If you have even one employee in Delaware, yes, you need workers compensation insurance. Delaware's Workers' Compensation Law, Title 19, Chapter 23 of the state code, requires nearly every employer to carry it once they have one or more employees, with no minimum headcount, no payroll minimum, and no exception for part-time, seasonal, or occasional workers. The real questions are how owners are treated and how to buy it, not whether the rule reaches an ordinary employer.
Who this is for: Any Delaware employer, from a brand-new business making its first hire to an established company double-checking the rules for its mix of staff.
The short version
- Coverage is required once you have employees; there is no headcount trigger and no payroll minimum.
- Full-time, part-time, seasonal, and occasional workers all count as employees.
- Owners are handled by business type: a sole proprietor or partner is out unless they opt in, while corporate officers and LLC members are in unless they opt out.
- A few narrow groups are carved out, mainly certain in-home domestic or casual workers and farm labor.
- Delaware has no state fund, so you buy from a private insurer, with a guaranteed-issue plan as the backstop.
Who counts as an employee
Delaware defines an employee broadly. Almost anyone who works for pay under the direction of the business is an employee, and coverage attaches once you have one. Hours and season do not change that. There are only a few narrow carve-outs, and they are smaller than owners usually expect.
| Worker type | Counts toward the mandate? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time W-2 employee | Yes | Coverage required from day one |
| Part-time or seasonal worker | Yes | No hours or headcount exception |
| Occasional or on-call worker | Yes | Still an employee unless the work is truly casual and outside your regular business |
| In-home domestic or casual worker | Sometimes no | Excluded only if they earn under 750 dollars in cash in any three-month period from a single household |
| Farm or agricultural worker | Elective | Farm labor is excluded unless the farm employer chooses to carry coverage |
| A genuine independent contractor | No | Only if they pass Delaware's control test, and construction has a stricter rule |
The narrow exceptions
Delaware's exemptions are short. A domestic or casual worker in a private home is excluded only when they earn less than 750 dollars in cash from a single home in any three-month period; above that they are covered. Casual work is exempt only when it is both short and outside your regular trade, so a helper doing your normal work does not qualify, and neither does routine repair or upkeep of your operations. Farm labor is handled separately: it is excluded unless the farm employer decides to carry coverage. Beyond those, and the owner elections below, the first-employee rule reaches almost everyone.
How Delaware treats business owners
Owners are the one place the answer changes with your structure, and Delaware splits the rules in two directions. A sole proprietor and a partner are not automatically treated as employees, so they are left off coverage unless they elect to opt in. Corporate officers and LLC members go the other way: they are covered by default, and up to eight officers who are stockholders, or up to eight LLC members, can sign a written agreement to opt out. Whatever the owners choose, every non-owner employee must be covered from day one.
Why the rule has teeth
Delaware backs the mandate hard. An employer that fails to insure can be charged triple the premium it should have paid, plus 10 dollars a day for each employee and at least 250 dollars a day for as long as it stays uninsured. If the default runs 30 days, a state court can order the business to stop operating. And an uninsured employer loses its usual legal protections, so an injured worker can either claim comp or sue the business directly for damages, and the employer cannot fall back on the usual defenses.
A Dover example
Illustrative, not a quote. A Dover cafe owner hires two counter staff and one part-time weekend baker and assumes part-timers might not count until she has more of them. In Delaware they count from the first one, so she needs a policy right away. She puts coverage in place before anyone starts, and when the weekend baker burns a hand on a hot tray, comp pays the medical bills and part of the lost wages. Because she was insured, the injury is handled as a comp claim rather than a lawsuit, and we make sure her cafe payroll is rated on the right kind of work. See our workers comp for restaurants page.
Real questions Delaware owners ask
Is workers comp legally required for my Delaware business?
If you have any employees, yes. Delaware requires coverage once you have one or more employees under Title 19, Chapter 23. There is no minimum headcount, no payroll minimum, and no part-time or seasonal exception.
How many employees before I need workers comp in Delaware?
One employee is enough. Delaware attaches the requirement to your first employee, so there is no number you can stay under. A single part-time or seasonal hire makes coverage mandatory.
Do part-time or seasonal workers count in Delaware?
Yes. Part-time, seasonal, and occasional workers are all employees for coverage. Delaware does not exempt them, so you cannot avoid the requirement by keeping people part-time.
Are there any workers Delaware leaves out?
A few. An in-home domestic or casual worker who earns under 750 dollars in cash from one household in any three-month period is excluded, and farm labor is covered only if the farm employer chooses to insure it.
Do I have to cover myself as the owner?
It depends on your business type. A sole proprietor or partner is left off by default and opts in. Corporate officers and LLC members are covered by default, and up to eight of them can sign a written agreement to opt out. Your employees are always covered.
What if my workers are independent contractors?
A label does not settle it. Delaware uses a control test to decide who is really an employee, and construction work has a stricter three-part rule. A misclassified worker who gets hurt can leave you exposed.
What happens if I do not carry it?
Delaware can charge triple the premium you avoided, plus 10 dollars a day per employee and at least 250 dollars a day. After 30 days a court can order the business closed, and an injured worker can sue you directly.
Why Delaware owners choose Morrow
- We shop the right market for you. In Delaware you buy workers' comp on the open, competitive market from any private insurer licensed in the state, because there is no state fund, and if no carrier will take you the DCRB-run assigned risk plan is the guaranteed backstop, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a fallback for hard-to-place work.
- We catch pricing mistakes. Your price depends heavily on the category your work falls into for pricing (the class code). Put people in the wrong category and you overpay for years. We review your payroll and classifications before you buy.
- Proof of coverage, fast. Need a certificate (proof of coverage) for a general contractor or a landlord before Monday? We turn those around the same business day for most carriers.
- We help lower the score that drives your price. Insurers give you a score based on your past claims that raises or lowers your cost (the experience modification rate). We review it each year, flag errors, and connect you with return-to-work and safety resources that bring it down.
- Real people when a claim happens. When someone gets hurt, we stay involved through the life of the claim, not just at renewal.
Related Delaware guides
Every Delaware business is set up a little differently. These companion guides answer the same question for other situations, plus the national explainers behind the terms used here.
- Business insurance in Delaware (start here)
- I own an LLC: do I need workers comp?
- I'm a sole proprietor: do I need workers comp?
- I own a corporation (C-corp or S-corp): do I need it?
- We're a partnership: do we need workers comp?
- We're a nonprofit: do we need workers comp?
- My workers are 1099: do I still need it?
- Only part-time or seasonal staff: do I need it?
- I only employ family: do I need workers comp?
- Remote or out-of-state staff: do I need coverage?
- What happens if I don't carry workers comp?
- How much does workers comp cost?
- How do I get workers comp (even if turned down)?
- What insurance do I need for a contractor license?
- Workers compensation insurance, explained
- What workers comp costs (national guide)
- Hiring your first employee: what changes
- What workers comp does not cover
- Delaware restaurant workers comp
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Delaware rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the Delaware Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.