Georgia Workers' Comp Exemption

Sole proprietors and partners are automatically excluded by default — treated as employers, not employees. They can opt in to coverage by advising their insurance carrier in writing, under O.C.G.A. §34-9-2.2. Separately, Georgia's mandatory-coverage threshold only applies once a business regularly employs 3 or more people, part-time or full-time.

By default, LLC members are treated as employees — the opposite default from sole proprietors. Up to 5 members per LLC may waive coverage on themselves by filing Form WC-10. Exempting a member does not reduce the LLC's headcount for purposes of Georgia's 3-employee mandatory-coverage threshold — an exempted member still counts toward that number.

Officers are automatically considered employees by default, and up to 5 officers per corporation may exempt themselves, under O.C.G.A. §34-9-2.1 ("Exemption of corporate officers; limitation"). Each exempted officer or member must be identified by name and office held, the certification isn't effective until filed, and it may be revoked at any time via a new written certification. We found no industry-specific carve-out for the officer cap itself.

The relevant form is WC-10, "Notice of Election or Rejection of Workers' Compensation Coverage" — the same single form is used both by sole proprietors/partners electing to opt in and by officers/LLC members rejecting coverage. It's filed with the business's insurance carrier if one exists, or directly with the State Board of Workers' Compensation if the business is uninsured. No fee was found for the WC-10 form itself (a separate $500 non-refundable fee exists, but it applies to the unrelated self-insurance application process). We could not verify a renewal period for the exemption from any source — the statute describes election, rejection, and revocation (revocable "at any time" via new written certification), which suggests the exemption likely persists until affirmatively revoked rather than expiring on a fixed schedule, but no source explicitly confirms that. Confirm directly with the SBWC before relying on a renewal assumption.

The 5-officer/5-member cap under O.C.G.A. §34-9-2.1 is Georgia's signature rule, and it's a distinct statute from §34-9-2.2 (which governs the opposite situation — proprietors and partners electing to opt in). The two are easy to conflate. Sole proprietors/partners and corporate officers/LLC members are legal opposites by default in Georgia: proprietors and partners are out-unless-opt-in, while officers and LLC members are in-unless-opt-out, capped at 5.