Owner Exemptions in Monopolistic States: North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, Wyoming
Built from official state-agency sources · desk review 2026-08-26
In the four states with no private workers' comp market, the owner election runs through the state fund, not a carrier endorsement. Here is how each one works.
North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming have no private workers' compensation market — coverage comes only from the state fund. In all four, business owners are outside mandatory personal coverage by default, so there is no exclusion form to file. What exists instead is an elective-coverage form to opt an owner in. The company's duty to cover its employees through the state fund is separate and unchanged.
Facts to lock down before relying on an exemption
- Confirm the state is monopolistic — ND, OH, WA, or WY — before looking for a private-carrier endorsement
- Assume the owner is outside mandatory personal coverage by default; verify against the state fund's rules
- If the owner wants coverage, use the state fund's elective-coverage form, not an exclusion form
- Keep the company's employee-coverage account with the state fund separate from the owner's personal election
- Re-check after hiring the first employee, changing entity type, or working across a state line into a private-market state
Most workers' compensation guidance assumes a private insurance market where a carrier endorsement excludes an owner from a policy. Four states do not work that way. In North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming, private insurers are prohibited from selling workers' compensation, and every covered employer buys from a single state fund. That changes the owner question completely: there is usually nothing to file to be exempt, because owners start outside personal coverage. The form that exists is the one that opts an owner in.
What monopolistic means for an owner
In a monopolistic state the government fund is the only permitted source of workers' compensation coverage. Private carriers cannot write it, so there is no policy to add an owner-exclusion endorsement to. The four states are North Dakota (Workforce Safety & Insurance), Ohio (Bureau of Workers' Compensation), Washington (Department of Labor & Industries), and Wyoming (Workers' Safety and Compensation Division).
Because owners are generally not automatically inside personal coverage, the usual question — which exclusion form do I file? — often has no answer. The owner is already outside. What the state fund publishes is an elective-coverage form for an owner who wants protection, which is the reverse of the exclusion certificates used in private-market states.
SOURCE CONTEXT: Monopolistic status: state fund administrators for ND, OH, WA, and WY.
North Dakota: elective coverage through WSI
North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance treats owners, partners, and corporate officers as exempt from Title 65 personal coverage unless elective coverage is purchased. An owner who wants coverage completes WSI's application for insurance and an elective coverage contract, coordinated with the account underwriter. The election takes effect when WSI approves the completed, signed application and contract.
There is no separate owner-exemption certificate to obtain, because the default is already no personal coverage. Verification that an owner performs no covered work is a separate proof process from the elective-coverage decision.
SOURCE CONTEXT: North Dakota WSI coverage information.
Ohio: U-3 to open coverage, U-3S to elect owner coverage
Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation uses Form U-3 to open a coverage account and Form U-3S to add or cancel elective owner coverage after the policy exists. The initial U-3 carries a $120 non-refundable application fee. Ohio's listed owners are generally asking to elect personal coverage rather than to obtain an exemption certificate, and premium applies once elective coverage is added.
For a later U-3S election, elective coverage is added on the date BWC receives the completed application, and elective coverage renews each July until BWC receives a written cancellation.
SOURCE CONTEXT: Ohio BWC U-3 and U-3S forms.
Washington: statute sets the exclusion, F213-042-000 elects in
In Washington, whether an owner is excluded is determined by statute, entity type, and management structure — not by a form. The Application for Elective Coverage, Form F213-042-000, elects coverage for an otherwise excluded owner or person; it does not create the exclusion. When elective coverage is granted, it is effective at 12:01 a.m. on the day after L&I receives the application unless a later date is requested and accepted, and it continues until cancelled under L&I procedures.
So a Washington owner researching an exemption should first confirm the statutory exclusion applies to their exact structure, then decide separately whether to file for elective coverage.
SOURCE CONTEXT: Washington L&I corporate-officer and elective-coverage guidance.
Wyoming: owners are not automatically covered
Wyoming's Department of Workforce Services states that owners are not automatically covered. Corporate officers, LLC members, sole proprietors, and partners may elect personal coverage using the Affidavit of Coverage the Division supplies, effective on the Division-approved date. Corporate-officer coverage is tied to the office or position rather than to the individual, and employer guidance requires status updates — including officer changes — within 30 days.
As in the other three states, there is no exclusion form: the owner is outside coverage unless the affidavit elects them in.
SOURCE CONTEXT: Wyoming DWS wage reporting and coverage guidance.
What still applies: the company's employee coverage
None of this changes the employer's obligation. A business with employees in a monopolistic state must still carry coverage for those employees through the state fund, and must keep that account current regardless of whether any owner has elected personal coverage.
The clean way to hold it: one line for the company account with the state fund, one line for each owner's personal election status, and a note to revisit both when the business hires, changes entity form, or takes work across a state line into a private-market state where a carrier endorsement — and a real exclusion form — may re-enter the picture.
Frequently asked questions
- Which states are monopolistic for workers' compensation?
- Four: North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming. In these states private insurers cannot sell workers' compensation, and covered employers buy only from the state fund. Texas is different — coverage there is largely optional, not monopolistic.
- Do I file an exemption form in a monopolistic state?
- Usually not. Owners in these states are generally outside mandatory personal coverage by default, so there is no exclusion certificate to file. The form that exists is an elective-coverage form to opt an owner in.
- Is my Ohio or Washington business still required to carry coverage for employees?
- Yes. The owner's personal status does not change the company's duty to cover its employees through the state fund. Keep the company account and the owner election as two separate items.
Agency and statutory pages used for this guide
These links support the state-specific examples in the article. Always recheck the destination state's current rule before filing or changing coverage.