Yes. In Texas, once your business carries a workers comp policy, you as a sole proprietor, partner, or corporate officer are covered unless the policy is endorsed to exclude you. An endorsement is a change added to your policy, usually one extra page. There is no state owner exclusion form to file; your broker or insurer handles it on the policy itself. Who this is for: Texas contractors who carry workers comp for their crew and want to know whether leaving themselves off saves money, what it costs them if they get hurt, and what their contracts allow.
The short version
- You are covered by default on a Texas policy. Coming off is a one page change to the policy, not a form you file with the state.
- Once the business has a policy, a sole proprietor, partner, or corporate executive officer is covered unless the policy says otherwise. Your ownership share is one of the first things the insurer asks about.
- Excluding a working owner saves real money right up until the day he falls. One Texas roofer's two years of savings, about $38,400, were wiped out by a single $67,000 injury.
- Public projects and many general contractors want everyone on site covered, so check your contracts before you exclude yourself.
How does owner exclusion work in Texas?
Texas starts from the opposite place than many states: workers comp itself is optional for private employers here. But once your business buys a policy, the law says a sole proprietor, partner, or corporate executive officer is a covered employee unless specifically excluded through an endorsement to the policy (Labor Code Section 406.097). The same section deals specifically with a corporate officer who owns at least 25 percent of the business, so ownership share is one of the first things your insurer will ask about.
LLC members are not named in that statute. In practice Texas insurers treat an LLC member or manager like a partner or officer, using the same ownership endorsement. There is no Texas registry of excluded owners.
| How your Texas business is set up | Covered by default once the business has a policy? | How you change it |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor | Yes | Exclusion endorsement on the policy |
| Partner | Yes | Exclusion endorsement on the policy |
| Corporate officer | Yes | Exclusion endorsement. Your insurer will ask what share you own |
| LLC member or manager | Treated like a partner or officer | Same ownership endorsement |
Entity by entity detail: sole proprietors, LLCs, and corporations in Texas.
How much does excluding myself save in Texas?
Your own pay is not charged the way your crew's is. A covered sole proprietor or partner is rated on a set payroll figure, not your real draw. A corporate officer is rated on actual pay, held between a minimum and a maximum. Either way, your premium for yourself is that figure divided by 100, times your trade rate.
| Your situation | How your pay is counted | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor or partner, covered | A set payroll figure the rules assign, not your real draw | Ask your insurer which figure it uses |
| Corporate officer, covered | Actual pay, between a minimum and a maximum | A large salary stops raising the bill at the maximum |
| Owner in the office only | The office category rate | Full benefits cost very little, so excluding saves almost nothing |
| Owner in the field | Your trade rate, the same one your crew is charged | Where exclusion saves real money, and where you are most likely to get hurt |
An owner who truly stays in the office keeps full benefits for very little. Excluding yourself only saves real money if you work in the field, which is exactly when you are most likely to need it.
What do I lose if I exclude myself?
- Medical bills and lost wages. If you fall, the policy pays nothing for you. Many health plans deny work injuries, and none replace your income.
- The lawsuit side of the policy. Workers comp also pays when an injured employee sues the business. Once you are off the policy, that part does not apply to your own injury either.
- Some jobs. On a building or construction contract for the state, a city, a county, a school district, or any other political subdivision, the contractor must certify that every employee on the project is covered (Labor Code Section 406.096). Many public owners and general contractors read that to include working owners.
- A quiet audit. If you are excluded and the auditor finds you were on the roof all year, expect questions and possibly a charge.
Is excluding myself the same as being a non-subscriber?
No, and the difference matters. Excluding yourself removes one person from a policy that still covers your crew. Being a non-subscriber means the whole business goes without. Workers comp is elective in Texas: private employers choose whether to buy it, at any headcount. A business that goes without files DWC Form-005 with the state, posts the state's notice for employees, and gives up the legal defenses an employer normally has. If an employee sues, you cannot argue that the worker was careless, that he knew the job was risky, or that a coworker caused it. That is a much larger decision than an owner endorsement. See do I need workers comp in Texas.
How do I get the endorsement added or removed?
- Ask for the exclusion endorsement before the policy starts. It takes effect on the date the insurer issues it, not before.
- Reverse it before you go back to the field. Adding yourself back is another endorsement, and it is not backdated to the day you got hurt.
For the wider cost picture, see how can I reduce my workers comp costs in Texas.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: Two brothers own a roofing corporation in Lubbock, half each, and their policy covers six roofers. As corporate officers they are rated on actual pay, held between a minimum and a maximum, and covering both cost about $19,200 a year, illustrative, so they asked for an exclusion endorsement.
What went wrong: Two years later one brother slides off a hail-damaged roof in Amarillo and breaks his pelvis. Medical bills reach $52,000. The company health plan denies the claim as a work injury, and he cannot work for twelve weeks.
What it cost: The business paid the $52,000 in bills and about $15,000 in lost draw, roughly $67,000 in total. The two years of saved premium came to about $38,400, illustrative, so one fall erased the saving and then some.
The fix: Exclude only an owner who stays in the office. For a working owner, keep the coverage and shop the rate instead: two Texas quotes for the same roofer can differ by thousands.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Can I exclude myself from workers comp in Texas?
Yes. A sole proprietor, partner, or corporate officer is covered by the business policy unless excluded by an endorsement. There is no state form; your broker or insurer adds it to the policy, and the insurer will ask what share of the business you own.
Q: Is there a Texas state form to exclude an owner from workers comp?
No. Texas has no owner exclusion form and no registry of excluded owners; the election is made on the policy by endorsement. DWC Form-005 is different: it is the notice a whole business files when it chooses not to carry workers comp at all.
Q: Can an LLC member be excluded in Texas?
In practice, yes. The statute names sole proprietors, partners, and corporate officers, and Texas insurers handle LLC members and managers the same way, by an ownership endorsement.
Q: How much does excluding myself save in Texas?
Your trade rate applied to the payroll the rating rules count for you, so it depends on what you actually do. It is largest for a field owner in a high hazard trade and very small for an office-only owner.
Q: Will a Texas general contractor or public owner accept an excluded owner?
Sometimes. Public building projects require the contractor to certify coverage for every employee on the project, and many general contractors want everyone on site covered. Others accept a copy of the exclusion endorsement, so read the contract first.
Q: If I exclude myself and get hurt on a Texas job, who pays?
You do, unless another policy steps in. The workers comp policy pays nothing for an excluded owner, many health plans deny work injuries, and none replace lost income.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Working out whether a Texas owner should be excluded, adding the right endorsement, and checking it against the contracts you are bidding is a review we do at no charge.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.