How to Fill Out the Ohio Workers’ Comp Exemption Form (U-3S)

Ohio’s workers’ comp exemption form, the U-3S, is how a sole proprietor, partner, LLC member, family farm corporate officer, individually incorporated owner, or minister tells the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) to add workers’ comp coverage on themselves — or to drop it.¹ These owners are not automatically covered under Ohio law, so the U-3S is the opt-in and the opt-out. You can download it from the BWC website, complete one page, and submit it online, by fax, or by mail.

Who Can Use the U-3S

Under Ohio Revised Code 4123.01, business owners aren’t treated as “employees” for workers’ comp purposes unless they ask to be. They can elect to be included by notifying BWC in writing, and the U-3S is that notification.²

The form lists seven categories of people who qualify:

Sole proprietor
Partnership
LLC acting as a sole proprietor
LLC acting as a partnership
Family farm corporate officers
Individual incorporated as a corporation (with no other employees)
Ordained or associate ministers of a religious organization

If you fall into one of these categories and don’t file the U-3S, BWC will not pay benefits for any work-related injury you suffer, and your health or disability insurance may exclude workplace injuries too.¹

Before You File: You Need an Active BWC Policy

The U-3S only works if you already have an open BWC policy. If you don’t, file the U-3 (Application for Ohio Workers’ Compensation Coverage) first and establish the policy, then come back to the U-3S for elective coverage on yourself.¹

Pull up your policy records before you start. Your legal business name, BWC policy number, and any trade name on the U-3S need to match what BWC already has on file. Mismatches are the common reason applications stall. If your business name or structure recently changed, update that with BWC first.

Filling Out the Form

The U-3S itself is short. Enter:

Legal business name
BWC policy number (up to eight digits)
Trade name or DBA, if any
Whether you are applying for elective coverage or requesting to cancel it
For each individual: full legal name, title, and which of the seven categories above applies

List every person you want added. If two partners both want coverage, both names go on the form. If only one partner wants it, list only that one.

Payroll Reporting Once You Elect Coverage

Electing coverage brings a reporting obligation. BWC caps your reportable income between 50 percent and 150 percent of the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW) set each year by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.¹ What you actually report depends on your structure:

Sole proprietors and partners, including LLCs taxed that way, report actual net income from Form 1040 Schedule C or Form 1065 Schedule K-1, including draws, kept within the minimum and maximum.
Family farm corporate officers and individually incorporated owners report actual W-2 wages. S-corporation owners add wages for services performed plus all or part of ordinary income from Schedule K-1, up to the maximum.
Ministers covered under a religious organization’s policy report actual earnings with no minimum or maximum. A minister who elects coverage as a sole proprietor instead uses the sole proprietor rules.

How and Where to Submit

BWC accepts the completed U-3S three ways:¹

Online: sign in at bwc.ohio.gov, go to the My Policy page, and click “Upload documents.”
Fax: 614-719-5313
Mail: BWC Mail Processing Center, Attn: RTS Classification Unit, 30 W. Spring St., Columbus, OH 43215-2256

Coverage takes effect the date BWC receives your completed application, not the date you sign or mail it. An injury the day before BWC processes the form is not covered, so the online upload is the fastest confirmation and the safest choice if timing matters.

Using the U-3S to Cancel Coverage

The same form handles cancellations. Check the cancel box, identify the person whose coverage is being dropped, and submit it the same three ways.³

One timing rule trips people up. To cancel coverage retroactively to the original effective date, BWC must receive the request within 45 days of the first invoice that included elective coverage in the estimated premium. Miss that window and the cancellation only applies going forward.¹ You still owe reporting and premiums on elective coverage wages through the end date of coverage, even after you file the cancellation.

Keep the U-3S current when people come and go. A partner who leaves but stays listed as covered keeps generating premium charges. A new partner who wants coverage won’t get it until BWC processes a fresh U-3S naming them.

What Opting Out Actually Means

Ohio workers’ comp is a no-fault system: benefits flow regardless of fault, and injured workers generally can’t sue the employer for damages. When you are both the owner and the worker and you decline coverage, you give up that guaranteed benefit stream. Medical bills, lost income, and rehabilitation come out of your own pocket or whatever personal insurance you carry, and personal policies often exclude work-related injuries.

Keep copies of every U-3S you submit along with BWC’s confirmation. During an audit, you want to be able to show exactly who was covered and when.

A Note on the Religious Sect Exemption

If you’re looking for the religious exemption under ORC 4123.15 — the one that lets qualifying religious sect members opt out of workers’ comp entirely alongside their Social Security exemption — that is a separate process, not a U-3S filing. The employer applies to the BWC administrator using forms the bureau provides, which may be the same as or similar to IRS Form 4029, and the application includes a signed waiver and affidavits from both the employer and the employee confirming membership in a qualifying sect.⁴ The U-3S will not get you there.

1
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Application for or Request to Cancel Elective Coverage
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 4123 – Section 4123.01
3
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Canceling Coverage
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 4123 – Section 4123.15