Workers’ Comp Construction Exemptions in Florida: Renewal and Limits

If you run a small construction company in Florida, the workers’ comp exemption on your phone or in your truck has an expiration date printed on it. Miss it, and on paper you are an employee of your own company again. This guide covers who can hold a construction exemption, the limits the law sets, how renewal works and how to check any exemption. Whether a helper counts as an employee is covered in our employee or 1099 guide.

What an exemption is, and what it is not

An exemption lets an officer of a corporation, or a member of an LLC, exclude himself or herself from Florida’s workers’ compensation law. The Division of Workers’ Compensation issues it to the person, not to the business. Once it is issued, that officer is not considered an employee and cannot collect workers’ comp benefits (DFS; s. 440.05(13)).

• It covers only the named officer. The certificate applies to the officer on the notice and to no one else (s. 440.05(11)). In construction, a business with one or more employees must carry workers’ comp, and owners without an exemption count (s. 440.02(20); DFS FAQ). When applying, the officer must certify that the company’s employees are covered.
• It is not a contractor license. By law the certificate itself says it is not a license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) (s. 440.05(4)).
• It is not insurance. It pays nothing if you get hurt. It only takes you out of the count.

Who qualifies: the limits in the law

For the construction industry, the statute and the Division set these conditions (s. 440.02(11), (18)(b); DFS construction exemptions):

• The corporation or LLC is registered and active with the Florida Division of Corporations, and you are listed there as an officer.
• You own at least 10%: of the stock for a corporation, or of the LLC for a member.
• No more than three officers of one company, or of a group of affiliated companies (corporations and LLCs together), may be exempt.
• You are not affiliated with an active stop-work order, and you hold a valid driver license (the Division accepts one expired no more than 30 days).

Sole proprietors and partners are not on this list. In construction the law counts a sole proprietor and a partner as employees (s. 440.02(18)(c)). To use an exemption, the business has to be a corporation or an LLC.

How you apply

Everything is filed online in the Division’s Notice of Election to be Exempt system. Under s. 440.05(3) the notice lists your name, date of birth, driver license or Florida ID number, any chapter 489 contractor licenses, the company’s Division of Corporations number, your ownership percentage and the federal tax ID of each company you work for. You also certify that you completed the Division’s online coverage and compliance tutorial. You must sign it yourself: false information on the notice is a third-degree felony (s. 440.05(4)).

The state fee is $50 for each construction exemption or renewal (s. 440.05(8)), and the online system adds a $1 convenience fee. The Division has 30 days to review the notice, and an approved exemption shows up in the public Exemption Search the next day (DFS).

Two years, then it expires: renewal

A certificate is valid for 2 years from its effective date. Both dates are printed on its face, and it expires at midnight on the date shown. At least 60 days before that, the Division sends a notice to the address on the certificate or the e-mail on file (s. 440.05(6)), so keep your e-mail current.

1. Find the expiration date on your certificate or in the Exemption Search.
2. Renew with the Renew Exemption option, not a new application. Do not file more than 90 days before expiration: the Division says an early renewal makes the previous exemption for the same business null and void (DFS).
3. Pay the $50 renewal fee, then print the new certificate and send copies to the contractors you work for.

If it lapses, an officer who works for pay counts as an employee again (s. 440.02(18)(b)). A construction company without the required coverage can receive a stop-work order, plus a penalty of twice what the coverage would have cost for the period, or $1,000, whichever is greater (s. 440.107(7)).

When you need a new certificate

• A new or different company. The certificate names the corporation. If you go to work for one that is not listed, you need a new certificate (s. 440.05(3)).
• You no longer qualify. If your ownership drops below 10% or you are no longer listed as an officer, the exemption is subject to revocation (s. 440.05(12)).
• You revoke it yourself. If you are a subcontractor, you must tell your contractor (s. 440.05(3)).

How to check any exemption

The Division’s Proof of Coverage portal has an Exemption Search listing officers and members who opted out. You can search by employer name or federal tax ID and filter construction or non-construction. Look yourself up a few months before the date.

For general contractors it is a legal duty: you must get evidence of workers’ comp from each sub, and a corporate sub with an exempt officer must give you a copy of the certificate (s. 440.10(1)(c)). The Division accepts that copy or a screen print of the Exemption Search, obtained before the job starts (DFS FAQ). Remember the limit: the exemption covers the sub’s owner, not the crew. If that sub has uninsured workers, the law treats them as yours (s. 440.10(1)(b)). Our certificate of insurance guide explains what to collect.

Where insurance comes in

An exemption answers one question: does the owner count? The day you hire a helper, the company needs a workers’ comp policy. The exemption also does nothing for damage to a client’s property or injuries to the public; that is general liability, a separate policy. Our contractor insurance page covers both.