The Texas DWC-83 form is a Division of Workers’ Compensation document that lets a hiring contractor and a construction-industry subcontractor put their workers’ comp relationship in writing. On one form, the two parties choose one of two options: they either affirm that the subcontractor is genuinely independent and the hiring contractor owes no coverage, or they agree the hiring contractor will treat the subcontractor as an employee for workers’ comp and provide coverage. Once both parties sign, the hiring contractor has 10 days to file a copy with their workers’ comp insurance carrier.
The form has nothing to do with disputing or denying a claim. It sets the coverage arrangement before an injury ever happens.
Which Option to Choose
The DWC-83 offers two mutually exclusive choices. You check one, never both.
- A joint agreement to affirm an independent relationship, under Texas Labor Code Section 406.145. The subcontractor is not an employee, the hiring contractor takes on no workers’ comp responsibility, and the carrier will not charge premiums for the subcontractor or the subcontractor’s employees.
- An agreement to establish an employer-employee relationship, under Texas Labor Code Section 406.144. The hiring contractor buys workers’ comp coverage for the subcontractor and the subcontractor’s crew and becomes the “employer” for workers’ comp purposes only. Nothing else about the business relationship changes.
The choice has real money behind it. Affirming independence means the subcontractor’s workers have no access to the hiring contractor’s policy if someone is hurt. Establishing an employer-employee relationship extends the policy but raises premiums to reflect the added payroll. If you pick the employer-employee option, the form also asks whether the hiring contractor will withhold the cost of that coverage from what the subcontractor is paid or absorb it.
Who Qualifies as an Independent Contractor
You can only use the DWC-83 if the subcontractor genuinely qualifies as an independent contractor. The form prints the test from Texas Labor Code Section 406.141(2). In the building and construction context, an independent contractor is someone who:
- Is paid by the job, not by the hour or any other time measure.
- Is free to hire helpers and set their pay.
- Is free to work for other contractors, or send helpers to work for other contractors, during the same contract period.
All three matter. A framing crew paid a flat rate per house but told exactly when to arrive and barred from side jobs may not meet the definition, whatever the contract calls them.
How to Complete the Form
The DWC-83 has three parts. Both parties sign, and both must check the same agreement type.
Part 1: Agreement Details
Choose whether this is a blanket agreement covering all work between the two parties or a job-site-specific agreement. A blanket agreement is simpler when you hire the same subcontractor repeatedly, since it covers every job for up to a year. A job-site-specific agreement fits a one-off project. Fill in the start and end dates, the estimated number of employees affected, and the addresses of up to three job sites covered.
Part 2: Hiring Contractor Information
Enter the hiring contractor’s legal name, federal tax ID number, mailing address, and email. Check one of the two agreement types. If you select the employer-employee option, indicate whether the cost of coverage will be withheld from the subcontractor’s price. Sign and date.
Part 3: Independent Contractor Information
The subcontractor fills in the same identifying information, checks the same agreement type the hiring contractor selected, and signs and dates the form. The agreement takes effect on the date both parties have signed it, or on the start date listed in Part 1, whichever is later.
Filing With the Carrier
The hiring contractor must file a legible, complete copy of the signed agreement with their workers’ comp insurance carrier within 10 days of signing. The hiring contractor keeps the original. The subcontractor should keep a copy too.
If the hiring contractor switches carriers while the agreement is still in effect, file the form again with the new carrier. You may also file a copy with the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation under Labor Code Section 406.145, but the mandatory filing is with the carrier. The form is available on the TDI workers’ compensation agreement forms page.
How Long the Agreement Lasts
An agreement affirming an independent relationship applies to every hiring agreement between the same two parties until the first anniversary of the date the hiring contractor filed the form with their carrier. After that year, you need a new DWC-83 to keep operating under the same arrangement.
A job-site-specific agreement is narrower. It covers only the locations and date range listed in Part 1, and it expires on its own terms when the job wraps or the end date passes.
Ending or Changing the Agreement
Not every future job between the same parties has to fall under a blanket DWC-83. If the hiring contractor and subcontractor enter a new hiring agreement that they want excluded from the existing DWC-83, both parties must notify the hiring contractor’s workers’ comp carrier in writing within 10 days of making that new hiring agreement.
Switching from an independent-relationship agreement to an employer-employee relationship requires a new written agreement, and the new agreement must explicitly state that the previous DWC-83 no longer applies. This matters because once the independent-relationship version is signed, the subcontractor and the subcontractor’s employees lose any entitlement to coverage from the hiring contractor. Coverage does not come back automatically. It takes a new agreement and a new filing.
What Coverage Looks Like After Signing
With an independent-relationship agreement in place, the hiring contractor’s carrier will not cover the subcontractor’s workers. An injured worker would need to look to the subcontractor’s own workers’ comp policy, if one exists. Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers’ comp, so a subcontractor operating without a policy leaves their crew exposed. The injured worker’s only recourse may be a personal-injury lawsuit against the subcontractor or, in some circumstances, against the hiring contractor directly.
With an employer-employee agreement, the hiring contractor’s policy extends to the subcontractor and the subcontractor’s employees. That protects the workers, and it also gives the hiring contractor the exclusive-remedy defense that comes with providing coverage. Those workers generally cannot sue the hiring contractor for on-the-job injuries and are limited to workers’ comp benefits instead.
Texas Labor Code Section 406.124 adds a caution. If a contractor with workers’ comp coverage subcontracts work specifically to avoid liability as an employer, an injured employee of that subcontractor can be treated as the contractor’s own employee for workers’ comp purposes. The DWC-83 does not override this. Signing an independent-relationship agreement while structuring the arrangement to dodge coverage obligations can backfire.
Penalties for Not Filing
Failing to file required workers’ comp documents or comply with Division rules can trigger administrative penalties under Texas Labor Code Section 415.021. The commissioner may assess fines of up to $25,000 per day per occurrence, and each day of noncompliance counts as a separate violation. Before setting an amount, the commissioner weighs the seriousness of the violation, the violator’s compliance history, good-faith efforts to correct the problem, and whether the violation harmed an injured employee’s access to benefits.