EstablishedUnder reviewcommercial lines CA

How do workers compensation class codes affect a quote?

Effective: August 31, 2026
Last reviewed: August 31, 2026
Author: Aaron Bollinger
Reviewer: Brian Bollinger
Sources: 11 records

Start with which system applies, because that is a question of state. NCCI states that its Experience Rating Plan does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, nor in the four monopolistic states of North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming [9]; California businesses are classified under the Standard Classification System in Part 3 of the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995, which is part of the California Code of Regulations and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner [1]. Within either system, a classification selects the rate that multiplies your payroll, which puts it directly inside the premium formula. The California Department of Insurance describes the calculation this way: the payroll estimated for each classification is multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate; the sum is the base premium; and the base premium is then further modified, up or down, using rating plans (usually schedule or judgment rating) and by the experience modification [7]. NCCI sets out the same per-$100 structure for the states where its plan applies [9]. In California, classifications are developed and assigned codes by the WCIRB and approved by the Insurance Commissioner, and insurers generally use these classifications when writing policies [7]; the WCIRB also has authority to inspect an employer's premises for classification assignment purposes [3], and final premium cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited [7]. This site does not and cannot assign, confirm, or change your classification, no sentence on this page tells you which code fits your business, and nothing here is legal advice.

What this assumes

You are an employer buying a workers compensation policy from an insurer, rather than operating as a legally self-insured employer.
Payroll, called remuneration in the California plan, is the exposure base on which the rate operates [3][9].
The California detail below reads one specific edition: the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995 approved effective 12:01 AM, September 1, 2026 [3]. That edition is not yet in force on the date this page was reviewed, and a policy governed by an earlier edition must be read against that earlier edition.
You have not yet been through a WCIRB classification inspection or an end-of-term premium audit on the policy in question.
Nothing here identifies which classification fits your business. Every classification number named below comes from a worked example inside the plan or from an adjudicated record about a different employer, never from anything about you. That determination is made by the rating bureau and the insurer, with the appeal route described below.

Why this is the answer

Settle the jurisdiction before anything else, because the two systems in play are separately sourced and only one of them governs a California policy. NCCI states that, as of that publication, 39 jurisdictions have approved and authorized the use of its Experience Rating Plan, and that the plan does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, nor in the four monopolistic states of North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming, which administer their own plans and rates [9]. Even among the states where the plan does apply, administration is not uniform: NCCI says the plan applies in Indiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina but that the independent rating organizations in those three states produce their own intrastate modifications, and that Minnesota and Wisconsin participate only where an employer has exposure in two or more participating states within the experience period [9]. On the other side of the line, California businesses are classified for insurer data reporting purposes using the Standard Classification System found in Part 3 of the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995, which is part of the California Code of Regulations and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner, and which contains approximately 700 industry classifications [1][2]. NCCI, for its part, describes itself as a licensed rating, advisory and statistical organization that maintains the workers compensation infrastructure of classifications, rules, plans and forms and that recommends rates or loss costs filed with NCCI states for approval [10]. Everything below that names a California rule or a California classification number is that California plan, and specifically the edition effective 12:01 AM, September 1, 2026 [3].

With that settled, start with the arithmetic, because that is where the class code does its work. The California Department of Insurance describes the calculation this way: the payroll for each classification is estimated and then multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate, and the sum of that equation is referred to as the base premium; the base premium is then further modified, increased or decreased, using rating plans (usually schedule or judgment rating) and by the experience modification [7]. NCCI sets out the same structure for the states where its plan applies: each $100 of payroll is multiplied by the rate to arrive at the premium for each classification, summing those classification premiums yields the initial total premium, and the modification is then applied to arrive at the modified premium [9]. In that formula the rate is attached to the classification, so the classification determines which rate multiplies each dollar of payroll assigned to it [7][9]. Rates differ sharply between classifications. A proposed decision of a California Department of Insurance administrative law judge dated October 23, 2001, applying the 2000 edition of the California plan, recorded a pure premium rate of $31.86 per $100.00 of payroll for classification 0106, Tree Pruning Repairing or Trimming, against $.76 for classification 8810, Clerical Office Employees, and recorded that the employer in that matter saw its own insurer rate go from $2.17 to $4.57 per $100.00 of payroll on reassignment, more than doubling its premium [8]. Those are historical figures from a superseded edition, about one other employer, cited only to show the size of the spread; current rates are different.

As a general rule, and subject to the exceptions in the next paragraph, the California classification describes the business rather than the separate job titles inside it. The WCIRB states that for most industries classifications are assigned by analyzing an employer's overall California operations and identifying one classification that describes the business as a whole, and that most employers are assigned to only one classification [1]. The 2001 E M Machining proposed decision puts the same principle in the plan's own terms: generally it is the business of the employer within California that is classified, not the separate employments, occupations or operations within the business [8]. The Single Enterprise rule in the edition of the plan effective September 1, 2026 carries this through: if the employer's business, conducted at one or more locations, consists of a single operation or a number of separate operations that normally prevail in the business described by a single classification, the entire exposure of the business is assigned to that single classification, and no division of payroll is permitted for any other operation unless the classification phraseology or another provision of that plan specifically provides for it [3]. That edition's own worked example, printed in the plan itself, is a full service restaurant whose staff includes chefs, bakers, dishwashers, wait staff, janitors and car parking valets, plus a storage facility at an additional location holding restaurant supplies; because those operations normally prevail in the operation of a full service restaurant, the example concludes that Classification 9080, Restaurants - full service, applies to all of the employees [3]. NCCI states the grouping principle the same way: under manual rating all employers are grouped according to their business operation or classification, and an employer is assigned to a classification to ensure that the rates reflect the costs of all employers with similar characteristics [9].

The exceptions are numerous, and they are where payroll actually gets divided. The WCIRB lists seven general procedures used in assigning classifications: Assignment by Analogy, Standard Exceptions, Single Enterprise, Multiple Enterprises, Miscellaneous Employees, General Inclusions and General Exclusions, and Special Industries [2]. Under the Multiple Enterprises rule in the September 1, 2026 edition, two or more distinct operations that do not normally prevail in the business described by a single classification are separately classified only if they are physically separated; where two or more distinct operations are not physically separated, they are assigned to the highest-rated classification applicable to the distinct operations conducted in the common workspace [3]. Standard Exceptions run the other way: when a Standard Exception is assigned to the basic business, all employees not specifically included in that Standard Exception's definition must be separately classified, and the example printed under that rule moves an investment firm's facility maintenance employee out of Classification 8810, Clerical Office Employees, into Classification 9015(1) [3]. Section IV of that edition adds eight Special Industry Classification Procedures, covering Aircraft Operation, Construction or Erection Work, Electronic Products Design and Manufacturing, Farms, Stores, Wrecking or Demolition and Building Raising or Moving, Labor Contractors, and Property Management/Operation [3]. Every classification number in this paragraph and the last is quoted from the plan's own illustrations. None of them is a determination about any reader's business, and this page does not make one.

The California system's authority chain matters when you want to know who can change an assignment. The edition effective September 1, 2026 carries the citation Title 10, California Code of Regulations Section 2318.6 on its cover page, and its memorandum states that the effective date of the amended plan is 12:01 AM, September 1, 2026 [3]. Any business specifically described by a classification must be assigned to that classification, and any business not specifically described must be assigned to the most analogous classification, which the plan frames as the classification most analogous from the standpoint of process and hazard [2][3]. The WCIRB is a rating organization licensed by the Insurance Commissioner under Insurance Code section 11750 et seq. to assist the Commissioner in the development and administration of workers compensation insurance classification and rating systems, and it serves as the Commissioner's designated statistical agent [8][5]. The CDI adds that classifications grouping distinct and identifiable occupations, industries or business are developed and assigned codes by the WCIRB and approved by the Insurance Commissioner, and that workers compensation insurers generally use these classifications when writing policies [7].

Experience rating sits on top of the class-code arithmetic; it does not replace it. California's experience rating system is governed by the California Workers' Compensation Experience Rating Plan-1995, which is part of the California Code of Regulations at Title 10, Chapter 5, Section 2353.1 and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner [4]. The modification compares the loss or claims history of one company to all other companies in the same industry that are similar in size; generally a modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience while more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience, and the WCIRB adds that a modification greater than 100 percent usually increases the cost of an employer's premiums while a modification less than 100 percent usually decreases it [4][7]. NCCI expresses the same idea in factor form: the modification applied to a policy is a unity factor of 1.00, a credit mod lower than 1.00, or a debit mod higher than 1.00, and it is applied to the initial total premium to arrive at the modified premium [9]. Not all employers are eligible for experience rating; for those that qualify it is mandatory, more than 130,000 California businesses are experience rated, representing approximately 80 percent of all California workers compensation insurance premiums paid, and the modification applies regardless of which insurer provides the policy [4]. The comparison group is itself defined by classification: NCCI describes experience rating as comparing the experience of individual employers with the average employer in the same classification [9], and the WCIRB describes the comparison as being against other companies in the same industry that are similar in size [4].

Classification gets checked after the fact, and a correction can reach backward. The CDI states that the final premium of a workers compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited [7]. The September 1, 2026 edition of the California plan makes the recordkeeping consequence explicit in two places. Under Part 3, Section V, Rule 2, if the employer fails to keep complete and accurate records of remuneration in sufficient detail to permit the proper classification of payroll and to make them available for examination by the insurer, the total remuneration earned is assigned to the highest rated classification describing any part of the work [3]. Under Part 3, Section V, Rule 3, one employee's payroll may be divided between two or more classifications only if the employer has maintained complete and accurate records supported by original time cards or time book entries showing separately, both by individual employee and in summary by operations performed, the remuneration earned by that employee; division is not allowed in connection with Standard Exception classifications or where it is contrary to classification phraseology; if those records are not kept, the employee's entire remuneration is assigned to the highest rated classification applicable to any part of the work performed by the employee; and payroll may not be divided by percentages, averages or estimates [3]. A differently worded version of this default, assigning operations without separate payroll records to the highest rated classification applicable to the job or location, sits in Part 3, Section IV, Rule 2, Construction or Erection Work, and belongs to that special-industry context rather than to the general rules [3]. Construction and erection work carries a further documentation rule of its own: under Section IV, Rule 2a, a classification that requires the regular hourly wage to equal or exceed a specified amount may be used only on verification that the employee is actually paid at or above that amount, supported for non-salaried employees by original time cards or time book entries or by a valid collective bargaining agreement showing the hourly rate by job classification, and payroll that cannot be reconciled to those records may not be assigned to such a classification [3].

Reassignment also happens outside the audit. Part 3, Section VI of that edition gives the WCIRB authority to inspect the premises of any employer for classification assignment purposes and makes the WCIRB responsible for a comprehensive inspection program to ensure that insurers use the proper classifications in reporting payroll and losses; where a classification assignment results from a WCIRB inspection, notice is published by providing the inspection report to either the insurer of record at the time the inspection was conducted or the insurer of record at the time the report is released, and the WCIRB provides a copy to the employer within 30 days from the date the report is published [3]. In the E M Machining matter, the carrier's underwriting department asked the WCIRB to conduct a physical inspection of the plant to verify whether the operations were properly assigned, the WCIRB issued a Classification Inspection Report and later a second one reassigning the operations, and the administrative law judge's proposed decision ordered that the WCIRB's assignment to classification 3643(1) be affirmed [8].

When a corrected classification takes effect is set by Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3, and the rule is not symmetrical. Where the reclassification is not the result of a change of operations or a reallocation or assignment of payroll to existing classifications on the policy, a corrected classification carrying a pure premium rate higher than the erroneous one is effective as of the effective date of the erroneous assignment only if one of three timing conditions is met: the assignment is published within three months of the effective date of the erroneous assignment, the WCIRB was notified in writing of a possible error within three months, or the WCIRB notified the insurer of record in writing within three months that the erroneous assignment was under review. Otherwise the revised assignment is effective as of the date it is published, unless it is published less than three months before the outstanding policy expires, in which case it is effective as of the inception date of the policy that replaces the outstanding policy [3]. A corrected classification carrying a lower pure premium rate is effective as of the inception date of a policy outstanding on the date the insurer of record is notified in writing that the erroneous assignment is under review, and the rule's second sentence, which is the branch most easily missed, adds that the assignment shall also be applied as of the inception date of a policy that expired no more than twelve months prior to the date the assignment was published or the insurer of record was so notified, provided the erroneous assignment was applicable to that expired policy. A downward correction can therefore reach one already-expired policy term as well as the current one [3]. Two further branches sit outside that rule: a classification assignment due to a change of operations is published and effective as of the date of the change of operations regardless of the resulting pure premium rate, and a reallocation or assignment of payroll to existing classifications on a policy is effective as of the inception date of the policy [3].

There is a defined route for challenging an assignment, and the deadlines on it are a legal question. Insurance Code section 11737, subdivision (f), requires every insurer or rating organization to provide within California reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its filings may be heard on written request to review the manner in which the rating system has been applied; if the insurer or rating organization fails to grant or reject the request within 30 days, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if the application had been rejected; and any party affected by the action may appeal, within 30 days after written notice of the action, to the commissioner, who may affirm, modify or reverse that action after a hearing held within 60 days from the date the party requests the appeal, or longer on agreement of the parties and not less than 10 days' written notice [11]. A timely appeal is not the same thing as a guaranteed hearing, and this is the branch most easily missed on the statute: the same subdivision provides that if the commissioner has information on the subject from which the appeal is taken and believes that a reasonable basis for the appeal does not exist, or that the appeal is not made in good faith, the commissioner may deny the appeal without a hearing, in a written denial that sets forth the basis for the denial and is served on all parties [11]. The CDI points to Title 10, California Code of Regulations Sections 2509.40 through 2509.78 for detailed procedures for disputing experience modifications and classification assignments, including appeals to the CDI, and notes that the WCIRB provides a policyholder ombudsman available to answer employer questions on classification, experience modification and rating issues [7]. In the E M Machining matter, the administrative law judge applied Title 10 CCR section 2509.61(a), under which a party has the burden of proof as to each fact essential to the claim for relief or defense it is asserting [8]. How any of that applies to a particular dispute, and when a particular clock starts, is a legal question for a lawyer.

What changes the answer

The state, which decides which system applies before any code question arises. California classifications come from the Standard Classification System in the Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan, adopted as a California regulation [1], while NCCI maintains its own classifications, rules, plans and forms [10] and states that its Experience Rating Plan does not apply in California [9]. Everything below this point that names a rule or a classification number is the California plan.
The classification actually assigned after a carrier underwriting review or a WCIRB classification inspection, which can differ from the code shown on the application or the expiring policy [8][3].
Whether your operations are a single enterprise or two or more distinct operations that are physically separated, which is what the Single Enterprise and Multiple Enterprises rules turn on [3].
Whether you keep complete and accurate records of remuneration in sufficient detail to permit proper classification and make them available to the insurer. Without them, Part 3, Section V, Rule 2 of the September 1, 2026 edition assigns the total remuneration earned to the highest rated classification describing any part of the work [3].
Whether you meet your state's premium eligibility point for experience rating, and whether the resulting modification is a unity, credit or debit factor [9][4].
The edition of the California plan in force for your policy period. The amended plan takes effect at 12:01 AM on September 1, 2026, and its memorandum states that the revisions adjust the minimum and maximum payroll limitations for executive officers, partners, individual employers and LLC members; raise the annual payroll limitation from $165,100 to $171,600 for thirty-four separately listed classifications, not a handful (they include 9181, 9610, 7607(1), 7607(2), 8803, 8808, 8801, 8749, 8743, 8822, 8820, 4512, 8859(1), 8859(2), 8601(1), 8601(2), 8601(4), the seven 8874 hardware or software design classifications, 8839, 9043, 8834, 4297(1), 4297(2), 8807, 7610, 8741, 9156 and 9151; the full enumeration is in this source's claims); and eliminate certain classifications with their operations reassigned to others, including 3070 to 3681(2), 2102 to 2111(1) and 2111(3) to 2111(1) [3].
The hourly wage threshold on a dual wage construction or erection classification, if you do construction work. The September 1, 2026 memorandum raises the threshold for twenty-five pairs of classifications, not only Classifications 5185/5186. The full set, with old and new thresholds, is: 5185/5186 Automatic Sprinkler Installation, $33.00 to $36.00; 5403/5432 Carpentry, $41.00 to $46.00; 5201(2)/5205(2) Concrete or Cement Work - pouring or finishing of concrete floor slabs and concrete slab-type foundations, $33.00 to $36.00; 5201(1)/5205(1) Concrete or Cement Work - pouring or finishing of concrete sidewalks, driveways, patios, curbs or gutters, $33.00 to $36.00; 5190/5140 Electrical Wiring, $36.00 to $40.00; 6218(1)/6220(1) Excavation, $40.00 to $45.00; 6315(2)/6316(2) Gas Mains or Connections Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; 5467/5470 Glaziers, $39.00 to $43.00; 6218(2)/6220(2) Grading Land, $40.00 to $45.00; 5538(2)/5542(2) Heating or Air Conditioning Ductwork, $33.00 to $37.00; 5183(3)/5187(3) Heating or Air Conditioning Equipment, $32.00 to $35.00; 6218(3)/6220(3) Land Leveling, $40.00 to $45.00; 5027/5028 Masonry, $35.00 to $37.00; 5474(1)/5482(1) Painting or Wallpaper Installation, $32.00 to $36.00; 5474(3)/5482(3) Painting - water, oil or gasoline storage tanks, $32.00 to $36.00; 5484/5485 Plastering or Stucco Work, $38.00 to $42.00; 5183(1)/5187(1) Plumbing, $32.00 to $35.00; 5183(2)/5187(2) Refrigeration Equipment, $32.00 to $35.00; 5552/5553 Roofing, $31.00 to $33.00; 6307/6308 Sewer Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; 5538(1)/5542(1) Sheet Metal Work, $33.00 to $37.00; 5632/5633 Steel Framing, $41.00 to $46.00; 5446/5447 Wallboard Installation, $41.00 to $45.00; 6315(1)/6316(1) Water Mains or Connections Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; and 5474(2)/5482(2) Waterproofing, $32.00 to $36.00 [3].
Whether your wage records can actually prove the hourly rate. Under Part 3, Section IV, Rule 2a of that edition, the lower-rated half of a dual wage pair may be used only on verification that the employee is paid at or above the threshold, supported by original time cards or time book entries or by a valid collective bargaining agreement; payroll that cannot be reconciled to those records may not be assigned to it [3].

Where it varies by state, form, carrier, or fact

NCCI states that its Experience Rating Plan does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, nor in the four monopolistic states of North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming, and that as of that publication 39 jurisdictions had approved and authorized the plan. Among the participating states, NCCI adds that Indiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina have independent rating organizations that produce their own intrastate modifications, and that Minnesota and Wisconsin participate only where an employer has exposure in two or more participating states within the experience period [9]. California's classifications come from its own regulation-adopted Standard Classification System [1].
The WCIRB calculates an advisory pure premium rate, expressed as a rate per $100 in payroll, for each classification [1]; that is not the rate an insurer charges. An insurer may deviate from the Standard Classification System for underwriting purposes while still using it for data reporting [1], insurance companies are allowed to develop and submit their own classification system to the CDI for approval, though the CDI describes this as uncommon given the strict standards required [7], and an insurer's rate filing is subject to the Commissioner's disapproval under Insurance Code section 11734(b) [8]. Insurance Code section 11737 also sets out when the commissioner may and shall disapprove rates [11].
Part 3, Section IV of the September 1, 2026 edition sets out eight Special Industry Classification Procedures, covering Aircraft Operation, Construction or Erection Work, Electronic Products Design and Manufacturing, Farms, Stores, Wrecking or Demolition and Building Raising or Moving, Labor Contractors, and Property Management/Operation, each with its own rules [3].
Standard Exception classifications are carved out separately, but when a Standard Exception is assigned to the basic business, employees not specifically included in its definition must be separately classified; the example printed under that rule moves an investment firm's facility maintenance employee out of Classification 8810 into Classification 9015(1). That is the plan's illustration, not a determination about any particular firm [3].
Audit frequency varies with premium size and with construction exposure. Under Part 3, Section VI, Rule 4a(3) of that edition, a policy producing a final premium of less than $10,500 that develops exposure in a dual wage construction or erection classification must be physically audited unless it is a renewal and the insurer physically audited one of the two immediately preceding policy periods [3].
Experience rating eligibility criteria differ by state, and an employer with exposure in a participating state and a non-participating state can end up with separate intrastate modifications produced by separate organizations; NCCI's worked example uses Florida, where NCCI develops the mod, and Pennsylvania, where the Pennsylvania bureau develops its own [9].

Next actions

Pull your declarations page and list every classification code with the estimated payroll assigned to it, then set that table beside your experience modification and any schedule or judgment rating adjustment, since the CDI describes base premium as being modified by rating plans as well as by the experience modification [7].
Read the actual phraseology and footnotes for those codes in Part 3 of the edition of the Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan in force for your policy period, or look them up in the WCIRB's Classification Search, and compare the wording to what your employees actually do [3][6].
If any of your codes is one half of a dual wage construction pair, check the threshold that applies on and after September 1, 2026 against what you actually pay, and check that your time records or collective bargaining agreement can prove it; twenty-five pairs have new thresholds on that date [3].
Fix payroll recordkeeping before the audit rather than after. If you expect payroll to be divided between codes, keep records supported by original time cards or time book entries showing remuneration separately both by individual employee and in summary by operations performed; the plan does not allow division by percentages, averages or estimates [3].
If you think a classification is wrong, make a written request to your insurer or the rating organization to review how the rating system has been applied, and ask about the timing rules in Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3, including the branch that can apply a downward correction back to a policy that expired up to twelve months earlier. Insurance Code section 11737, subdivision (f), provides for an appeal to the commissioner within 30 days after written notice of the action, and for a hearing within 60 days of the request, but it also lets the commissioner deny the appeal without a hearing where the commissioner believes there is no reasonable basis for it or that it is not made in good faith, so do not treat a filed appeal as a guaranteed hearing. The CDI points to Title 10 CCR Sections 2509.40 through 2509.78 for the procedures, and the CDI notes the WCIRB's policyholder ombudsman as a place to ask classification questions [3][11][7]. Deadlines and procedure are a legal question for a lawyer; confirm them before relying on this summary.
Ask your broker or insurer to walk you through the rating worksheet line by line: payroll per code, rate per $100 of payroll, the experience modification applied to the total, and any other rating plan adjustment [9][7].

Source ledger

11 sources. Every citation number above resolves to a record below. Nothing here sits behind an account.

[1]
Standard Classification System - Online Guide to Workers' Compensation(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB))
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Page carries schema.org datePublished 2012-12-10 and dateModified 2026-06-03; advisory pure premium rates are amended at least annually.ID wcirb-standard-classification-system
What this source supports (8)
For insurer data reporting purposes, California businesses are classified using the Standard Classification System found in Part 3 of the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995.
The Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan is part of the California Code of Regulations and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
The Standard Classification System contains approximately 700 industry classifications and describes groups of employers whose businesses are relatively similar.
An insurer may deviate from the Standard Classification System for underwriting purposes; however, for data reporting purposes, all insurers must use the standard classification system found in the Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan.
An advisory pure premium rate, expressed as a rate per $100 in payroll, is calculated by the WCIRB for each classification.
For most industries, classifications are assigned by analyzing an employer's overall California operations and identifying one classification that describes the business as a whole.
Most employers are assigned to only one classification.
Some industries have their own special classification procedures.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31. WebFetch is blocked by the site WAF (HTTP 403); fetched over HTTPS with a standard browser user agent, HTTP 200, 114,801 bytes, and read the rendered body text. Every claim above was matched as a literal string in the fetched page. An earlier draft carried a ninth claim asserting that California uses its own system 'rather than NCCI's classification manual'; a byte-level grep of the fetched page returns ZERO occurrences of 'NCCI' or 'National Council', so that claim stays deleted and this source is not cited for any NCCI proposition. The page's example rate table is labeled September 1, 2024, so no specific dollar rate is cited from it. publishedDate is the schema.org datePublished, not dateModified. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 114,913 bytes; schema.org datePublished 2012-12-10 and dateModified 2026-06-03 both re-read on the page today. A fresh case-insensitive grep for NCCI or National Council again returns ZERO hits. Published: 2012-12-10
Active
[2]
Classification Assignments - Online Guide to Workers' Compensation(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB))
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Maintained alongside annual amendments to the Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan.ID wcirb-classification-assignments
What this source supports (4)
The general rules and basic procedures for classifying a business are contained in Part 3 of the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995, which is part of the California Code of Regulations and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
Any business specifically described by a classification must be assigned to that classification; any business not specifically described by a classification must be assigned to the most analogous (most similar) classification.
Classifications assigned to a business are used by its insurer to submit payroll and loss data to the WCIRB, and the WCIRB in turn uses this data by classification for experience rating purposes and the development of pure premium rates.
The page lists seven general procedures used in assigning classifications: Assignment by Analogy, Standard Exceptions, Single Enterprise, Multiple Enterprises, Miscellaneous Employees, General Inclusions and General Exclusions, and Special Industries.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS with a browser user agent (WebFetch gets 403), HTTP 200, 87,174 bytes. All four claims matched as literal strings, including the seven-item procedure list rendered as 'Assignment by AnalogyStandard ExceptionsSingle EnterpriseMultiple EnterprisesMiscellaneous EmployeesGeneral Inclusions and General ExclusionsSpecial Industries'. The Part 3 / California Code of Regulations claim was added on this pass because it is on the page and the prose relies on it. A byte-level grep of the fetched page returns ZERO occurrences of 'NCCI' or 'National Council'. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 87,290 bytes. All four claims re-matched today, including the full seven-item procedure list. A fresh grep for NCCI or National Council again returns ZERO hits.
Active
[3]
California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995, Title 10, California Code of Regulations Section 2318.6, Effective September 1, 2026(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California, as approved by the California Insurance Commissioner)
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California, as approved by the California Insurance CommissionerPrimary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Amended at least annually, with revisions typically effective September 1.ID ca-usrp-1995-2318-6
What this source supports (24)
The cover page reads: California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995, Title 10, California Code of Regulations Section 2318.6, Effective September 1, 2026.
The Memorandum regarding the September 1, 2026 revisions states that Part 1, Section I, Introduction, Rule 3, Effective Date, was amended to show that the effective date of the amended Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan is 12:01 AM, September 1, 2026.
Part 3, Section III, Rule 1a: any business or operation specifically described by a classification shall be assigned to that classification. Rule 1b: any business or operation not described by a classification shall be assigned to the classification(s) most analogous from the standpoint of process and hazard.
In determining the most analogous classification, Rule 1b directs consideration of factors that differ by activity, including for manufacturers the industry type, finished goods, raw materials, and types of tools and equipment and how employees use them; for stores the types of products sold, who purchases them and how they are sold; for service providers the type of services, who contracts for them and where they are provided; for construction or erection the types of structures, raw materials and equipment and the type of contractor's license required; and for agriculture the crops cultivated and animals raised, the methods used, and the machinery, tools and equipment used.
Part 3, Section III, Rule 1c: any business or operation described by a classification defined as a Standard Exception shall be classified in the Standard Exception classification; however, when a Standard Exception is assigned to the basic business or operation, all employees not specifically included in the definitions for such Standard Exceptions shall be separately classified, all other conditions contained in the Plan notwithstanding. The worked example following Rule 1c assigns all operations of an investment firm to Classification 8810, Clerical Office Employees, except an employee who maintains the facility, who is assigned to Classification 9015(1), Building Operation - N.O.C. - all other employees.
Part 3, Section III, Rule 2 (Single Enterprise): if the employer's business, conducted at one or more locations, consists of a single operation or a number of separate operations that normally prevail in the business described by a single classification, the entire exposure of the business shall be assigned to that single classification, and no division of payroll shall be permitted in respect to any other operation unless the applicable classification phraseology or other provisions of the Plan specifically provide for it.
The Single Enterprise worked example describes a full service restaurant whose staff includes chefs, bakers, dishwashers, wait staff, janitors and car parking valets, plus a storage facility at an additional location holding restaurant supplies; because those operations normally prevail in the operation of a full service restaurant, Classification 9080, Restaurants - full service, applies to all of the employees.
Part 3, Section III, Rule 3 (Multiple Enterprises): two or more distinct operations that do not normally prevail in the business described by a single classification are separately classified only if physically separated; if two or more distinct operations are not physically separated, they shall be assigned to the highest-rated classification applicable to the distinct operations conducted in the common workspace. Division of payroll is permitted only if the operation is not described by any General Inclusion, the division is not contrary to classification phraseology, and the division is not contrary to other provisions of the Plan.
Part 3, Section IV lists eight Special Industry Classification Procedures: Aircraft Operation; Construction or Erection Work; Electronic Products Design and Manufacturing; Farms; Stores; Wrecking or Demolition and Building Raising or Moving; Labor Contractors; and Property Management/Operation.
Part 3, Section IV, Rule 2 (Construction or Erection Work) is the location of the wording 'Operations for which separate records of payroll are not maintained shall be assigned to the highest rated classification applicable to the job or location if payrolls are kept separately by job within the policy period; otherwise, the highest rated classification shall be assigned based on the entire policy period.' This wording sits in the construction divided-payroll rule and is not the general recordkeeping rule.
Part 3, Section IV, Rule 2a (Determination of Dual Wage Construction or Erection Classification): a classification that requires the regular hourly wage to equal or exceed a specified amount may be used only upon verification that the employee is paid an hourly wage that equals or exceeds the specified amount. For all employees other than salaried employees, determination of the regular hourly wage must be supported by original time cards or time book entries for each employee, or by a valid collective bargaining agreement that shows the regular hourly wage rate by job classification of worker; payroll for which an hourly wage determination cannot be reconciled to those records shall not be assigned to a classification that requires the regular hourly wage to equal or exceed a specified amount.
Part 3, Section V, Rule 2 (Payroll Records): if the employer fails to keep complete and accurate records of the remuneration earned by all officers and employees in sufficient detail to permit the proper classification of payroll and to make them available for examination by the insurer, the total remuneration earned shall be assigned to the highest rated classification describing any part of the work.
Part 3, Section V, Rule 3 (Division of Single Employee's Payroll): the remuneration of any one employee may be divided between two or more classifications only if the employer has maintained complete and accurate records supported by original time cards or time book entries showing separately, both by individual employee and in summary by operations performed, the remuneration earned by such employee. Division shall not be allowed in connection with Standard Exception classifications or if the division is contrary to classification phraseology. If the employer fails to keep such records, the entire remuneration of the employee shall be assigned to the highest rated classification applicable to any part of the work performed by the employee. Payroll may not be divided by means of percentages, averages, estimates, or any basis other than specific time records.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 1: the WCIRB has authority to inspect the premises of any employer for classification assignment purposes and is responsible for conducting a comprehensive inspection program to ensure that insurers use the proper classifications in reporting payroll and losses.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 2: if the WCIRB has made a classification assignment as the result of a WCIRB inspection, notice of the classification(s) assigned shall be published by providing the inspection report to either the insurer of record at the time the inspection was conducted or the insurer of record at the time the report is released, and the WCIRB shall provide a copy of the inspection report to the employer within 30 days from the date the inspection report is published. An insurer is not relieved of the obligation to report an applicable WCIRB classification assignment because of lack of knowledge that notice has been published by the WCIRB.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3a: if the classification assignment represents a reclassification of the employer's operations that is not the result of a change of operations or a reallocation or assignment of payroll to existing classifications on the policy, the classification shall be published and effective as provided in Rules 3a(1) and 3a(2).
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3a(1): if the classification carries a pure premium rate higher than that of the erroneous classification, it shall be effective as of the effective date of the erroneous classification assignment provided (a) the classification assignment is published within three months of the effective date of the erroneous assignment, (b) the WCIRB was notified, in writing, within three months of the effective date of the erroneous assignment of a possible error, or (c) the WCIRB notified the insurer of record, in writing, within three months of the effective date of the erroneous assignment that the erroneous assignment was under review. Otherwise, the revised assignment shall be effective as of the date it is published, unless it is published less than three months prior to the expiration of the outstanding policy, in which case it shall be effective as of the inception date of the policy which replaces the outstanding policy.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3a(2), first sentence: if the classification carries a pure premium rate lower than that of the erroneous classification, it shall be effective as of the inception date of a policy outstanding on the date the insurer of record is notified by the WCIRB, in writing, that the erroneous assignment is under review. Second sentence: the assignment also shall be applied as of the inception date of a policy that expired no more than twelve (12) months prior to the date the assignment was published or the insurer of record was notified by the WCIRB, in writing, that the erroneous assignment was under review, provided the erroneous assignment was applicable to such policy.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 3b: a classification assignment due to a change of operations shall be published and effective as of the date of the change of operations, regardless of the resulting pure premium rate. Rule 3c: a reallocation or assignment of payroll to existing classifications on a policy shall be effective as of the inception date of the policy.
Part 3, Section VI, Rule 4a(3): each policy producing a final premium of less than $10,500 and developing exposure in a dual wage construction or erection classification that requires the regular hourly wage to equal or exceed a specified amount shall be physically audited, unless the policy is a renewal and the insurer physically audited one of the two immediately preceding policy periods.
The Memorandum states that the September 1, 2026 revisions amend Part 3, Section V, Rule 1, Subrules j, k, l and m to adjust the minimum and maximum payroll limitations for executive officers, partners, individual employers and members of a limited liability company, to reflect wage inflation since those limitations were last amended in 2025.
The Memorandum raises the annual payroll limitation from $165,100 to $171,600 for thirty-four separately listed classifications, each stated as reflecting wage inflation since the payroll limitation was last amended in 2025. The full set is: 9181 Athletic Teams or Athletic Facilities (for players, per player per season); 9610 Motion Pictures - production (for actors, musicians, producers and the motion picture director, per person); and, per employee, 7607(2) Audio Post-Production, 7607(1) Video Post-Production, 8803 Auditing, Accounting or Management Consulting Services, 8808 Banks, 8801 Credit Unions, 8749 Mortgage Bankers, 8743 Mortgage Brokers, 8822 Insurance Companies, 8820 Law Firms, 4512 Biomedical Research Laboratories, 8859(1) Computer Programming or Software Development, 8859(2) Internet or Web-Based Application Development or Operation, 8601(1) Engineers, 8601(2) Oil or Gas Geologists or Scouts, 8601(4) Forest Engineers, 8874(1) Instrument Mfg. - electronic - professional or scientific - hardware or software design or development, 8874(2) Computer or Computer Peripheral Equipment Mfg. - hardware or software design or development, 8874(3) Telecommunications Equipment Mfg. - hardware or software design or development, 8874(4) Audio/Video Electronic Products Mfg. - hardware or software design or development, 8874(5) Integrated Circuit and Semiconductor Wafer Mfg. - hardware or software design or development, 8874(6) Medical Instrument Mfg. - electronic - diagnostic or treatment - hardware or software design or development, 8874(7) Instrument Mfg. - non-electronic - scientific or medical - hardware or software design or development, 8839 Dental or Orthodontia Practices, 9043 Hospitals, 8834 Physicians' Practices and Outpatient Clinics, 4297(1) Electronic Pre-Press, 4297(2) Graphic Design, 8807 Newspaper, 7610 Radio, 8741 Real Estate Agencies, 9156 Theaters - dance, and 9151 Theaters - musical entertainment.
The Memorandum eliminates certain classifications with their operations reassigned, including Classification 3070, Computer Memory Disk Mfg., eliminated due to low statistical credibility with its operations reassigned to Classification 3681(2), Computer or Computer Peripheral Equipment Mfg. - all other employees, and Classification 2102, Fruit or Vegetable Evaporation or Dehydrating, eliminated due to its limited statistical credibility with its operations reassigned to Classification 2111(1), Fruit or Vegetable Preserving. Classification 2111(3), Fruit or Vegetable Pickling, was also eliminated as an alternate phraseology for clarity and its operations reassigned to Classification 2111(1).
The Memorandum lists twenty-five pairs of classifications whose hourly wage threshold was increased effective September 1, 2026, each stated as reflecting wage inflation since the threshold was last amended in 2024: 5185/5186 Automatic Sprinkler Installation, $33.00 to $36.00; 5403/5432 Carpentry, $41.00 to $46.00; 5201(2)/5205(2) Concrete or Cement Work - pouring or finishing of concrete floor slabs and concrete slab-type foundations, $33.00 to $36.00; 5201(1)/5205(1) Concrete or Cement Work - pouring or finishing of concrete sidewalks, driveways, patios, curbs or gutters, $33.00 to $36.00; 5190/5140 Electrical Wiring, $36.00 to $40.00; 6218(1)/6220(1) Excavation, $40.00 to $45.00; 6315(2)/6316(2) Gas Mains or Connections Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; 5467/5470 Glaziers, $39.00 to $43.00; 6218(2)/6220(2) Grading Land, $40.00 to $45.00; 5538(2)/5542(2) Heating or Air Conditioning Ductwork, $33.00 to $37.00; 5183(3)/5187(3) Heating or Air Conditioning Equipment, $32.00 to $35.00; 6218(3)/6220(3) Land Leveling, $40.00 to $45.00; 5027/5028 Masonry, $35.00 to $37.00; 5474(1)/5482(1) Painting or Wallpaper Installation, $32.00 to $36.00; 5474(3)/5482(3) Painting - water, oil or gasoline storage tanks, $32.00 to $36.00; 5484/5485 Plastering or Stucco Work, $38.00 to $42.00; 5183(1)/5187(1) Plumbing, $32.00 to $35.00; 5183(2)/5187(2) Refrigeration Equipment, $32.00 to $35.00; 5552/5553 Roofing, $31.00 to $33.00; 6307/6308 Sewer Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; 5538(1)/5542(1) Sheet Metal Work, $33.00 to $37.00; 5632/5633 Steel Framing, $41.00 to $46.00; 5446/5447 Wallboard Installation, $41.00 to $45.00; 6315(1)/6316(1) Water Mains or Connections Construction, $40.00 to $45.00; and 5474(2)/5482(2) Waterproofing, $32.00 to $36.00.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS with a browser user agent (WebFetch gets 403), HTTP 200, 3,336,865 bytes; full text extracted with pdftotext -layout (1,375,272 characters) and read directly. Cover page, the full Memorandum, Section III Rules 1 through 3, the Section IV rule list and Rules 2 and 2a, Section V Rules 2 and 3, and Section VI Rules 1 through 4 were all read in the extracted text. Standing corrections from the previous pass, all re-confirmed today against the extracted text: (1) the dual wage list was completed - the Memorandum increases the hourly wage threshold for twenty-five pairs of classifications, not only 5185/5186, and all twenty-five are enumerated with their old and new thresholds; (2) the Section VI, Rule 3 claim was split into Rules 3a, 3a(1), 3a(2), 3b and 3c, adding the 'Otherwise' fallback in 3a(1) and the second sentence of 3a(2), which extends a downward correction back to a policy that expired no more than twelve months before publication or written notice; (3) the Section VI, Rule 2 claim was narrowed to the rule's actual wording, which names either the insurer of record at the time the inspection was conducted or the insurer of record at the time the report is released. VERIFICATION PERFORMED THIS PASS: the count of dual wage threshold amendments was checked mechanically over the whole extracted document, not just the memorandum - the string 'hourly wage threshold from $' occurs exactly 25 times document-wide, and each occurrence was resolved to its classification pair; the enumerated list matches those 25 exactly, so the set is complete and no pair is missing. Section VI, Rule 3a(2) was re-read in full and both sentences are present as claimed; the rule number is current (Section VI, Rule 3 is titled 'Effective Date of Standard Classification Assignments' in this edition). Section III Rules 1a, 1b, 1c, 2 and 3, Section IV Rules 2 and 2a, Section V Rules 2 and 3, and Section VI Rules 1, 2 and 4a(3) were each re-read and each cited rule number matches the rule that actually carries the quoted wording in this edition. The 'highest rated classification applicable to the job or location' wording was located mechanically: it occurs exactly once in the document, inside Section IV, Rule 2, confirming the scope note below. CORRECTIONS MADE THIS PASS: (a) the memorandum claim was split into three, and the payroll limitation list was completed - the previous claim named nine classifications behind the word 'including', which understated the change the same way the dual wage claim once did; the Memorandum raises the $165,100 annual payroll limitation to $171,600 for thirty-four separately listed classifications, and all thirty-four are now enumerated, verified by resolving each of the 34 memorandum occurrences of 'from $165,100 to $171,600' to its classification; (b) the elimination claim was corrected to carry the plan's stated reasons (low or limited statistical credibility) and to add Classification 2111(3), Fruit or Vegetable Pickling, reassigned to 2111(1), which the earlier claim omitted; (c) two dual wage classification descriptions were corrected to the memorandum's own wording - the 5201/5205 pair is 'pouring or finishing of concrete' floor slabs and slab-type foundations and sidewalks, driveways, patios, curbs or gutters, and 5474(3)/5482(3) is 'Painting - water, oil or gasoline storage tanks', not 'Painting of'. The 5201/5205 and 8874 descriptions are abbreviated from longer official phraseologies and are not verbatim renderings. IMPORTANT SCOPE NOTE carried in the claims themselves: the phrase 'highest rated classification applicable to the job or location' appears only in Section IV, Rule 2 (Construction or Erection Work). The general rules use different wording (Section V, Rule 2: 'the highest rated classification describing any part of the work'; Section V, Rule 3: 'the highest rated classification applicable to any part of the work performed by the employee'). This edition is not in force on 2026-08-31; it takes effect at 12:01 AM on 2026-09-01, and the prose names the edition every time it relies on it. The title field uses ASCII hyphens where the official title is typeset with an em dash, so it is a normalized rather than verbatim rendering. Published: 2026-06-01 Effective: 2026-09-01
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California's Experience Rating System - Online Guide to Workers' Compensation(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB))
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Maintained alongside annual amendments to the Experience Rating Plan.ID wcirb-experience-rating-system
What this source supports (8)
The regulations governing California's experience rating system are contained in the California Workers' Compensation Experience Rating Plan-1995, which is part of the California Code of Regulations (Title 10; Chapter 5, Section 2353.1) and is approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
An experience modification, which is expressed as a percentage, compares the loss or claims history of one company to all other companies in the same industry that are similar in size.
Generally, an experience modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience, while an experience modification of more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience.
An experience modification that is greater than 100 percent usually increases the cost of an employer's workers' compensation insurance premiums, while an experience modification that is less than 100 percent usually decreases the cost of an employer's workers' compensation insurance premiums.
Not all employers are eligible for experience rating; for those businesses that qualify, experience rating is mandatory.
More than 130,000 California businesses are experience rated, representing approximately 80 percent of all California workers' compensation insurance premiums paid.
Using information submitted by insurers, the WCIRB calculates and publishes experience modifications for each qualified business, and regardless of which insurer provides the workers' compensation insurance policy, if an employer is experience rated their experience modification must be applied to their policy.
The experience rating system is a merit rating system intended to provide employers a direct financial incentive to reduce work-related accidents.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS with a browser user agent (WebFetch gets 403), HTTP 200, 104,063 bytes. All claims matched as literal strings. ATTRIBUTION CORRECTION on this pass: an earlier draft deleted the premium-direction claim and recorded in these notes that the page 'does not contain that language'. That note was wrong. The sentence 'Accordingly, an experience modification that is greater than 100 percent usually increases the cost of an employer's workers' compensation insurance premiums, while an experience modification that is less than 100 percent usually decreases the cost of an employer's workers' compensation insurance premiums' is on the page and was matched twice in the fetched bytes (once in the schema.org description, once in the rendered body). The claim has been restored and the prose now cites this source for the premium-direction point alongside the NCCI credit/debit/unity factor language. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 104,135 bytes. The premium-direction sentence, the 130,000 businesses figure, the 80 percent figure, the Title 10 Chapter 5 Section 2353.1 citation and the merit rating system sentence were all re-matched on the page today, so the restored claim stands. A fresh grep for NCCI or National Council returns ZERO hits.
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About Us - WCIRB California(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB))
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB)Standards bodySecondaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Static organizational page.ID wcirb-about-us
What this source supports (3)
The WCIRB was organized in 1915 as a California unincorporated, private, nonprofit association, operates under the authority of the California Insurance Code, is licensed by the State of California, and is the Insurance Commissioner's designated statistical agent.
The WCIRB is comprised of all companies licensed to transact workers' compensation insurance in California, and it is led by a Governing Committee comprised of seven private insurers elected by the membership, the State Compensation Insurance Fund and four public members appointed by the Insurance Commissioner.
The WCIRB describes its work as providing accurate advisory pure premium rates, experience modifications and standard classification assignments.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS with a browser user agent (WebFetch gets 403), HTTP 200, 95,111 bytes. All three claims matched as literal strings. The Governing Committee claim was widened on this pass from 'includes four public members' to the page's full composition sentence, because the narrower version left out the elected private insurers and the State Compensation Insurance Fund. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 95,223 bytes. All three claims re-matched today, including the full Governing Committee composition (seven private insurers, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, four public members).
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Classification Search - WCIRB California(opens the original record on Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB))
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB)Standards bodySecondaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Updated as classifications change.ID wcirb-classification-search
What this source supports (2)
Classification Search helps users locate classifications based on keywords that are part of, or commonly associated with, classification phraseologies.
The page directs users to the Insurance Commissioner's rules regarding the Standard Classification System in Part 3, Standard Classification System, of the California Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS with a browser user agent (WebFetch gets 403), HTTP 200, 137,808 bytes. Both claims matched as literal strings. Cited only as a lookup pointer in nextActions, never for a substantive rule, and never for the classification that fits any particular business. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 137,808 bytes. Both claims re-matched today, including the pointer to Part 3, Standard Classification System, of the Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan.
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Workers' Compensation (Commercial Insurance Guide series)(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance)
California Department of InsuranceRegulatorPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Updated periodically by CDI; the page carries its own revision date, so re-check it before each content review cycle.ID cdi-wc-commercial-guide
What this source supports (22)
CDI states that all California employers must provide workers compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code Section 3700.
CDI states that there are five basic types of workers compensation benefits: medical care, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, supplemental job displacement benefits, and death benefits.
CDI states that employers' liability insurance is offered under Part Two of a workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance policy, and that Part Two protects the employer against instances in which an employee's injury or disease is not subject to the workers' compensation laws.
CDI states that classifications that group distinct and identifiable occupations, industries, or businesses are developed and assigned codes by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
CDI states that the payroll for each classification is estimated and then multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate.
CDI states that generally an experience modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience and an experience modification of more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience, and describes the modification as comparing an employer's loss history against similar-sized employers in the same industry classification.
CDI states that California workers compensation insurers operate under an open rating system, meaning individual companies set rates based on their ability to adequately cover losses and expenses in each industry classification.
CDI states that workers' compensation insurers assign a specific rate to each industry classification code and that these rates must be filed with the CDI.
CDI states that the final premium of a workers' compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited.
CDI states that a dividend plan is a type of rating plan that allows an employer to share in the profits of its workers' compensation insurer in the form of a dividend.
CDI states that to become self-insured a business must obtain a certificate from the DIR's Office of Self-Insurance Plans (OSIP).
CDI states that State Fund is a state-operated entity that exists in order to transact workers' compensation on a non-profit basis, competes with private workers' compensation insurance companies for business, and also operates as the insurer of last resort if private companies are not willing to offer workers' compensation insurance.
Classifications that group distinct and identifiable occupations, industries, or business are developed and assigned codes by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) and are approved by the Insurance Commissioner.
Workers' compensation insurers generally use these classifications when writing workers' compensation policies.
Insurance companies are allowed to develop and submit their own classification system to the CDI for approval, but this is uncommon due to the strict standards required to file a separate workers' compensation classification system.
The payroll for each classification is estimated and then multiplied, per each $100 of payroll, by the applicable rate, and the sum of the equation is referred to as the base premium.
The base premium continues to be modified, increased or decreased, using rating plans (usually schedule or judgment rating) and by experience modification.
An employer's experience modification is calculated from payroll and loss information that insurance companies are required to submit to the WCIRB on an annual basis, using a mathematical formula approved by the CDI.
An experience modification of less than 100 percent reflects better-than-average experience, and an experience modification of more than 100 percent reflects worse-than-average experience.
The WCIRB provides a policyholder ombudsman, who is available to answer questions from employers on classification, experience modification, and rating issues.
The final premium of a workers' compensation policy cannot be calculated until the policy term is over and the employer's payroll records have been audited.
Title 10, California Code of Regulations Sections 2509.40 through 2509.78 list detailed procedures for disputing experience modifications and classification assignments, including appeals to the CDI.
Published: 2025-06-23
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In the Matter of the Appeal of E M Machining, from a Decision of the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, File ALB-WCA-00-30, Proposed Decision(opens the original record on California Department of Insurance, Administrative Hearing Bureau)
California Department of Insurance, Administrative Hearing BureauRegulatorSecondaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Adjudicative record; not updated. Rate figures and Plan section citations reflect the 2000 edition of the Plan.ID cdi-ahb-em-machining-2001
What this source supports (11)
The document is captioned PROPOSED DECISION, is dated October 23, 2001, and closes with the administrative law judge stating that he submits the proposed decision and recommends its adoption as the decision of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of California.
Footnote 1: the WCIRB is a rating organization licensed by the Insurance Commissioner under Insurance Code section 11750 et seq. to assist the Commissioner in the development and administration of workers' compensation insurance classification and rating systems, and the WCIRB serves as the Commissioner's designated statistical agent for the purpose of gathering and compiling experience data developed under California workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance policies (Ins. Code 11751.5).
The decision states that generally it is the business of the employer within California that is classified, not the separate employments, occupations or operations within the business, citing the Plan, Part 3.
Footnote 7: rate, as used in the Plan, means the cost of the insurance per unit of exposure (payroll) prior to any application of individual risk variations based on loss or expense considerations applicable to an insurer's classification.
The decision states that the rate for each classification reflects the payroll data and loss history associated with the particular operations assigned to that classification, so that if the operations assigned to a classification have a high loss history the rate for that classification will tend to be higher.
Footnote 8: under the 2000 version of the Plan, the pure premium rate per $100.00 of payroll for classification 0106, Tree Pruning Repairing or Trimming, is $31.86, and the pure premium rate for classification 8810, Clerical Office Employees, is $.76.
Footnote 6: an insurer may develop and file with the Department of Insurance its own classification system upon which a rate may be made, or may alternatively incorporate the WCIRB's classification system and develop rates based on the pure premium rates in the Plan; in any event the insurer's rate filing is subject to the Commissioner's disapproval (Insurance Code section 11734(b)).
The carrier's underwriting department contacted the WCIRB and requested that the WCIRB conduct a physical inspection of the employer's plant to verify whether the operations were properly assigned; following its inspection the WCIRB issued a Classification Inspection Report dated August 4, 2000, and later a second Classification Inspection Report, reassigning the operations.
Under California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2509.61(a), a party has the burden of proof as to each fact the existence or nonexistence of which is essential to the claim for relief or defense that he or she is asserting.
The administrative law judge concluded that the WCIRB met its burden by showing the end product, employee skills, raw materials and type and use of equipment were more like those of the compared industry, and ordered that the WCIRB's determination assigning the employer's operations to classification 3643(1) is affirmed.
The decision records that the carrier initially charged the employer $2.17 per $100.00 of payroll under classification 3681 and that the rate was raised to $4.57 per $100.00 of payroll after reassignment to classification 3643(1), so that the employer's premium more than doubled.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS (HTTP 200, 680,429 bytes); text extracted with pdftotext and read directly. Every claim above was read in the extracted text. Standing corrections: (1) the document is a PROPOSED decision that recommends adoption, and the document itself does not evidence adoption, so the publisher label does not say 'precedential decisions collection', sourceType is regulator-record rather than regulator-guidance, and primary is false; the proposed-decision status is stated in the first claim and in the prose. (2) The decision's footnote 3 cites the Plan as incorporated at Title 10 CCR section 2353.1; the current Plan is cited at Title 10 CCR section 2318.6 and 2353.1 is the Experience Rating Plan, so this source is NOT used for the Plan's CCR section number. (3) The decision quotes the appeal provision as Insurance Code section 11737(c); the current statute carries it at subdivision (f), so the subdivision letter is sourced to the statute, not to this decision. New on this pass: the inspection-report claim was corrected from a bare plural to the record's actual sequence (a report dated August 4, 2000 and a later second report), and the $2.17 / $4.57 insurer-rate figures were added because the prose's point about the size of a reassignment is better carried by them; all dollar figures from this document are labeled as from the 2000 edition and are historical. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 680,429 bytes. Re-confirmed today in the extracted text: PROPOSED DECISION and the recommendation of adoption, the October 23, 2001 date, Insurance Code sections 11750 and 11751.5, section 11734(b), the $31.86 and $.76 pure premium rates, the $2.17 and $4.57 insurer rates, classification 3643(1), the August 4, 2000 inspection report, Title 10 CCR section 2509.61, and the section 2353.1 citation that underlies standing correction (2). The decision's own text again reads 'section 11737 (c)', confirming standing correction (3): the current statute carries that language at subdivision (f). Published: 2001-10-23
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ABCs of Experience Rating(opens the original record on National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI))
National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)Standards bodyPrimaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: NCCI educational publication; copyright line reads 1981-2025 and worked examples use 1/1/2026 mod effective dates.ID ncci-abcs-experience-rating
What this source supports (14)
Under manual rating, all employers are grouped according to their business operation or classification, and an employer is assigned to a classification to ensure that the rates reflect the costs of all employers with similar characteristics.
The rates determined for manual rating are averages reflecting the normal conditions found in each classification.
The rate, which is approved by the state for each classification, is applied per $100 of payroll; each $100 of payroll is multiplied by the rate to arrive at the premium for each classification; summing the premium for the classifications yields the initial total premium; and the modification is then applied to arrive at the modified premium.
Experience rating compares the experience of individual employers with the average employer in the same classification, using individual payroll and loss records, and may result in an increase, decrease, or no change in premium.
The modification applied to an employer's policy is either a unity (1.00) factor, a credit mod (lower than 1.00), or a debit mod (higher than 1.00).
An employer qualifies for a mod if the subject premium meets a premium eligibility point, and eligibility criteria differ by state.
The experience period is generally based on three years of payroll and loss data, but could range from less than 12 months of data up to 45 months of data.
The payroll and claim or loss information used to calculate the mod comes from unit statistical reports that insurance providers are required to file with NCCI for each policy under NCCI's Statistical Plan.
A contingent mod is issued when NCCI is expecting audited payroll and/or loss information but has not received it, and the mod is revised once the audited information arrives.
As of this publication, 39 jurisdictions have approved and authorized the use of the Plan.
The Plan does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania, nor does it apply in the four monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming) that administer their own plans and rates.
The Plan applies in Indiana, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, but the independent rating organizations in these three states are responsible for producing their own intrastate mods; the independent rating organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin permit combination with states that have approved the Plan for interstate experience rating, and those two states participate only if the employer has exposure in two or more participating states within the experience period.
Where an employer has exposure in a participating state and a non-participating state, separate intrastate mods are produced by separate organizations; the worked example uses Florida, where NCCI develops the intrastate mod, and Pennsylvania, where the Pennsylvania bureau develops its own.
On the NCCI Experience Rating Worksheet, payroll is described as the exposure, and the Expected Loss Rate is the amount of expected losses for the classification for each $100 of payroll.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS (HTTP 200, 1,063,233 bytes); text extracted with pdftotext -layout and read directly. Every claim above was read in the extracted text. The non-application sentence is quoted in full because it names California explicitly, and it is what the prose relies on for California's position. Added on this pass: the Indiana/Massachusetts/North Carolina and Minnesota/Wisconsin sentence, because without it the bare 'does not apply in California ... and the four monopolistic states' reads as though every other jurisdiction is administered identically by NCCI, which the same page contradicts. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 1,063,233 bytes. Re-confirmed today. One wording note recorded for precision: the source prints the non-application point as two consecutive sentences, 'The Plan does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania.' followed by 'Nor does it apply in the four monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming) that administer their own plans and rates.' The claim joins the two with a lowercase 'nor' and adds nothing; it is a join, not a paraphrase.
Active
[10]
About NCCI (NCCI Fact Sheet)(opens the original record on National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI))
National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)Standards bodySecondaryJurisdiction USLast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Refreshed periodically; the version fetched carries a document footer reading Updated 6/9/26 and premium data reported in 2025.ID ncci-fact-sheet
What this source supports (5)
NCCI's mission is to foster a healthy workers compensation system through its role as a licensed rating, advisory, and statistical organization.
NCCI maintains the workers compensation infrastructure of classifications, rules, plans, and forms.
NCCI recommends objective and actuarially appropriate rates or loss costs that are filed with NCCI states for approval.
The document's state map carries the caption: this map is a reference of states plus the District of Columbia where NCCI is a licensed rating, advisory and statistical organization and acts as the Residual Market Plan Administrator.
NCCI administers the Plan in 23 states and the Pool in 27 states for the residual market.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 over HTTPS (HTTP 200, 978,609 bytes); text extracted with pdftotext -layout (5,177 characters) and read in full. All five claims were matched in the extracted text. Standing corrections: an earlier draft appended a gloss to the map-caption claim reading 'meaning NCCI's role is confined to the states whose insurance departments have designated it'; that language is nowhere on the page and stays deleted, leaving only the caption. publishedDate is 2026-06-09, matching the document footer 'Updated 6/9/26'. LIMITATION: the state list is rendered only as a map image, so pdftotext recovers no state abbreviations. This source is therefore never used to assert which states NCCI serves, any count of NCCI or independent-bureau states, or California's status; California's status is carried only by ncci-abcs-experience-rating, which names it in text. URL RE-CHECKED 2026-08-31: HTTP 200, no redirect, 978,609 bytes; the extracted text is 5,177 characters and was re-read in full today. The footer again reads Updated 6/9/26 and the premium figure is again marked (reported in 2025). The mission sentence on the page abbreviates workers compensation to WC, which the claim expands using the page's own defined abbreviation. The LIMITATION below still holds: the state list is a map image and pdftotext recovers no state abbreviations from it. Published: 2026-06-09
Active
[11]
California Insurance Code Section 11737(opens the original record on California Legislative Information (California Legislature))
California Legislative Information (California Legislature)Primary lawPrimaryJurisdiction CALast checked August 31, 2026Updates: Statute; amended by the Legislature from time to time.ID ca-ins-code-11737
What this source supports (6)
Subdivision (f): every insurer or rating organization shall provide within this state reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its filings may be heard by the insurer or rating organization on written request to review the manner in which the rating system has been applied in connection with the insurance afforded or offered.
Subdivision (f): if the insurer or rating organization fails to grant or reject the request within 30 days, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if the application had been rejected.
Subdivision (f): any party affected by the action of the insurer or rating organization on the request may appeal, within 30 days after written notice of the action, to the commissioner who, after a hearing held within 60 days from the date on which the party requests the appeal, or longer upon agreement of the parties and not less than 10 days' written notice to the appellant and to the insurer or rating organization, may affirm, modify, or reverse that action.
Subdivision (f), final branch: if the commissioner has information on the subject from which the appeal is taken and believes that a reasonable basis for the appeal does not exist or that the appeal is not made in good faith, the commissioner may deny the appeal without a hearing; the denial shall be in writing, set forth the basis for the denial, and be served on all parties.
Subdivision (b): the commissioner may disapprove rates if the commissioner determines that premiums charged, in the aggregate, resulting from the use of the rates or the rates as modified by any supplementary rate information, would be inadequate to cover an insurer's losses and expenses, unfairly discriminatory, or tend to create a monopoly in the market pursuant to Section 11732, 11732.5, or 11733.
Subdivision (c): the commissioner shall disapprove rates if the commissioner determines that premiums charged, in the aggregate, resulting from the use of the rates or the rates as modified by any supplementary rate information would, if continued in use, tend to impair or threaten the solvency of an insurer.
Re-fetched and re-verified 2026-08-31 by WebFetch (HTTP 200) and independently over HTTPS (HTTP 200, 170,201 bytes); the URL resolves to the section text, not a search shell. The review-and-appeal mechanism sits at subdivision (f) in the current text, whereas the 2001 E M Machining decision quotes it as subdivision (c); the subdivision letter here is taken from the statute as fetched today and is not attributed to the older decision. The 30-day appeal clock runs from written notice of the action, which is the wording used in the prose. Standing correction from an earlier pass: the subdivision (b) and (c) claims were rewritten to the statute's own wording, because the earlier one-line paraphrase compressed (b) to 'rates that are inadequate', dropping 'inadequate to cover an insurer's losses and expenses' and the cross-references, and merged (b) and (c) into a single sentence. NEW ON THIS PASS - OMITTED STATUTORY BRANCH: the subdivision (f) appeal claim previously stopped at 'to the commissioner', which left a reader with the impression that a timely appeal produces a hearing. The statute as fetched today does not say that. The same sentence continues that the commissioner acts 'after a hearing held within 60 days from the date on which the party requests the appeal, or longer upon agreement of the parties and not less than 10 days' written notice', and the subdivision closes with a separate branch under which the commissioner MAY DENY THE APPEAL WITHOUT A HEARING where the commissioner believes no reasonable basis for the appeal exists or that it is not made in good faith, with a written denial served on all parties. Both the completed sentence and the denial branch were added as claims and both are now carried in the prose, because an appeal route stated without its denial branch overstates what the statute guarantees.
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BestInsurance Research. "How do workers compensation class codes affect a quote?." WJB Services, Inc. dba Bollinsure Insurance Services. Published August 31, 2026. Last reviewed August 31, 2026. Content version 2026.08.31. https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/workers-comp-class-codes

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@misc{bir-workers-comp-class-codes-2026,
  title        = {How do workers compensation class codes affect a quote?},
  author       = {Aaron Bollinger},
  organization = {BestInsurance Research},
  institution  = {WJB Services, Inc. dba Bollinsure Insurance Services},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {08},
  note         = {Last reviewed August 31, 2026; content version 2026.08.31},
  howpublished = {\url{https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/workers-comp-class-codes}},
  urldate      = {2026-08-31}
}

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Classification turns on documented facts about operations, end products, employee skills, tools, materials and payroll records, and the assignment is made by the rating bureau and the insurer rather than by a website [8][7]. A licensed broker or a classification specialist can help assemble that factual record and put a written request for review in front of the insurer or the rating organization, and the CDI notes that the WCIRB provides a policyholder ombudsman for classification, experience modification and rating questions [7]; a lawyer should be the one advising on deadlines and appeal procedure [11]. Reading a code list is not a substitute, and this page does not assign or confirm a classification.

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