Yes. An employee who does only office work in a space separated from the shop or job site is rated in the clerical category, which costs a small fraction of any construction trade. Texas does not make private employers carry workers comp at all; once you do carry it, these category rules decide the bill. The catch is that clerical is all or nothing: an office worker who also runs parts to a job, supervises a crew, or handles materials is charged at the field rate for every dollar of their pay. Who this is for: Texas contractors who carry workers comp and have a bookkeeper, office manager, dispatcher, or estimator whose payroll is being charged at the crew's rate.
The short version
- Office staff belong in the clerical category, which carries the lowest rate on a contractor's policy. Field trades carry the highest.
- To qualify, the work must be office work, done behind a wall, partition, or counter away from the shop or job site.
- Clerical cannot be split. Any field duty moves the whole paycheck to the field rate.
- Texas added a work-from-home clerical category for policies starting or renewing on or after July 1, 2026, priced at the office category to begin with.
- Estimators and project managers have their own categories. They are not clerical, but they are usually cheaper than the trade.
What does the clerical category cost compared to the field?
Workers comp premium is your payroll divided by 100, times a rate for each class code, the job category your payroll is rated under. The gap between office and field is large at every insurer.
| Job category | Who it covers | Where it sits on your rate sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Clerical office (Code 8810) | Office work only, behind a wall, partition, or counter | The lowest rate on a contractor's policy, by a wide margin |
| Clerical telecommuter (Code 8871, new in Texas July 1, 2026) | Clerical duties, worked from home at least half the time | Started equal to the office category |
| Construction estimator (Code 8720) | Job site estimators and salespeople | Above the office category, well below any trade |
| Trade categories such as electrical, framing, roofing | The crew | The highest rates, rising with the hazard of the trade |
Your own numbers are on your declarations page, which lists a rate for each category, stated per $100 of payroll. Put the office rate and your trade rate side by side and the gap is obvious. The Texas base numbers those rates are built from fell an average of 11.5 percent on July 1, 2025 and 3.8 percent on July 1, 2026, so a renewal that did not move is worth a question. More on categories at what a workers comp class code is, and on home working at workers comp for remote employees in Texas.
Who qualifies as clerical in Texas?
The rating manual Texas has adopted sets three tests, and your insurer's auditor applies all three.
- The duties. Creating or keeping correspondence, records, files, and computer work; phone work and phone sales; data entry; copying and general office work of the same kind.
- The place. A work area separated from the shop, yard, warehouse, or construction site by a floor, wall, partition, counter, or other physical barrier. A desk in the corner of the shop does not count.
- Anything else breaks it. Outside sales, supervising crews away from the office, any physical work, or simply being around the dangerous part of the business. Running to the bank or picking up mail is fine.
Can I split one employee between office and field?
Not for clerical. The manual says the clerical categories are not available for division of payroll. If your dispatcher also delivers material two afternoons a week, all of the dispatcher's pay is rated at the field trade.
Splitting between two field categories is allowed, but only with real records showing the actual hours worked in each category for each employee. Estimated or percentage splits are not permitted, and if the records are missing the auditor assigns the whole paycheck to the highest rated category that touches any part of the work. A weekly timesheet with a job category column is enough. A note that says "about half" is not. For the general rule, see can I split an employee's payroll between workers comp class codes.
What about estimators, project managers, and owners?
| Role | How Texas rates it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Estimator or job site salesperson | Its own category (Code 8720), not clerical, not the trade | Site visits are expected. Doing the work itself is not |
| Project manager, superintendent, construction executive | May qualify for a separate project manager category (Code 5606) | The conditions are strict, so ask your broker to confirm |
| Outside salesperson | The outside sales category, but only for real selling away from your premises | Like the office category, it cannot be split with another. Anyone estimating on a job site belongs in the estimator category |
| Owner who stays in the office | Clerical, if the three tests are met | Often cheaper to include at the clerical rate than to exclude |
| Owner who works in the field | The trade category, or excluded by endorsement | Exclusion means no benefits if hurt |
For owners, see can I exclude myself from workers comp in Texas.
How do I fix a wrong category?
- Get the payroll breakdown by category from your current policy. It is on the declarations page or the rating worksheet.
- Write a one paragraph job description for each office employee and note where they sit.
- Ask your broker to request a reclassification. Mid-term changes are common and usually take effect from the request date, not the start of the policy.
- Start timesheets now. The audit at year end is where the saving is kept or lost.
The wider list of levers is at 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: An electrical contractor in El Paso has a bookkeeper and a dispatcher who both sit in an office with a door, separated from the warehouse. The dispatcher also drives parts to job sites most afternoons. The policy lists all of the office payroll under the electrical trade category, which costs about $3,920 a year, illustrative.
What went wrong: At renewal the owner asks for both to be moved to clerical. The insurer agrees for the bookkeeper. At the year-end audit the auditor finds the dispatcher's delivery runs and puts the dispatcher's whole pay back at the electrical rate.
What it cost: Moving the bookkeeper saved about $1,725 a year, illustrative. The dispatcher saved nothing, because clerical cannot be split. Hiring a part-time driver for the afternoon runs would cost more than the dispatcher's payroll adds, so the owner leaves it alone, correctly.
The fix: Fix the clear cases first. Then decide, with numbers, whether it is worth reorganizing a job so an employee truly stays in the office.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Should office staff cost less to insure than field employees in Texas?
Yes. Texas rates true office workers in a clerical category that costs a small fraction of any construction trade. The employee must do only office work in a space separated from the shop or job site, and your records must show it.
Q: My office manager also runs the payroll for my brother's company. Does that matter?
Only for how it is reported. The category follows what the employee actually does, and clerical work stays clerical whoever the paperwork is for. What breaks the category is field work, supervising a crew away from the office, or handling materials.
Q: Can I split my office manager between clerical and the field rate?
No. The clerical category cannot be divided, so any field work, supervising crews away from the office, or handling materials moves the whole paycheck to the field trade.
Q: Is my estimator clerical?
No. Construction estimators and job site salespeople have their own category, which is not clerical but is usually far cheaper than the trade. A project manager may qualify for a separate project manager category, with strict conditions.
Q: What records does the auditor want to see?
Payroll records that show actual hours by job category for any employee whose pay is split between field categories, plus a job description and a workplace description for each clerical employee. Percentage estimates are not accepted.
Q: Can I fix the category in the middle of the policy year?
Usually yes. Your broker asks the insurer for a reclassification and it normally takes effect from the request date, so keep the timesheets going for the year-end audit.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Checking a Texas contractor's payroll breakdown for office staff rated at field rates is a fast 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.