Subcontractor Workers Comp in Arkansas: Which Documents to Collect
Most contractors assume it is the subcontractor’s problem. Here is the document side, and where the legal side belongs.
Short Answer
Ask a subcontractor for evidence of workers compensation coverage before work starts, and again at renewal. Cribb Insurance Group, an independent agency in Bentonville, Arkansas, can help you decide which document to collect. What the law requires in your situation is a question for the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and a licensed attorney, not for an insurance agency.
Contractors ask us this one in some version of “surely that is on them.” It is a fair assumption, and it is also a legal question, which means the honest answer from an insurance agency is that we are not the one who settles it. What we can do is the part that sits in front of the legal question: the documents you collect, when you collect them, and what each one actually tells you.
Which document should you ask each subcontractor for?
Two situations, two different pieces of paper. Collecting the wrong one leaves the gap open.
| Who you are hiring | What to collect | What that document tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Subcontractor with employees | A current certificate of insurance showing workers’ compensation coverage | What coverage was described as of the day the certificate was issued |
| Sole proprietor or partnership with no employees | The certificate of noncoverage question, put to the Commission | The Commission, not this page and not an agency, is where to find out what that document is |
| Multi-tier job | The same, down the tiers you can see | A record of who was on the job and what each of them produced |
| Anyone whose status is unclear | Advice, before the work starts | A legal determination rather than an insurance one |
What does a certificate of insurance actually show?
Why a certificate of insurance is a start and not an end.
A certificate describes the day it was issued
A certificate of insurance describes coverage as of the day it was issued. It does not tell you anything about a later day, and coverage can change between the date on the certificate and the day of a loss. A certificate collected at the start of a six-month job is a photograph of a situation that has had six months to change.
So the discipline is collect, check the dates, and re-collect at renewal. Treat a subcontractor who is slow to produce one as telling you something. Our post on certificates of insurance covers what the document does and does not prove in more detail.
What is a certificate of noncoverage, and who issues it?
This is the one we send people away for.
Where this question belongs
A certificate of noncoverage is not an insurance policy and it is not a document an insurance agency issues, so we are not the right source for what it is or what it establishes. The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission is the place to ask what the document is, who can obtain one and what it covers. What it means for your own subcontract is a question for a licensed attorney.
We will tell you when a subcontractor’s answer sounds like the kind of arrangement that question applies to. We will not tell you what the answer is.
Who decides whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor?
Classification is the adjacent trap.
Not us, and not the label on the agreement
It is a legal determination rather than an insurance one, and it is worth a conversation with counsel before it is worth a conversation with us. This is general information rather than legal advice.
How does an uninsured subcontractor affect my premium audit?
Bring it before the audit, not during it.
How subcontracted work is treated at audit depends on the policy actually issued to you and on your carrier’s own audit rules, which is why it is a question to put to us with your policy in hand rather than a question an article can answer. Bring the subcontractor list and the documents you collected, and we will read the policy with you. Where the policy does not answer it either, we will say so.
What to collect before the next job starts
- Decide which document each subcontractor owes you. Evidence of coverage, or the certificate of noncoverage question put to the Commission. Decide it before the work is scheduled, not after.
- Put it in the subcontract. Producing the document before work begins, and again at any policy renewal during the job, is a contract term rather than a favor. Additional insured status and waiver of subrogation are separate contract and policy questions, and they are worth raising with us and with counsel at the same time.
- Diary the expiry dates. Re-collect at renewal, and keep the copies you were given rather than the promise that one is coming.
- Look down the tiers. Ask who else is working below the party you signed with, and collect from them too.
- Get classification settled early. Before the work starts, and with counsel where it is genuinely unclear.
- Tell us what your subs actually do. We will read your own policy with you and tell you what it says about subcontracted work, and where it does not answer the question we will say that instead of guessing.
Ask Cribby about your job setup
Contractor questions tend to be specific, and these are the ones worth asking before the work starts:
Frequently Asked Questions
My subcontractor has no workers’ comp. Who is responsible?
That is a legal question and an insurance agency is not the place to settle it. Whether coverage was required, and how liability is allocated on a particular job, are decided by the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and the courts on the facts, and should be taken to a licensed attorney. What Cribb Insurance Group can help with is the document side: which proof to ask each subcontractor for, when to ask for it, and what your own policy says about subcontracted work. This is general information rather than legal advice.
What should I collect from a subcontractor before work starts?
From a subcontractor with employees, ask for a current certificate of insurance showing workers’ compensation coverage, and ask again at every renewal that falls during the job. From a one-person operation that tells you it carries no coverage, the document people ask about is a certificate of noncoverage, and the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission is the place to find out what that document is and who can obtain one. Put the requirement in the subcontract rather than leaving it to goodwill.
Is a certificate of insurance from the sub enough on its own?
It is the right starting point and it is a snapshot rather than a guarantee. A certificate describes coverage as of the day it was issued. It does not tell you anything about a later day, and coverage can change between the date on the certificate and the day of a loss. Collect certificates, check the dates, and re-collect at renewal. Our post on certificates of insurance goes through what the document does and does not do.
What is a certificate of noncoverage, and who issues it?
It is not an insurance policy and it is not a document an insurance agency issues, so we are not the right source for what it is or what it establishes. The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission is the place to ask what the document is, who can obtain one and what it covers. What it means for your own subcontract is a question for a licensed attorney.
Who decides whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor?
Not us, and not the label on the agreement. It is a legal determination rather than an insurance one, and it is worth a conversation with counsel before it is worth a conversation with us. Whether any person is an employee, an independent contractor, a subcontractor or a prime contractor is determined by the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and the courts on the facts.
How does an uninsured subcontractor affect my premium audit?
That depends on the policy actually issued to you and on your carrier’s own audit rules, which is why it is a question to put to us with your policy in hand rather than a question an article can answer. Bring us the subcontractor list and the documents you collected. Before the audit is a better time to look at it than after.
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Who you sub out to, how often, and what documents you currently collect. We will read your own policy with you, tell you where the subcontractor question sits in it, and point you to the Commission or to counsel for the parts that are not ours to answer.
Disclaimer: This article is general information and is not insurance, legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for the terms of your own agreements or policies. Whether any person is an employee, an independent contractor, a subcontractor or a prime contractor, whether coverage is required in a given case, and how liability would be allocated on a particular job are questions determined by the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and the courts on the facts, and should be taken to a licensed attorney. This article does not state when workers compensation coverage is required in Arkansas, or of whom; confirm your own position with the Commission. Cribb Insurance Group Inc does not adjust claims and does not determine coverage. Coverage is set by the insurance company and is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued to you, which controls in every case. Cribb Insurance Group Inc is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Cribb Insurance Group Inc is an independent insurance agency, not an insurance company. The insurance company carries the risk and files the rates, and any claim payment comes from the insurance company and not from the agency. Where Cribb binds coverage or issues a policy, it acts on a carrier’s behalf and within the authority that carrier grants, and the policy actually issued controls in every case. Reviewed 2026-09-20; law and carrier filings change, and this article may not describe the current position after that date. Coverage cannot be bound, changed or cancelled through this website, by email, by social media or by voicemail. No coverage is in force until Cribb Insurance Group Inc or the insurance company confirms it in writing. Cribb Insurance Group Inc, 1601 SW Regional Airport Blvd, Bentonville, AR 72713 · (479) 286-1066 · service@cribbinsurance.com.