To file a workers’ comp exemption in Florida, you submit an online application through the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s exemption portal at apps.fldfs.com/bocexempt. The filing itself takes about 15 minutes. Qualifying is the harder part: only corporate officers and LLC members who meet specific ownership and registration rules can apply, construction applicants pay a $50 fee and face tighter caps, and the Division has 30 days to approve or reject you.
Who Can Apply
Florida Statute 440.05 limits exemptions to corporate officers and qualifying LLC members. Sole proprietors and general partners in non-construction industries are already excluded from workers’ compensation coverage by default and don’t need to file. Sole proprietors and partners in construction cannot file at all — the law classifies them as employees who must be covered.
Corporate Officers
In construction, you must own at least 10% of the corporation’s stock and be listed as an officer with the Florida Division of Corporations. No more than three officers per corporation, or per group of affiliated corporations under substantially the same ownership or control, can hold exemptions at the same time.
In non-construction industries, any officer listed with the Division of Corporations can apply. There’s no minimum ownership requirement and no cap on how many officers per company can be exempt.
LLC Members
An LLC member who owns at least 10% of the company is treated the same as a corporate officer. Construction LLCs are limited to three exempt members per company or affiliated group. Non-construction LLCs can have up to 10 exempt members.
Baseline Requirements for Everyone
Your company must be registered and listed as active with the Florida Division of Corporations. The business cannot have an active Stop Work Order or Working in Violation notice on file. Either of those will get your application rejected.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
The portal will ask you to attest personally that everything on the application is accurate. Someone else cannot sign for you. Gather the following before you log in:
- Your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security Number or ITIN, and Florida driver’s license or Florida ID number.
- The business’s legal name, Federal Employer Identification Number, and the document number on file with the Division of Corporations.
- Your corporate title or LLC member status, and your percentage of ownership.
Filing Through the Portal
Go to apps.fldfs.com/bocexempt and select “Apply for Exemption.” Complete the application fields, attest to the information, and submit.
If you’re in the construction industry, you’ll pay a $50 application fee plus a $1 convenience fee by credit card, debit card, or bank account. Non-construction exemptions have no fee. There is no paper option for new applications.
Provide an email address on the application so the Division can notify you when your certificate is ready. The Division has 30 days from the date it receives your application to review it. If you’re approved, you’ll receive a digital Certificate of Election to be Exempt, and you’re responsible for printing your own copy. Many general contractors will ask to see it before you set foot on a job site.
What You Give Up
Once your exemption is active, you are no longer considered an employee of your business under Florida law. If you’re injured on the job, you cannot recover any workers’ compensation benefits — no medical coverage, no lost wages, no disability payments. The statute is explicit: “An officer of a corporation who elects exemption from this chapter … may not recover benefits or compensation under this chapter.”
The exemption also doesn’t get your business out of carrying insurance. Construction employers must carry coverage with one or more employees; non-construction employers must carry it with four or more. Exempt officers and members don’t count toward those thresholds, but everyone else on payroll does. Filing removes your name from the policy; it doesn’t remove the policy.
Before you file, look hard at what your personal health and disability insurance actually covers for a workplace accident. In construction, where serious injuries are more common, thin personal coverage can turn a bad day into a financial catastrophe.
Keeping Your Exemption Current
Renewal
A Florida workers’ compensation exemption expires at midnight exactly two years from its issue date. There is no automatic renewal. To keep exempt status uninterrupted, submit a new application through the same online portal before the expiration date. Construction exemptions require another $50 at renewal.
If you let it lapse, you’re immediately reclassified as an employee for workers’ compensation purposes. For a construction business, that can open a coverage gap that puts the company out of compliance.
Revoking Early
To cancel your exemption before it expires — after selling your ownership stake, for example — file Form DFS-F2-DWC-250-R (Notice of Revocation of Election to be Exempt) and email it to WC_EXEMPTION@MYFLORIDACFO.COM. Only the person named on the certificate, or another officer of the same company listed with the Division of Corporations, can file the revocation. If you’re a subcontractor, tell your general contractor. The Division will notify your company’s workers’ compensation carrier once the revocation is processed.
Changes That Can Trigger Revocation
Dropping below the 10% ownership threshold, leaving the company, or changing your business structure can all cost you the exemption. You’re responsible for reporting these changes, and the Division can revoke your certificate at any time if it determines you no longer qualify.
What Happens If You Lie on the Application
Filing a false or misleading exemption application is insurance fraud under Florida Statute 440.105. Penalties scale with the dollar value involved: a third-degree felony under $20,000, a second-degree felony from $20,000 to $99,999, and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more.
Separately, it is a first-degree misdemeanor for any employer to coerce or pressure a worker into obtaining an exemption as a condition of employment. Bringing someone on as a nominal “officer” with a token ownership stake to avoid insuring them is exactly the arrangement the Division investigates.