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Workers' Compensation Deadlines and Exceptions in All States
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Before you try to file a claim, it’s important to take note of the specific workers compensation laws in your state. Some states have laws that block employees working within certain industries (usually ones that are risky) or employment structures from filing a workers compensation claim.
Each state also has its own deadline for how long you can wait to report your injury to your employer. If you wait too long to let your employer know that you got hurt, then you will not be allowed to file a workers compensation claim and receive a settlement. A couple states will additionally require you to report your injury to your medical insurance or a governmental agency.
| State | Deadline to Report | Deadline to file a claim | Who isn't covered? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 5 days | 2 years | Casual employees, domestic servants, arm laborers, real estate brokers, product demonstrators. Companies with fewer than five employees are NOT REQUIRED to carry workers' comp insurance. |
| Alaska | 30 days | 2 years | Contract entertainers, commercial fishermen, domestic servants, harvest workers, transient workers, and taxi drivers. |
| Arizona | As soon as possible | 1 year | Casual employees and independent contractors. |
| Arkansas | As soon as possible | 3 years | Casual employees, farm laborers, inmates, and state employees. |
| California | 2 years | 1 year | Domestic workers employed by family, deputy clerks, deputy sheriffs, sporting event officiators, recreational camp volunteers, and ski patrol volunteers. |
| Colorado | 4 days | 2 years | Volunteers, inmates, and drivers under lease agreements with common or contract carriers. |
| Connecticut | As soon as possible | 1 year (Time limit increases to 3 years for an occupational illness) | Casual employees, independent contractors, and sole proprietors. |
| Delaware | As soon as possible | 2 years | Casual employees, employees working in a space not controlled by an employer, and any spouse or minor child of a farm employer who is NOT named on the farmer’s insurance. |
| District of Columbia (D.C.) | 30 days | 1 year | Independent contractors and unpaid volunteers. |
| Florida | 30 days | 2 years | Casual employees, independent contractors (excluding construction), real estate brokers, music groups, theater performers, DJs, most volunteers, some sports officials, and some taxi drivers. |
| Georgia | 30 days | 1 year | Common carriers engaged in interstate/intrastate commerce (railroads), domestic servants, independent contractors, farm laborers, real estate salespeople or associate brokers. |
| Hawaii | As soon as possible | 5 years (If symptoms appear, then the time limit drops to 2 years) | Only some contractors are exempt. |
| Idaho | 60 days | 1 year | Casual workers, domestic servants, agricultural pilots, real estate brokers, volunteer ski patrollers, and secondary school sports officials. |
| Illinois | 45 days | 3 years | Real estate brokers, farmers, and jurors. |
| Indiana | 30 days | 2 years | Agricultural workers, some railroad employees, casual laborers, household employees, and fire or police department employees who have pension funds. |
| Iowa | 90 days | 2 years | Household or casual employees who earned under $1,500 in the 12 months prior to injury, agricultural employees who earned less than $2,500 in the year prior to injury, relatives of farm employer, family farm officers, and some corporate officers. |
| Kansas | 200 days | 200 days | None! |
| Kentucky | As soon as possible | 2 years | Domestic servants (if there are less than two employees working for 40 hours or fewer per week), and maintenance or repair employees working in a private home (if no other private employees are under workers’ comp). |
| Louisiana | 30 days | 1 year (Time limit increases to 2 years for a latent or delayed injury) | Employees working in private homes or unincorporated farms, musicians, and other performers under contract. |
| Maine | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors, certain agricultural employees, and maritime workers covered by admiralty law. |
| Maryland | 10 days | 2 years (Time limit drops to 1 year once an illness is discovered) | Independent contractors. |
| Massachusetts | As soon as possible | 4 years from discovery or causation | Casual employees, professional athletes, real estate brokers, salespeople working on commission, and workers of an employer who is engaged in interstate or foreign commerce |
| Michigan | 90 days | 2 years) | Domestic workers, real estate brokers, some agricultural employees, and some smaller employers |
| Minnesota | As soon as possible | 3 years (If your employer fails to file an injury report, time limit increases to 6 years) | Farmers, and family members of farmers who work with other farmers |
| Mississippi | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors |
| Missouri | 30 days | 2 years | Domestic servants, farm laborers, inmates, sports officials, volunteers of tax-exempt organizations, sports officials, direct sellers, family chauffeurs, real estate agents, and owner/operators of leased trucks in interstate commerce. |
| Montana | 30 days | 1 year (Time limit increases to 2 years for a latent or delayed injury) | Domestic servants, casual employees, direct sellers, real estate brokers, freelance photographers, freelance authors, newspaper carriers, cosmetologists, barbers, petroleum land workers, jockeys, ordained ministers, people working within Indian reservations, some sporting event officials, some sole proprietors, dependent members of employer’s family, and managers of ditch companies. |
| Nebraska | As soon as possible | 2 years | Domestic servants, agricultural employees, and railroad employees engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. |
| Nevada | 7 days | 90 days from the date of injury or discovery of illness | Casual employees, direct salespeople, domestic workers, musicians (who work for two consecutive days or fewer), theater performers, sports officials paid a nominal fee, voluntary ski patrol, members of the clergy, and real estate brokers. |
| New Hampshire | 2 years | 3 years | Railroad employees engaged in interstate commerce, direct sellers, real estate brokers, and anyone providing services for residential placement of disabled individuals. |
| New Jersey | 14 days | 2 years | Casual workers, domestic workers, willfully negligent employees, independent contractors, and inmates. |
| New Mexico | 15 days | 1 year | Domestic servants, farm employees, real estate brokers, and those with a waiver from the state. |
| New York | 30 days | 2 years | Domestic employees working under 40 hours per week, clergymen, longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad employees, casual babysitters, minors over 14 working for one client, anyone laboring for a single-family home, and employees of municipalities or political subdivisions (who are not engaged in hazardous employment). Also excludes employees for the City of New York, such as uniformed sanitation workers, firefighters, and police officers. |
| North Carolina | 30 days | 2 years | Casual employees, domestic employees, farm workers (on a farm with fewer than 10 employees), railroad employees, and companies with fewer than three people. |
| North Dakota | 7 days | 1 year from the date of injury or discovery of illness | Independent contractors, casual employees, anyone engaged in an illegal enterprise or occupation, real estate broker, newspaper deliverers, members of a corporation’s board of directors, and children of the employer aged 22 or under. |
| Ohio | As soon as possible | 1 year | None! |
| Oklahoma | 30 days | 1 year (The time limit increases to 2 years for occupational illness) | Sole proprietors, volunteers, real estate brokers, domestic servants (in private homes), related employees of a family business with fewer than 5 people, employees of tax-exempt youth sports leagues, employees providing medical care or social service programs, and horticulture workers not using machinery. |
| Oregon | As soon as possible | 2 years | Casual employees and inmates. |
| Pennsylvania | 21 days | 2 years | Casual employees. |
| Rhode Island | 30 days | 2 years | Farmers, nursery workers, farm laborers, real estate brokers, salespeople, and sworn employees employed by the State of Rhode Island. |
| South Carolina | 90 days | 2 years from the date of injury or discovery of illness | Casual employees. |
| South Dakota | 3 business days | 2 years | Volunteers, independent contractors, domestic servants (working under 20 hours in any calendar week in any 13-week period), and agricultural laborers. |
| Tennessee | 15 days | 1 year | Some undocumented workers. |
| Texas | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors, federal employees, and ALL PRIVATE EMPLOYERS. It’s optional for a private company to either carry workers’ compensation insurance or to decline coverage for its employees. The majority of private Texas companies choose to carry WC insurance, but some employers will not. |
| Utah | 180 days | 4 years | Real estate agents or brokers. |
| Vermont | As soon as possible | 3 years | Casual employees, amateur sports players, assistant judges, domestic workers, illegally hired minors, agricultural employees (if the employer has a total payroll under $10,000 annually), an employer’s family members living in the employer’s house, anyone providing a service in a private dwelling, sole proprietors, and partners in an unincorporated business. |
| Virginia | 30 days | 2 years | Anyone whose employment is not in the usual course of the employer’s business. |
| Washington | As soon as possible | 3 years | Booth renters, domestic workers, home gardeners, home maintenance workers, insurance producers, jockeys, newspaper deliverers, sole proprietors, business partners, minors employed by parents to work on a farm, anyone who works for sustenance or aid, some corporate officers, entertainers hired for specific performances, and employees who are not in the usual course of the employer’s business. |
| West Virginia | As soon as possible | 2 years | Domestic servants, casual employees, church workers, volunteer rescue or police, federal employees, employees working in professional sports (including employers of trainers and jockeys), and agricultural companies with fewer than six people. |
| Wisconsin | 30 days | 3 years | Domestic servants and most volunteers. |
| Wyoming | 72 hours to report, 10 days to file Wyoming Injury Report | 4 years | Casual employees, elected officials, federal government employees, professional athletes, volunteers, members of LLCs, foster parents, corporate officers, sole proprietors, independent contractors, employees working in a private home, and childcare workers employed by the state. |
| State | Report Deadline | Deadline to file a claim | Who isn't covered? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 5 days | 2 years | Casual employees, domestic servants, arm laborers, real estate brokers, product demonstrators. Companies with fewer than five employees are NOT REQUIRED to carry workers' comp insurance. |
| AK | 30 days | 2 years | Contract entertainers, commercial fishermen, domestic servants, harvest workers, transient workers, and taxi drivers. |
| AZ | ASAP | 1 year | Casual employees and independent contractors. |
| AR | ASAP | 3 years | Casual employees, farm laborers, inmates, and state employees. |
| CA | 2 years | 1 year | Domestic workers employed by family, deputy clerks, deputy sheriffs, sporting event officiators, recreational camp volunteers, and ski patrol volunteers. |
| CO | 4 days | 2 years | Volunteers, inmates, and drivers under lease agreements with common or contract carriers. |
| CT | ASAP | 1 year (3 years for a work related illness) | Casual employees, independent contractors, and sole proprietors. |
| DE | ASAP | 2 years | Casual employees, employees working in a space not controlled by an employer, and any spouse or minor child of a farm employer who is NOT named on the farmer’s insurance. |
| D.C. | 30 days | 1 year | Independent contractors and unpaid volunteers. |
| FL | 30 days | 2 years | Casual employees, independent contractors (excluding construction), real estate brokers, music groups, theater performers, DJs, most volunteers, some sports officials, and some taxi drivers. |
| GA | 30 days | 1 year | Common carriers engaged in interstate/intrastate commerce (railroads), domestic servants, independent contractors, farm laborers, real estate salespeople or associate brokers. |
| HI | ASAP | 5 years (2 years if symptoms appear) | Only some contractors are exempt. |
| ID | 60 days | 1 year | Casual workers, domestic servants, agricultural pilots, real estate brokers, volunteer ski patrollers, and secondary school sports officials. |
| IL | 45 days | 3 years | Real estate brokers, farmers, and jurors. |
| IN | 30 days | 2 years | Agricultural workers, some railroad employees, casual laborers, household employees, and fire or police department employees who have pension funds. |
| IA | 90 days | 2 years | Household or casual employees who earned under $1,500 in the 12 months prior to injury, agricultural employees who earned less than $2,500 in the year prior to injury, relatives of farm employer, family farm officers, and some corporate officers. |
| KS | 200 days | 200 days | None! |
| KY | ASAP | 2 years | Domestic servants (if there are less than two employees working for 40 hours or fewer per week), and maintenance or repair employees working in a private home (if no other private employees are under workers’ comp). |
| LA | 30 days | 1 year (2 years for a latent injury) | Employees working in private homes or unincorporated farms, musicians, and other performers under contract. |
| ME | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors, certain agricultural employees, and maritime workers covered by admiralty law. |
| MD | 10 days | 2 years (1 year once an illness is discovered) | Independent contractors. |
| MA | ASAP | 4 years from discovery | Casual employees, professional athletes, real estate brokers, salespeople working on commission, and workers of an employer who is engaged in interstate or foreign commerce |
| MI | 90 days | 2 years) | Domestic workers, real estate brokers, some agricultural employees, and some smaller employers |
| MN | ASAP | 3 years (6 years if employer fails to file an injury report) | Farmers, and family members of farmers who work with other farmers |
| MS | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors |
| MO | 30 days | 2 years | Domestic servants, farm laborers, inmates, sports officials, volunteers of tax-exempt organizations, sports officials, direct sellers, family chauffeurs, real estate agents, and owner/operators of leased trucks in interstate commerce. |
| MT | 30 days | 1 year (2 years for a latent injury) | Domestic servants, casual employees, direct sellers, real estate brokers, freelance photographers, freelance authors, newspaper carriers, cosmetologists, barbers, petroleum land workers, jockeys, ordained ministers, people working within Indian reservations, some sporting event officials, some sole proprietors, dependent members of employer’s family, and managers of ditch companies. |
| NE | ASAP | 2 years | Domestic servants, agricultural employees, and railroad employees engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. |
| NV | 7 days | 90 days from date of injury or discovery of illness | Casual employees, direct salespeople, domestic workers, musicians (who work for two consecutive days or fewer), theater performers, sports officials paid a nominal fee, voluntary ski patrol, members of the clergy, and real estate brokers. |
| NH | 2 years | 3 years | Railroad employees engaged in interstate commerce, direct sellers, real estate brokers, and anyone providing services for residential placement of disabled individuals. |
| NJ | 14 days | 2 years | Casual workers, domestic workers, willfully negligent employees, independent contractors, and inmates. |
| NM | 15 days | 1 year | Domestic servants, farm employees, real estate brokers, and those with a waiver from the state. |
| NY | 30 days | 2 years | Domestic employees working under 40 hours per week, clergymen, longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad employees, casual babysitters, minors over 14 working for one client, anyone laboring for a single-family home, and employees of municipalities or political subdivisions (who are not engaged in hazardous employment). Also excludes employees for the City of New York, such as uniformed sanitation workers, firefighters, and police officers. |
| NC | 30 days | 2 years | Casual employees, domestic employees, farm workers (on a farm with fewer than 10 employees), railroad employees, and companies with fewer than three people. |
| ND | 7 days | 1 year from date of injury or discovery of illness | Independent contractors, casual employees, anyone engaged in an illegal enterprise or occupation, real estate broker, newspaper deliverers, members of a corporation’s board of directors, and children of the employer aged 22 or under. |
| OH | ASAP | 1 year | None! |
| OK | 30 days | 1 year (2 years for work related illness) | Sole proprietors, volunteers, real estate brokers, domestic servants (in private homes), related employees of a family business with fewer than 5 people, employees of tax-exempt youth sports leagues, employees providing medical care or social service programs, and horticulture workers not using machinery. |
| OR | ASAP | 2 years | Casual employees and inmates. |
| PA | 21 days | 2 years | Casual employees. |
| RI | 30 days | 2 years | Farmers, nursery workers, farm laborers, real estate brokers, salespeople, and sworn employees employed by the State of Rhode Island. |
| SC | 90 days | 2 years from date of injury or discovery of illness | Casual employees. |
| SD | 3 business days | 2 years | Volunteers, independent contractors, domestic servants (working under 20 hours in any calendar week in any 13-week period), and agricultural laborers. |
| TN | 15 days | 1 year | Some undocumented workers. |
| TX | 30 days | 2 years | Independent contractors, federal employees, and ALL PRIVATE EMPLOYERS. It’s optional for a private company to either carry workers’ compensation insurance or to decline coverage for its employees. The majority of private Texas companies choose to carry WC insurance, but some employers will not. |
| UT | 180 days | 4 years | Real estate agents or brokers. |
| VT | ASAP | 3 years | Casual employees, amateur sports players, assistant judges, domestic workers, illegally hired minors, agricultural employees (if the employer has a total payroll under $10,000 annually), an employer’s family members living in the employer’s house, anyone providing a service in a private dwelling, sole proprietors, and partners in an unincorporated business. |
| VA | 30 days | 2 years | Anyone whose employment is not in the usual course of the employer’s business. |
| WA | ASAP | 3 years | Booth renters, domestic workers, home gardeners, home maintenance workers, insurance producers, jockeys, newspaper deliverers, sole proprietors, business partners, minors employed by parents to work on a farm, anyone who works for sustenance or aid, some corporate officers, entertainers hired for specific performances, and employees who are not in the usual course of the employer’s business. |
| WV | ASAP | 2 years | Domestic servants, casual employees, church workers, volunteer rescue or police, federal employees, employees working in professional sports (including employers of trainers and jockeys), and agricultural companies with fewer than six people. |
| WI | 30 days | 3 years | Domestic servants and most volunteers. |
| WY | 72 hours to report, 10 days to file Wyoming Injury Report | 4 years | Casual employees, elected officials, federal government employees, professional athletes, volunteers, members of LLCs, foster parents, corporate officers, sole proprietors, independent contractors, employees working in a private home, and childcare workers employed by the state. |
File a workers’ compensation claim
If you or a close family member got hurt or fell ill while on the clock because of a safety hazard, you may qualify to file a claim to get compensated for your injuries.
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See if you qualify to file for workers’ compensation.
Referenced Articles
The references used by our writers at FreeLegalReviews.com are deemed to be from credible and reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, court records, non-profit organizations, government agencies, highly regarded news media, and legal subject experts. Before making any medical or financial decisions, please seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
- FindLaw. (2024, March 28). Workers’ Compensation Laws by State. Retrieved from https://www.findlaw.com/injury/workers-compensation/workers-compensation-laws-by-state.html