Mississippi Nonprofit: Need Workers Comp?

Mississippi is one of the few states that expressly leaves many nonprofits out of the workers compensation mandate. The law does not apply to nonprofit charitable, fraternal, cultural, or religious corporations or associations (Mississippi Code section 71-3-5), so a charity or church is generally not required to carry coverage even with five or more employees. That is a real exemption, but it does not mean coverage is a bad idea, and it does not reach every kind of nonprofit.

Who this is for: Mississippi nonprofits, from a small volunteer-run group to a staffed community organization, deciding whether they need a policy for their team.

The short version

Charitable and religious nonprofits are excluded. Mississippi law expressly removes nonprofit charitable, fraternal, cultural, and religious corporations and associations from the workers comp mandate, regardless of headcount.
The exclusion is about the type of nonprofit. It is written for those four categories, so a nonprofit that does not fit them should confirm its status rather than assume.
Excluded does not mean protected. Without coverage, an injured worker is not paid by comp, and you may lose the shield against being sued over that injury.
Grants and contracts may require it anyway. Funders, government contracts, and landlords often demand proof of coverage even though the state does not.
You can elect coverage voluntarily. An excluded nonprofit can still buy a policy to protect its staff and satisfy a contract.

How the Mississippi nonprofit exclusion works

Organization or person	Inside the workers comp mandate?	Notes
Charitable nonprofit corporation	No, expressly excluded	Not required even with five or more staff
Religious or church organization	No, expressly excluded	Outside the mandate by statute
Fraternal or cultural association	No, expressly excluded	Named in the exclusion
Nonprofit that does not fit those categories	Confirm with the Commission	The exclusion lists specific types; others should check
Paid staff at an excluded nonprofit	Not covered unless the group elects coverage	An injury is not paid by comp without a voluntary policy

Excluded, but is that the whole story?

The exemption is genuinely broad, and it is easy to read it as good news and move on. The catch is what you give up. If a charity does not carry workers comp and a staff member is hurt on the job, comp does not pay the medical bills or lost wages, and the organization can face a direct lawsuit over the injury with fewer protections than a covered employer would have. For a small nonprofit, one serious injury can drain a year of operating budget. That is why plenty of excluded Mississippi nonprofits buy a policy anyway. If your workers do anything physical, it is worth pricing, and you should confirm your specific status with the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission before assuming the exclusion covers you.

Why nonprofits buy it even when exempt

Beyond protecting staff, the push often comes from outside. Grant agreements, government contracts, and landlords frequently require proof of workers comp regardless of the state exemption, and you cannot sign the grant or the lease without it. Volunteers are a separate gap: an injured volunteer is not an employee and is not covered by comp, and your general liability policy may not fully protect them either, so ask us how to cover volunteers who do physical work rather than assume they are protected. If a funder is asking for proof, see how to get a policy in Mississippi.

A Tupelo example

Illustrative, not a quote. A Tupelo food-bank charity has six paid staff and a rotating group of volunteers. As a charitable nonprofit it is expressly outside the Mississippi mandate, so it is not required to carry workers comp even with six employees. But a county grant requires proof of coverage, so the group elects a policy anyway, which also protects the staff who lift and load. The board asks us how to handle the volunteers, since comp will not cover them. See the trade detail on our workers comp for nonprofits page.

Real questions Mississippi owners ask

Does a Mississippi nonprofit need workers comp?

Often not. Mississippi law expressly excludes nonprofit charitable, fraternal, cultural, and religious corporations and associations from the workers comp mandate, so many charities and churches are not required to carry it even with five or more staff.

Which nonprofits are exempt in Mississippi?

The statute names charitable, fraternal, cultural, and religious corporations and associations. If your nonprofit does not clearly fit one of those categories, confirm your status with the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission rather than assuming the exclusion applies.

If we are exempt, are our staff protected if hurt?

No, not by workers comp, unless you elect a voluntary policy. Without coverage, an injured worker is not paid comp benefits and can sue the organization over the injury, often with fewer protections than a covered employer would have.

Are our volunteers covered if they get hurt?

Not by workers comp, because they are not employees. Your general liability policy may not fully protect them either, so ask us about coverage for volunteers who do physical work rather than assuming they are protected.

A grant requires proof of coverage but we are exempt. What now?

You can buy a policy voluntarily even though the state does not require it. This is common for nonprofits, because grants, government contracts, and landlords often require proof of coverage regardless of the state exemption.

Does the exemption depend on how many employees we have?

No. For a charitable, fraternal, cultural, or religious nonprofit, the exclusion applies regardless of headcount, so it holds whether you have two staff or twenty. It is based on the type of organization, not the number of workers.

Should a small Mississippi nonprofit buy workers comp anyway?

Many do. It protects paid staff from an injury the organization would otherwise pay out of pocket, and it satisfies funders and landlords who require proof. We can price it so you can weigh the cost against the risk.

Why Mississippi owners choose Morrow

We shop the right market for you. In Mississippi you buy workers comp on the open market from any private insurer licensed in the state, because Mississippi has no state fund, and if no carrier will take you the NCCI-run assigned risk plan is the guaranteed fallback, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a backstop 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 Mississippi guides

Every Mississippi 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.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Mississippi rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.