c)):

• The producer’s name, address and phone number.
• The insurer providing the workers’ comp.
• Your subcontractor’s name as the insured.
• The policy number for Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability (or a binder number if the policy is not issued yet) and the limits for both.
• The signature of an authorized representative.
• Dates that cover the work: the days your sub works for you must fall between the policy’s effective and expiration dates.

Exemptions need their own check. A construction exemption is valid for 2 years (s. 440.05(6)), applies only to the officer named on it (s. 440.05(11)) and lists the corporation; working for a different corporation requires a new certificate (s. 440.05(3)). The officer must be doing work in the industry listed on the certificate (Rule 69L-6.032(4)). A construction company can have no more than three exempt officers, each owning at least 10% (s. 440.02(18)(b)2). And the certificate itself says it is not a license (s. 440.05(4)). More in our guide to construction exemptions.

Keep it current while the job runs

• If the work continues past the expiration date of the policy or the exemption, get new evidence (Rule 69L-6.032(8)).
• You may register in writing with the sub’s workers’ comp insurer and then receive written notice if the policy is canceled or not renewed (s. 440.05(7)).
• An officer who revokes an exemption must notify the contractor (s. 440.05(3)).
• If your sub hires its own subs, it becomes a contractor under the same rule and needs the same papers from them (Rule 69L-6.032(9)).
• Keep copies in the job file. The rule says the contractor provides this evidence to the state when requested.

What happens when the papers are missing

If you did not obtain the evidence and the sub was uninsured, you are liable for the sub’s employees. If you have not secured that coverage, you get a stop-work order and a penalty, and the payroll of uninsured subs is added to yours when the penalty is calculated. If you collected proper evidence and the sub still failed to keep coverage, the stop-work order goes to the sub, not to you, as long as your own employees are covered (Rule 69L-6.032(6)–(7)).

A stop-work order requires all business operations to stop, carries a penalty of $1,000 for each day you keep working in violation, and is posted on the division’s website for at least 5 years (s. 440.107(7)). For a contractor licensed under chapter 489, the department also notifies the DBPR (s. 440.107(14)).

Liability certificates and licenses: the other half

Workers’ comp evidence is required by law. A sub’s general liability certificate is usually required by your contract with the owner or the general contractor. Ask for a certificate in the sub’s exact business name, with dates that cover your job and any additional insured wording your own contract requires. Remember that additional insured status comes from an endorsement on the sub’s policy, not from the certificate; our certificate of insurance guide explains the difference. An insurer must verify a contractor’s certificate on request (s. 624.447).

Check licenses too. A contractor must subcontract electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, sheet metal, swimming pool and air-conditioning work unless it holds a license in that trade (s. 489.113(3)). You can look up a sub’s state license on the DBPR license search.

A checklist for every sub

1. Before day one: workers’ comp evidence in one of the accepted forms, or the exemption plus a policy for any crew.
2. A general liability certificate in the exact business name, with the endorsements your contract requires.
3. A license check for licensed trades.
4. Every expiration date on your calendar, with new evidence requested before it passes.
5. A written request to the sub’s insurer for cancellation notices.
6. All of it in the job file, ready if the state asks.

For your own coverage, see contractor insurance in Florida, handyman insurance and general liability.