Arkansas Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Workers' comp in Arkansas: what's different

Arkansas has no state fund for private employers. A covered business either buys a policy or gets Commission approval to self-insure. The Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission (AWCC), now a division of the Department of Labor and Licensing, enforces the coverage rule and hears disputed claims. Pricing runs on a separate track: NCCI files loss costs and assigned risk rates with the Arkansas Insurance Department for its review and approval.

Who must carry coverage

Headcount decides it, and the count changes by type of work. The AWCC's application for a Certificate of Non-Coverage (Form A) says coverage is generally required for any employment with:

• three or more employees working for the same employer;
• two or more employees doing building or building repair work;
• one or more employees of a contractor who subcontracts any part of a contract; or
• one or more employees of a subcontractor.

Form A counts owners, sole proprietors, full-time partners, full-time and part-time employees, and volunteers.

Other points that trip up small firms:

• Sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members can exclude themselves by getting a Certificate of Non-Coverage. The fee is $50, and the affidavit must be notarized. The certificate covers only the owner, never the owner's employees, and the AWCC says it is not a waiver of workers' comp liability. If an uninsured business has several owners, each one needs a certificate.
• Corporate officers do not use Form A. Their exclusion is arranged through the agent or carrier on the policy.
• Residential contractors. A 2007 joint bulletin from the AWCC, the Insurance Department, and the Contractors Licensing Board says Act 398 of 2007 made proof of workers' comp a condition of getting or renewing a residential contractor license. An owner can buy a minimum premium policy and exclude himself, but the policy is audited, and premium can be added for uninsured subcontractors.
• Exempt work. The AWCC's Q&A brochure (revised June 2014) says the law does not apply to agricultural farm labor, domestic help, or workers covered only by federal law. Railroad and maritime workers fall under federal programs.

You pay for the coverage yourself. The AWCC says no part of the cost may be charged to employees or taken from their pay, and Form A warns that forcing an employee or subcontractor to pay for coverage, or to get a Certificate of Non-Coverage, is a felony.

Where coverage comes from

• An insurance policy from a commercial carrier.
• Individual self-insurance. AWCC Rule 099.05 asks for a net worth of at least $250,000, a current ratio above 1 to 1, and a security deposit or surety bond of at least $100,000. The Commission can waive that security for public employers, and a majority-owned subsidiary may skip it if its self-insured parent guarantees the subsidiary's liabilities. Applications go in 60 days before the start date, and certificates expire each May 1.
• Group self-insurance. Employers in the same trade or line of business can pool liabilities. The members applying when a group starts need a combined net worth of at least $1 million, and the group posts security of at least $200,000.

The Insurance Department's Public Employee Claims Division runs the workers' comp program for state government employees. It is not a fund open to businesses.

Who sets rates

NCCI is the licensed advisory organization that makes recommended loss cost and assigned risk rate filings for insurers in Arkansas. A loss cost covers losses, not insurer expenses. NCCI notes that carriers typically adjust approved loss costs for expenses with a loss cost multiplier.

The latest filing we found was submitted on March 13, 2026, for an effective date of July 1, 2026. It proposes a 9.8% cut to voluntary loss costs and a 9.8% cut to assigned risk rates. It would also extend rating values from two decimal places to three. We did not find an approval notice on the Insurance Department's website as of October 2026, so treat the 9.8% as proposed and check with your agent before relying on it. The year before, NCCI's July 1, 2025 filing recommended an 8.8% loss cost decrease and a 3.7% assigned risk decrease.

Experience rating

NCCI computes experience mods. Under NCCI's plan, rating is mandatory for any employer that meets the state's premium eligibility point. We did not find Arkansas's dollar threshold in a public official source.

If no insurer will write you

The residual market is the Arkansas Workers Compensation Insurance Plan, with NCCI serving as Pool and Plan Administrator. Assigned risk rates are full rates that include the servicing carrier's expenses. Roofers make up a large share of the plan. In NCCI's June 30, 2026 report, code 5551 (Roofing-All Kinds & Drivers) ranked second by policy count, with 192 policies, or 16.2% of the plan.

Penalties for going uninsured

The AWCC warns that a noncompliant employer may face state penalties and may lose the legal protections that coverage provides. The Commission's adjudication division enforces the coverage requirement and can impose fines and sanctions. A worker hurt while working for an uninsured employer can still file a claim with the Commission or sue the employer in circuit court.

Cancellation creates its own deadline. Under Rule 099.04, an employer whose policy is canceled must get new coverage within 30 days of the notice. Missing that deadline is treated as prima facie evidence of a violation. Lying to obtain or avoid coverage, or to dodge the proper premium, is a Class D felony under Ark. Code Ann. s.11-9-106. The AWCC brochure puts the fine for false statements about benefits at up to $10,000.

Your ongoing obligations

• Display Form P. The AWCC says every employer with current coverage must post the Form P instructions. Your insurer supplies copies with its claims office, phone number, and policy expiration date. Without the poster, you may lose the ability to rely on Form N notice rules in a dispute.
• Post Form H as well if your carrier uses a managed care organization for work injuries.
• Collect Form N. Injured workers give written notice on Form N (Employee's Notice of Injury), and you send it to your insurer.
• Send Form 1 promptly. Forward the First Report of Injury or Illness to your insurer right away. The insurer reports to the state. AWCC Rule 099.08 sets a 10-day window for reporting deaths, injuries costing more than seven days of work, and cases with permanent disability benefits due. Self-insurers report directly to the Commission; other employers report through their carrier.
• Keep records. Rule 099.08 also requires a record of every injury, whatever its nature, available to the Commission on request.
• Follow-up forms. Send wage statements (Form W) when the insurer asks and supplemental reports (Form S) when a worker's condition changes.
• Choice of doctor. You or your carrier may choose the treating doctor, but employees must be told about that choice.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

We could not find a published Arkansas loss cost for code 5551 in a free official source, so every number below is illustrative. The illustrative figure is treated as a loss cost, and a hypothetical loss cost multiplier turns it into a rate.

• Annual payroll (hypothetical): $180,000
• Code 5551 loss cost (illustrative): $4.50 per $100
• Loss cost multiplier (illustrative): 1.35
• Experience mod (hypothetical): 1.10

Step by step

1. Rate: $4.50 x 1.35 = $6.075 per $100
2. Payroll in hundreds: $180,000 / 100 = 1,800
3. Manual premium: 1,800 x $6.075 = $10,935.00
4. Apply the mod: $10,935.00 x 1.10 = $12,028.50

Ask your agent for the approved loss cost and your carrier's multiplier. Assigned risk policies use the plan's full rate instead.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• AWCC, Basic Facts
• AWCC, Certificates of Non-Coverage
• AWCC Form A, Application for Certificate of Non-Coverage
• AWCC, AID, and Contractors Licensing Board, Joint Bulletin on Certificates of Non-Coverage (Aug. 20, 2007)
• AWCC, Questions and Answers brochure
• AWCC Form P (posting notice)
• AWCC Form N (Employee's Notice of Injury)
• AWCC Form 1 (First Report of Injury or Illness)
• AWCC, Rules of the Commission
• AWCC Rule 099.04 (termination of coverage)
• AWCC Rule 099.05 (self-insurance)
• AWCC Rule 099.08 (reporting injuries or deaths)
• AWCC, 2022-2024 Biennial Report
• Arkansas Insurance Department, State Government Employee Workers Compensation Claims
• NCCI, Summary of the Proposed Arkansas Loss Cost and Assigned Risk Rate Filing Effective July 1, 2026
• NCCI, Summary of the Proposed Arkansas Filing Effective July 1, 2025
• NCCI, Arkansas Residual Market State Activity Report, Second Quarter 2026
• NCCI, ABCs of Experience Rating

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.