Remodeling contractor workers comp follows what your own crews do on each job. In California, tearing out drywall, flooring or fixtures in a home that stays standing is reported under the published classification for installing that same material, and carpenters split at $46.00 an hour on a remodel or a new house alike. Pay to uninsured subs may also count as your payroll at audit.
A remodel crew does a bit of everything inside one house: it opens walls, pulls old floors, frames a pantry and patches board around a new outlet. California classifies construction payroll by operation, not by the contract's label, so one kitchen can spread a carpenter's week across several published classifications. The general contractor workers comp insurance page explains what any GC policy charges for; this one covers what changes when the building already exists.
Tear-out is not demolition. Under the WCIRB wrecking and demolition rule (Part 3, Section IV, Rule 6), in effect from September 1, 2026, removing existing wallboard, floor coverings, wall framing, electrical work or plumbing fixtures during remodeling goes to the construction classification for installing the same materials, as long as the building is not razed and no floor or exterior wall is removed. Razing or moving a wooden building goes to carpentry, 5403/5432.
Carpentry has no remodel version. The carpentry pair 5403/5432 applies to new construction or remodeling of homes and commercial buildings, split only by regular hourly wage, not by the age, type or height of the building. Some quotes and web pages call 5645 California's residential remodel code, but the WCIRB's classification search returns no California classification 5645.
| Rule | California | Arizona | Nevada |
|---|---|---|---|
| License class | B-2 Residential Remodeling (existing homes, at least 3 unrelated trades per contract) or B General Building | B-3 General Remodeling and Repair Contractor or B General Residential Contractor | B-2 Residential and Small Commercial or B General Building |
| When coverage starts | With the first employee | When the business regularly employs workers, part-year work included (Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902(A)) | Industrial insurance is mandatory for an employer with one or more employees |
| Subs who may count as yours | An unlicensed person doing licensed work is presumed an employee (Labor Code 2750.5) | A sub and its crew, where you keep supervision or control and the work is part of your trade (Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902) | Subs, independent contractors and their workers are deemed employees of the principal contractor |
| Paperwork that matters | The workers comp notice in a home improvement contract (Business and Professions Code 7159(e)(2)) | A written independent contractor agreement creates a rebuttable presumption (Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902(D)) | The policy and declarations page available at each location (Nevada Revised Statutes 616A.495) |
The tear-out rule and carpentry wage line are California's. Arizona and Nevada remodelers are classified under NCCI's system and the carrier's determination, and their sub rules reach further than a license check. See the Arizona contractor workers comp rules and Nevada industrial insurance for contractors for owner elections and payroll rules.
The general contractor class panel shows the supervisor, fully subcontracted and carpentry classifications. Remodel crews often touch more trades than that.
$46.00 an hour is the line between these published classifications
Published classifications that mention this work
Published classifications that mention remodel work include carpentry 5403/5432, split at $46.00; 5146(1) Cabinet, Fixture or Trim Installation, limited to firms that frame nothing on that job; 5107 Door, Door Frame or Pre-Glazed Window Installation; wallboard 5446/5447, split at $45.00; 5348 tile, 5436 hardwood floor laying and 9521(2) floor covering; painting 5474(1)/5482(1), split at $36.00; plumbing 5183(1)/5187(1), split at $35.00; and electrical wiring 5190/5140, split at $40.00. Minor fee-basis repairs that need no contractor license appear under 9015(1) Building Operation instead.
Where a remodeler's people land turns on what each one does and on the carrier's determination, not on this page. We never assign a code, and no California number carries into Arizona or Nevada. See WCIRB class codes for contractors for the full list; the floor trades you hire get their own treatment in workers comp for flooring contractors in California.
Under Business and Professions Code 7159(e)(2), a California home improvement contract with an aggregate price over $500 must include a notice headed Workers' Compensation Insurance. It states either that the contractor has no employees and is exempt, or that it carries workers comp for all employees. A remodeler that hires its first helper mid-year should update the contract form when it buys the policy, since coverage is required from a single employee.
The no-employee exemption a B-2 or B licensee files with the CSLB is scheduled to end on January 1, 2028, though the CSLB's own report floated a narrower exemption that would survive, so watch the CSLB workers comp exemption for changes. Letting required coverage lapse suspends the license automatically under Business and Professions Code 7125.2.
Workers comp programs for remodeling contractors, subject to underwriting.
Illustrative scenario
Illustrative only. A B-2 Residential Remodeling contractor guts the kitchen and both baths of a single-story house that stays standing; no floor or exterior wall comes out. Two carpenters pull the old wallboard and vinyl, then frame a pantry wall, under a lead paid above $46.00 an hour. A licensed cabinet installer sets the cabinets, and licensed C-10 Electrical and C-36 Plumbing subs handle wiring and fixtures. Near the end, the GC pays an unlicensed handyman to paint. At audit, the tear-out hours may go under the wallboard and floor covering classifications, because the timecards separate them. The handyman did licensed work without a license, so Labor Code 2750.5 presumes he was the GC's employee and his pay may be added. Move the job to Arizona and the tear-out rule and wage split drop away; Arizona would instead ask whether the GC directed how the painter worked.
Describing the Job with a Code California Doesn't Have
Applications that list 5645 or describe kitchen tear-out as demolition send the carrier the wrong picture of a California remodel. Describe each task your crews perform, the tear-out included, and let the published wording and the carrier's determination place it.
If an audit result looks wrong, what happens at a premium audit lays out how to contest it. With timecards and the sub list in hand, get a remodeling contractor workers comp quote.
A workers comp claim is about your own injured workers, plus any the law counts as yours. A homeowner who trips on a pulled threshold, a hallway flooded by a loose supply line or a finish-work complaint typically ends up with general liability, builder's risk or a contractor's bond instead.
Office and store build-outs are covered under commercial TI workers comp, and ground-up houses under workers comp for home builders. Supervisor detail sits on the California GC workers compensation page, and the trades you hire are listed under workers comp for construction trades.
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There isn't a remodel-only code. The carpentry pair 5403/5432 mentions both new construction and remodeling, split by regular hourly wage, and tasks such as cabinets, board, tile or painting have their own published classifications. The WCIRB search shows no California class 5645. The carrier places your crew by what each person does; we don't pick codes for you.
Not in California when the house stays standing and no floor or exterior wall is removed. Removing wallboard, floor coverings, wall framing, electrical work or plumbing fixtures during a remodel goes to the classification for installing the same materials. Keep tear-out hours on the timecards so they can be placed that way.
One employee is enough to require coverage in California, even an estimator. Where every operation on a job goes to licensed subs, the published classification 5610 reaches everyone you employ on that job except executive supervisors, cleanup and warranty repair included. With no employees at all, the exemption remains open until January 1, 2028 unless the rule changes.
For a contract over $500, Business and Professions Code 7159(e)(2) requires a notice headed Workers' Compensation Insurance. It states either that you have no employees and are exempt, or that you carry workers comp for all employees. If you hire, update the form so the statement stays true.
They can be. Minor fee-basis repairs that need no contractor license, such as touch-up painting, faucet repair or new door hardware, appear under 9015(1) Building Operation. Licensed remodel work does not. Keep separate invoices and time records so the two can be told apart at audit.
It can. Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902 lets a sub's crew be counted as your employees if you retain supervision or control over the job and the work falls within your usual trade. A signed agreement meeting Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902(D) creates a rebuttable presumption of independence, and written audit findings must come before premium is charged on those workers.
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Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
Next Level Experience. Insurance Done Right.
Remodeling contractor workers comp, from kitchen tear-out to the last sub certificate.
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