Verify a Florida Workers' Comp Exemption or Policy

The Division of Workers’ Compensation runs two separate searches, and a contractor checking a subcontractor usually needs both. One returns exemptions held by named officers. The other returns policies reported by carriers. A result in either can be true and still not answer the question.

The two databases

Exemption Search, on the Division of Workers’ Compensation data portal. The Division describes it as producing:

“a downloadable list of officers of a corporation or members of a limited liability company who have excluded themselves from the workers’ compensation laws. Once they are exempt, the officers or members are not considered employees for workers’ compensation coverage and may not recover workers’ compensation benefits.”

It is searched by last name, first name, employer name or federal employer ID, with a construction or non-construction selector.

Proof of Coverage Database, on the same portal. It returns policies reported to the Division within the past five years, searchable by employer name, federal employer ID, policy number, or county.

Both are reached from the portal’s Coverage page, alongside the stop-work-order database and the construction policy tracking service.

A match has to be two things at once

This is the part most checks get wrong, and it is squarely statutory. An exemption is tied to a person and to a company. Fla. Stat. 440.05(11):

“Certificates of election to be exempt issued under subsection (3) apply only to the corporate officer named on the notice of election to be exempt.”

and Fla. Stat. 440.05(3):

“The certificate of election must list the name of the corporation listed in the request for exemption. A new certificate of election must be obtained each time the person is employed by a new or different corporation that is not listed on the certificate of election.”

So a certificate naming the right person under the wrong company is not a certificate for the work in front of you. Match the officer and the entity, not just the officer.

The result that looks like coverage and is not

The Division publishes this caveat on the coverage database itself:

“Although a client company of an employee leasing company or a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) may be listed as having coverage, it is important to note that only the workers reported to and accepted by the employee leasing company or PEO have workers’ compensation coverage. Therefore, it is recommended to contact the employee leasing company or PEO to verify who has coverage with the client company.”

A company can appear covered while a particular worker on a particular day is not.

Why a contractor checks rather than accepts a photocopy

Two provisions put the cost of a bad exemption on the contractor. Fla. Stat. 440.10(1)(b):

“In case a contractor sublets any part or parts of his or her contract work to a subcontractor or subcontractors, all of the employees of such contractor and subcontractor or subcontractors engaged on such contract work shall be deemed to be employed in one and the same business or establishment, and the contractor shall be liable for, and shall secure, the payment of compensation to all such employees, except to employees of a subcontractor who has secured such payment.”

And where an exemption turns out invalid, Fla. Stat. 440.10(1)(d)2 leaves the contractor paying first and recovering afterwards:

“If a contractor or third-party payor becomes liable for the payment of compensation to the corporate officer of a subcontractor who is engaged in the construction industry and has elected to be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, but whose election is invalid, the contractor or third-party payor may recover from the claimant or corporation all benefits paid or payable plus interest, unless the contractor and the subcontractor have agreed in writing that the contractor will provide coverage.”

The statute’s own requirement on the contractor is Fla. Stat. 440.10(1)(c):

“A contractor shall require a subcontractor to provide evidence of workers’ compensation insurance. A subcontractor who is a corporation and has an officer who elects to be exempt as permitted under this chapter shall provide a copy of his or her certificate of exemption to the contractor.”

That paragraph carries no timing word. The statutory deadline that does exist is the permit condition in Fla. Stat. 440.103, which requires proof each time an employer applies for a building permit.

What this search does not tell you

An exemption certificate is not a contractor license, and the certificate says so on its face. Whether the person may lawfully perform the work is a separate search against a separate register — checking a contractor’s license covers that one.

Where to go next: who may elect an exemption sets out the eligibility rules behind a result, how a certificate is obtained covers the application, and the Florida general contractor license guide covers the licensing framework.