Clerical, Professional & Sales
Class Code 8601: Architects or Engineers—Consulting — Workers' Comp Insurance
Covers architecture and engineering firms whose work is design and consulting — drafting plans, performing calculations, and advising clients — rather than hands-on construction or field testing. It includes the firm's clerical and outside sales support along with the design professionals.
- Risk level:
- low
What code 8601 covers
Class 8601 applies to architectural and engineering firms engaged in consulting work: producing designs, plans, specifications, and technical advice for clients, typically from an office setting. The classification recognizes that this is desk- and drafting-based professional work with occasional site visits for design review, rather than physical construction, testing, or inspection duties. Firms in this class commonly include principals, architects, engineers, drafters, and the clerical and sales staff who support the practice, all under the same code. Once a firm's staff move into actual construction supervision, materials testing, or hands-on site work beyond periodic design review, that activity typically needs to be evaluated under a different, higher-hazard classification.
Included operations
- Architectural design and drafting
- Engineering calculations, plans, and specifications
- Client consulting and project advisory work
- Periodic site visits for design review
- Clerical and outside sales support for the firm
Assigned elsewhere
- Construction management or on-site superintending — see code 5606 (Contractor—Project Manager, Construction Executive, Construction Manager or Construction Superintendent)
- Materials testing or laboratory analysis — see code 4511 (Analytical Laboratories or Assaying)
- Risk inspection or property valuation work — see code 8720
- Hands-on construction or installation work performed by firm staff
Businesses that typically carry 8601
- Architecture firms
- Civil, structural, and mechanical engineering firms
- Land surveying and design-focused engineering practices
- Environmental and consulting engineering firms
- Interior design firms with an engineering component
- Nonprofit and association back offices
- Accounting and bookkeeping firms
- Technology and software company offices
Common misclassifications
Code 5606
An engineering firm that also provides construction-phase site supervision can blend consulting work with a higher-hazard supervisory classification.
Code 8720
Design review site visits and formal property/risk inspections are different activities that sometimes get coded the same way.
Code 4511
Firms that also run materials testing or a lab component need that portion coded separately from pure design work.
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What drives the cost of code 8601
- Total annual payroll for employees assigned to this classification
- Experience modification factor based on claims history
- State-specific base rates and loss costs filed for this class code
- Claims frequency and severity trends for the business
- Safety programs, training, and workplace controls in place
- Payroll mix across multiple classifications at the same location
What underwriters look for
- Percentage of time employees spend on outside sales, deliveries, or non-desk duties
- Whether any employees perform duties that belong under a different, higher-hazard class code
- Total clerical payroll versus payroll in other classifications at the same location
- Prior claims history and current experience modification factor
State differences
This entry uses standard NCCI class code phraseology, which applies in most NCCI-governed states. Pennsylvania (PCRB), Delaware (DCRB), California (WCIRB), New Jersey (NJCRIB), Michigan, New York (NYCIRB), and Massachusetts maintain their own classification manuals, and code numbers or phraseology can differ there. Our agency confirms the correct classification for your state before quoting.
Quote class code 8601.
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Class code 8601 questions
Does 8601 cover site visits?
Yes, periodic visits for design review are part of normal consulting work, but regular on-site construction supervision is a different classification.
What if the firm also manages construction projects?
That construction-management portion of the business typically needs to be evaluated under a separate, higher-hazard code.
Are drafters and junior engineers included?
Yes, staff performing design and drafting work for the firm generally fall under the same classification as the principals.
Does this code apply to structural testing labs?
No, analytical or materials testing work is coded separately under the applicable laboratory classification.
Last reviewed · Reviewed by Provident Financial Group licensed agents