# Checking workers' comp yourself: what public proof of coverage lookups can and can't tell you

Analyst brief R-17, COI Journal Resource Center. Several states let anyone look up whether an employer has workers' comp on file. It's one of the few checks a GC can run without asking the trade or its broker. Here's what we found, and where the lookups fall short.

Question: How can a general contractor verify that a trade contractor's workers' comp coverage is actually in force?

By The editors, COI Journal. November 13, 2026. Docket COIJ-26-0018. Published by Forsured.

## Key findings

- New York's Workers' Compensation Board runs a public employer coverage search, fed by insurers' proof of coverage filings, which it says are updated daily.
- Florida's Division of Workers' Compensation lists a proof of coverage database, and Florida's consumer advocate tells the public to use it, along with the exemption database.
- NCCI has offered a coverage verification app covering 32 jurisdictions, using a subset of proof of coverage data.
- A lookup confirms a policy is on file for an employer. It doesn't tell you whether the payroll on that policy covers the crew on your site.

## Why this check matters

Workers' comp is the coverage gap that hurts most. General liability usually excludes injuries to the insured's own employees, so when a trade has no workers' comp in force, an injured worker's claim can look for another pocket on the job. And as 2026's Florida case showed, a certificate can be genuine while the policy behind it doesn't really cover the crew. See [Rented, falsified, excluded](https://coijournal.com/reports/rented-falsified-excluded/).

Most coverage checks depend on documents the trade or its broker sends you. Public proof of coverage lookups are one of the few you can run yourself.

## What the lookups are

In many states, workers' comp insurers file proof of coverage records with the state electronically. Some states open part of that data to the public.

**New York.** The Workers' Compensation Board's "Does Employer Have Coverage?" page offers a public search of employers' policies and coverage. It covers workers' comp and disability benefits from January 1, 2002, and Paid Family Leave from January 1, 2018. The board says the information is updated daily through insurers' proof of coverage filings. Self-insured employers don't have policy numbers, and coverage with a future-dated cancellation shows as in effect until that date, according to the board's page.

**Florida.** The Division of Workers' Compensation lists a proof of coverage database among its public data. Florida's Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate tells consumers to verify workers' comp through that database or the exemption database before hiring a contractor.

**Multi-state.** A 2014 manual for NCCI's workers' comp coverage verification app, hosted by Arizona's Industrial Commission, says the app covered 32 jurisdictions and searched by state, date and insured name or FEIN, using a subset of proof of coverage data.

**Massachusetts.** In 2009, Insurance Journal reported that Massachusetts launched a site letting anyone see whether a business has workers' comp, and that 36 other states had public databases at the time. We couldn't confirm the current Massachusetts lookup for this brief.

## What a lookup can't tell you

- **Whether the policy fits the crew.** A lookup shows a policy on file. It doesn't show what payroll or job classes the policy was written for. In the Florida case, prosecutors allege shell companies bought minimal coverage by underreporting payroll and rented their certificates to other crews.
- **Whether the named employer is the one on site.** Search for the company that signed your subcontract, and confirm it's the one employing the crew.
- **Endorsements.** A waiver of subrogation on workers' comp, WC 00 03 13, won't show in a lookup. Ask for it. See [waiver of subrogation](https://coijournal.com/dictionary/waiver-of-subrogation/).
- **Exemptions.** Some states let certain owners exempt themselves. An exemption isn't coverage for their employees.

## How to use it

1. Run the lookup for each trade, by exact legal name or FEIN, when you receive its certificate.
2. Compare carrier, policy number and dates with the certificate.
3. Re-run it before each policy's expiration date, and when something seems off.
4. If the lookup shows nothing, or a different carrier, stop and ask before the crew works.

## How we wrote this

Based on the New York Workers' Compensation Board's published pages, Florida's Division of Workers' Compensation and Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate, a 2014 NCCI app manual hosted by Arizona's Industrial Commission, and 2009 Insurance Journal reporting on Massachusetts. Lookups change; check each state's current site. We could not load the current Massachusetts page. General information, not legal advice.

## Sources

- [Does Employer Have Coverage?](https://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/ebiz/icempcovsearch/icempcovsearch_overview.jsp), New York State Workers' Compensation Board
- [Division of Workers' Compensation](https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/wc/), Florida Department of Financial Services
- [Consumer Alert: Don't Fall Victim to Contractor Fraud](https://myfloridacfo.com/docs-sf/insurance-consumer-advocate-libraries/consumer-alerts/consumer-alert-dont-fall-victim-to-contractor-fraud.pdf), Florida Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate
- [WCCV Mobile App User's Manual](https://www.azica.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_pdf/HOMEPAGE_WCCV_Mobile_App_Users_Manual.pdf), NCCI, hosted by the Industrial Commission of Arizona, December 2014
- [Massachusetts Launches Verification Site for Workers' Comp](https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-features/2009/10/05/158768.htm), Insurance Journal, October 5, 2009
- [Seven People Charged in $100M Workers' Compensation Fraud Operation in Florida](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2026/08/14/881604.htm), Insurance Journal, William Rabb, August 14, 2026