For an Arizona contractor holding A-14 Asphalt Paving, or R-13 Asphalt Paving for residential work, the license does not set the workers comp class; the carrier looks at the crew's duties. A working shareholder or LLC member holding 50% or more is an employee for workers comp only after the carrier accepts that owner's written election by endorsement.
A paving job draws in more outside help than most trades: trucks hauling mix, a striping crew, a sealcoat outfit, sometimes a milling sub. Arizona's statutes decide which of those people your policy may have to answer for, and the owner rules decide whether the people who own the company are on it.
| Rule | Effect on a Paving Company | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory employer | Subs doing paving work that is part of your trade, under your supervision or control, may be treated along with their crews as your employees. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902 |
| Premium on those workers | The carrier gives written audit findings before charging premium on them. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-961 |
| One-person subs | A sealcoater or striper working alone as an independent contractor may sign a waiver, which your carrier also signs and dates. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-961 |
| Working owners | Below 50%, a working shareholder or LLC member is an employee; at or above it, only through an endorsement the carrier chooses to accept. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-901 |
| Partners and sole proprietors | Elect in the same way as majority owners. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-901 |
| Employee rejection | Possible only in writing, before an injury. | Arizona Revised Statutes 23-906 |
Your ROC paving license and your workers comp classification are separate things: one says what you may contract to build, and the other is assigned by the carrier from the work your crew does. The statute speaks of working shareholders, not officers, so a title alone doesn't settle where an owner stands. Each rule is laid out on Arizona contractor workers comp rules.
Paving payroll in Arizona is classified under NCCI's system. Arizona has no official class list available to the public, so you won't find Arizona code numbers here; the carrier makes the call. Street paving, lot overlays, driveways, sealcoating and striping may each be viewed differently, so give the share of payroll each takes. California's paving title has no standing in Arizona. The workers comp class code lookup covers what each of the three states publishes.
Bring Your Current Declarations
The declarations page of an Arizona policy you hold today names its classifications. The carrier decides classification from actual duties; we don't assign or confirm codes.
Illustrative scenario
Illustrative only. A Mesa paving company holding A-14 Asphalt Paving overlays a shopping center lot. It hires a two-person striping company and pays an independent trucker to haul mix, and its foreman sets the order of work for both. Striping a lot it just paved may well be part of its trade; hauling may or may not be, and the facts of the job decide. If either shows no coverage, its workers may be counted as the paving company's under Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902, but the carrier must put audit findings in writing before charging for them. In Nevada the question would run through the principal contractor rule instead, and a cabling or alarm license wouldn't fit this job.
Describing the Company by Its License Alone
Paving contractors often describe the business as asphalt paving on the application because that is what the license says. If crews also sealcoat, stripe, patch concrete or haul for others, the auditor sees that payroll in the job records. Describe each kind of work up front so the classification matches the year you have.
Workers comp is for an injured raker, screed operator or laborer. Overspray on a parked car, a shopper's fall on fresh striping, a dump truck accident or a roller that disappears from the yard usually lands on general liability, commercial auto or an equipment policy. The seal coating workers comp page compares the trade across states, and Nevada asphalt paving workers comp covers paving under industrial insurance.
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No. A-14 Asphalt Paving and R-13 Asphalt Paving define what you may contract for with the ROC. Workers comp classification comes from the carrier, based on what your crews do, and Arizona uses NCCI classifications that this site doesn't publish.
It may be. If striping is part of the paving work you sell and your foreman directs it, Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902 lets the striping company and its workers be counted as your employees. Ask for a current certificate before the crew starts, and keep it in the job file.
Yes, if that sole proprietor is working as an independent contractor. The waiver in Arizona Revised Statutes 23-961 carries two signatures and dates: the sole proprietor's and your carrier's. Get the carrier's form before the job, not after the audit starts.
Not automatically. A working shareholder holding 50% or more becomes an employee in Arizona when the carrier agrees to a written election by endorsement, and the statute says working shareholder, not officer. Settle your status with the carrier before the policy year begins.
A 0.2% average decrease has been proposed for January 1, 2027, but it is still pending the state's decision and applies across classifications. A paving company's premium depends more on its payroll mix, claims and the carrier's rates than on the statewide average.
8 official sources
Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
Next Level Experience. Insurance Done Right.
Arizona paving workers comp, from striping subs to owner elections.
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