Georgia Workers' Comp Insurance for Nonprofits & Churches

Georgia requires coverage once a business regularly employs three or more people, full-time or regular part-time, including seasonal workers hired on a recurring basis. Businesses with fewer than three regular employees are generally exempt unless they choose coverage voluntarily. See the State Board of Workers' Compensation's insurance FAQs.

Common codes for this work include 8861 Charitable or Welfare Organization; 8864 Social Services Organization; 8810 Clerical Office Employees; 8869 Child Care Center. Georgia uses NCCI class codes, so the codes below are the ones carriers typically assign to this work in Georgia.

Corporate officers and LLC members are counted as employees by default, but up to five officers or members may waive coverage on themselves by filing Form WC-10 with their carrier; that waiver does not reduce the headcount used for the three-employee threshold. Sole proprietors and partners are treated as employers rather than employees under Georgia law, so they aren't automatically covered, but they can elect to be covered by advising their insurance carrier in writing.

Intentionally failing to purchase required coverage can bring civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 per violation, and an employer who deliberately fails to provide mandated coverage can also face misdemeanor criminal charges, with fines of $1,000 to $10,000, up to one year in prison, or both. Separate penalties of $100 to $1,000 per violation apply to deliberately skipping required filings, and $1,000 to $10,000 per violation (plus a possible 10% increase in the worker's compensation) applies to deliberately denying benefits or making false statements. The State Board of Workers' Compensation assesses each violation individually within these ranges.

Price is driven by payroll in each class code, the Georgia rates filed for those codes, your claims history (experience modification), and underwriting factors such as total paid-staff payroll, separate from any volunteer activity; whether the organization runs a school, child care, or hands-on social-services program; split between office/administrative staff and program or facilities staff. We compare carriers so you can see what you qualify for.

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Workers' comp requirements are generally triggered by paid employees, so a church or nonprofit with any paid staff typically needs coverage for those employees regardless of how many volunteers also help out; volunteer coverage itself is a separate question under state law.

No — workers' comp requirements are based on having employees, not on the organization's tax-exempt or nonprofit status, so a 501(c)(3) with paid staff is generally subject to the same requirements as a for-profit employer.

The payroll for that program is often reported under its own classification — such as the child care or school classification — separate from the general clerical and program-staff codes used for the rest of the organization.

Coverage is required once a business regularly employs three or more people, full-time or regular part-time, including recurring seasonal workers.

Yes, up to five officers or LLC members can waive coverage by filing Form WC-10 with the carrier, though this waiver doesn't reduce the headcount used to determine whether the business meets the three-employee threshold.