Proving workers' comp coverage to a permit office

Why every permit office asks for this

New York law puts the burden on the official, not on you. Sections 57 and 220, subsection 8, of the Workers' Compensation Law require the heads of all municipal and state entities to ensure that businesses applying for permits, licenses or contracts have appropriate coverage.

It applies to original issuances and to renewals, and it applies even when the government entity is only issuing the permit rather than having the work done. Municipal entities include counties, towns and villages.

So a building permit, a health department renewal, a home improvement license and a municipal contract all open with the same request. The Board works with those offices on enforcement, and strict enforcement is the stated goal.

The stakes are real. A business subject to a final Board penalty goes on the debarment list and cannot be awarded a public works contract from any municipality in New York for a year.

WCL sections 57 and 220(8) require heads of municipal and state entities to ensure permit, license and contract applicants have coverage, on issuance and renewal alike. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

1 yearA business subject to a final penalty by the Board will be placed on the debarment list and unable to be awarded any public works contract from any municipality within New York State for one year. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

The certificate an insured business hands over

Insured businesses request a Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance, form C-105.2, from their insurance carrier or licensed agent. The carrier sends it to the government entity at your request.

The Board cannot issue insurance certificates directly to a business, so do not call the Board asking for one. Your carrier, or the State Insurance Fund, is the source.

NYSIF policyholders get the fund's own version, form U-26.3. Self-insured businesses request form SI-12 from the Board's Self-Insurance Office.

Disability and Paid Family Leave coverage is checked by the same offices, so insured businesses also request a Certificate of Insurance Coverage under the disability and Paid Family Leave Benefits Law, form DB-120.1. The getting-covered guide covers buying the policies these certificates prove.

Insured businesses request form C-105.2 from their carrier or agent, because the Board cannot issue certificates directly; NYSIF uses U-26.3 and self-insureds use SI-12. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

Insured businesses must request a Certificate of Insurance Coverage under the New York State Disability and Paid Family Leave Benefits Law, form DB-120.1, from their insurance carrier. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

The CE-200 and its two narrow uses

A Certificate of Attestation of Exemption, the CE-200, attests to a government entity that an applicant is not required to carry coverage. It is requested through New York Business Express, not the Board directly.

Only two kinds of entity qualify: entities operating in New York with no employees, and out-of-state entities obtaining a contract or license where all the work is performed outside New York.

The Board is blunt about the edges. A CE-200 cannot be used to respond to the Board about periods of non-compliance or penalties, and it cannot be used to show another business or that business's carrier that coverage is not required.

Building permits carry an extra trap: certificates are job-specific, and a separate CE-200 is required for each building permit. One certificate does not cover a season of jobs.

Only entities operating in New York with no employees, and out-of-state entities whose work is all performed outside New York, may apply for a CE-200. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

A CE-200 cannot answer the Board on penalties or satisfy another business or its carrier, and building permit CE-200s are job-specific, one per permit. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

The name and FEIN must match exactly

The Board's requirement for these forms is that the information on the submitted form must exactly match the name and federal identification number of the entity applying for the permit, license or contract.

Exact is exact. An LLC applying under its assumed name, or a certificate issued under a predecessor entity's FEIN, is a mismatch the office can reject the application over.

Keep one canonical pair, the legal name and the FEIN, on every filing: the policy, the application, the certificate. When your legal entity type changes, tell your carrier, because the certificate follows the FEIN on the policy.

This is also where a formation choice becomes a paperwork choice. Filing yourself or through a service, the entity that buys the policy is the entity the office checks. The comparison page prices the New York filing routes.

The information on the form submitted to a government entity must exactly match the applicant's legal name and federal identification number. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

The ACORD form is not proof here

A standard ACORD certificate of insurance, the one the rest of the country uses, is not acceptable proof of New York State workers' compensation coverage under Section 57.

The ACORD form describes coverage in general. New York wants its own forms, which state the specifics the law requires, issued through the carrier to the requesting government entity.

If a vendor, client or general contractor asks for proof, hand over the New York forms, not the ACORD. NYSIF policyholders can validate coverage of subcontractors through their own certificate validation, and the Board runs a public Employer Coverage Search anyone can check.

Certificates show active coverage as of the date of the certificate, so re-verify before long contracts. Validation is quick; a stale certificate is the kind of gap an audit later prices. The subcontractors page covers the checking duties on your side of a hire.

ACORD forms are not acceptable proof of New York State workers' compensation coverage under WCL section 57. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

Keeping proof current through renewals

Certificates expire with the policy behind them, and the same offices that checked coverage at issuance check it again at renewal. The law applies to renewals explicitly, not just original issuances.

So put two dates on the calendar: the policy renewal and every permit, license and contract renewal that sits on top of it. A gap between an expiring policy and a new one can strand a renewal application.

If the Board does not have an employer's coverage information for a period, it mails an inquiry notice asking the business to show compliance. Answering it means producing exactly these documents: a valid policy, self-insurance, a legal exemption or true and accurate business records.

Ignoring the inquiry is what converts a paperwork question into penalties. A business has 30 days from the initial penalty notice to request a review, explain the lapse and ask for reduction.

30 daysIf the Board lacks an employer's coverage information, it mails an inquiry notice, and a business has 30 days from a penalty notice to request a review. — New York State Workers' Compensation Board, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions