Janitorial workers' comp: class codes, audits and 1099 cleaners

How a janitorial workers comp class code sets your rate

A class code is a four-digit number that groups employers by the work their people do. Each code carries its own rate per $100 of payroll. For a contract cleaning company in most states, most payroll sits in 9014. NCCI titles it "Janitorial Services by Contractors," and drivers are included.

NCCI is the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Most states use it as their rating bureau.

Its notes for 9014 describe routine upkeep of a building. That means dusting and mopping. It means waxing floors, pulling trash, washing inside walls and sanitizing restrooms. In other words, a night crew's whole route fits in one code.

The premium math follows a set order. Payroll in each code is divided by 100 and multiplied by that code's rate. Then the total is multiplied by your experience mod. The mod compares your past claims with those of similar firms. A mod under 1.00 lowers the premium, and a mod over 1.00 raises it.

What the rate gap looks like in one state

Rates change by state and by carrier, so here is one public example. The Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau files advisory rates per $100 of payroll. Indiana's Department of Insurance approved the 2026 set on September 30, 2025. On September 24, 2026, it approved a new set for policies starting January 1, 2027.

The 2026 filing lists a $539 minimum premium for code 9014, and the 2027 filing lists $531.

Your price depends on the payroll in each class code, your annual sales, the kinds of buildings you clean, how much specialty and chemical work you do, the vehicles your crews drive, your claims history and the limits your contracts require. These are Indiana bureau figures, carriers file their own pricing on top, and your state's rates will differ. Still, the gap shows why it matters where each person's wages land. Our cleaning business insurance cost guide breaks down the other policies in a typical bid.

What class code 9014 covers and what gets split out

Code 9014 is meant for companies whose main business is cleaning buildings for others. NCCI's notes also let light upkeep ride along. Think light bulbs, slow drains, a cracked pane of glass, moving a desk for a tenant or carpet cleaning. That only works when the upkeep happens alongside janitorial service at the same account.

Some payroll usually comes out of 9014:

• Office staff. Schedulers and bookkeepers typically go in 8810 Clerical, as long as their duties stay in the office.
• Outside sales. A rep who walks buildings to price bids and never cleans may fit 8742.
• Construction debris removal. NCCI's notes say 9014 doesn't include construction debris removal and point to 5610. If your post-construction crews haul debris out, not just clean the finished space, ask how that payroll gets split.
• Specialist trades. NCCI says 9014 isn't meant for specialists like a painter or a plumber. That payroll goes to the trade's own code.

Splits only hold up when your records prove them. Under NCCI-style manual rules, such as North Carolina's, one worker's pay can be divided between codes only when payroll records show the actual time and pay in each, and estimated or percentage splits aren't allowed. Without those records, that worker's entire payroll goes to the highest-rated code that covers any part of the work. A day porter who files paperwork in the afternoon still cleans in the morning, so that person typically stays in 9014.

States that use their own codes

California's rating bureau, the WCIRB, doesn't use 9014. Contract cleaning of commercial buildings there falls under 9008, Janitorial Services – by contractor. That class includes carpet cleaning done in connection with the janitorial work. Carpet cleaning done as a specialty, apart from general cleaning, can be classed outside 9008, so confirm it with the WCIRB. Our California commercial cleaning insurance page covers that state's other rules.

NCCI also lists states that change its wording for 9014. Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Texas are on that list. Indiana's bureau still uses the 9014 number, and Ohio's state fund rate tables list it too. Eight of our states have their own independent rating bureaus: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Indiana and California. We confirm the code for each state where you have crews.

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How a workers comp audit works

The premium on your policy's first page is an estimate. It's built from the payroll you expected to pay in each class code.

After the policy ends, the carrier checks your books. It applies the right codes and rates to the payroll you really paid. That sets the final premium. You pay the difference or get a credit.

The policy itself gives the carrier that right. It's in Part Five of the standard comp policy. You must keep the records needed to figure premium and hand over copies when asked. The audit happens whether or not you had a claim.

One state insurance regulator's audit bulletin lists records like these:

• IRS Form 941 quarterly payroll returns and Form 940
• W-2 and W-3 forms, plus any 1099s and the 1096
• state unemployment wage reports
• the payroll ledger
• a list of every subcontractor you paid, how much, and their certificates of insurance

The auditor may also ask for your latest general liability audit report, so keep the payroll figures on both policies consistent. Our workers' comp for cleaning companies page explains what the policy covers. When you request a quote, a licensed agent goes over your class codes with you.

Why part-time and high-turnover crews cause surprise audit bills

Cleaning payroll moves more than most. You win a 60,000-square-foot office building in March, staff it with six part-time night cleaners, and lose two of them by May. Every hour those people worked counts as 9014 payroll, whether they stayed a week or a year.

The usual gaps look like this:

• The estimate was set by headcount. Owners often quote "12 cleaners" when a third of the hours came from fill-ins and short-term hires who never made the list.
• New buildings start mid-year. A contract that begins in month four adds payroll the estimate never saw.
• Overtime isn't broken out. Under NCCI-style rules, such as North Carolina's manual, a night cleaner's overtime counts at the straight-time rate, so the bonus half of time-and-a-half drops out. That exclusion needs records that list overtime pay separately for each employee.
• Cleaners coded as office staff. A supervisor who covers a call-out shift is doing crew work that night.

Example scenario: An Indiana cleaning company estimates $300,000 of 9014 payroll. Three new office buildings and steady turnover push actual payroll to $420,000. At Indiana's 2026 rate of $1.203, before the mod and carrier pricing, that extra $120,000 adds about $1,444 to the audit bill. Coding the $50,000 office manager in 8810 instead of 9014 would cut that salary's cost from about $602 to about $37 at the same rates.

1099 cleaners and uninsured subcontracted crews

The 1099 you send in January is a tax filing. On its own, it can't make a night cleaner a contractor for workers' comp purposes. The IRS looks at the whole working relationship, with no single factor deciding it, and state comp laws have their own tests.

If the auditor treats a 1099 cleaner as your employee, that pay can be added to your 9014 payroll for the year. Auditors tend to look hard at 1099 cleaners who work a set nightly schedule, use your supplies and follow your cleaning specifications. Whether that person is legally an employee is a question for your state's workers' comp agency, an employment attorney or your CPA.

Subcontracted crews without a certificate

Handing a building to another cleaning company is common when you grow faster than you can hire. The risk shows up at audit if that company can't prove it carried its own comp. Under NCCI-style manual rules, such as North Carolina's, extra premium is charged for each sub that doesn't provide that proof. If you can't produce the sub's payroll records, the full price you paid the sub can count as payroll. If paperwork shows part of the price was payroll, that part is used, with floors: at least 90% of a labor-only deal and at least 50% of a labor-and-materials deal.

Example scenario: You pay an uninsured crew $80,000 a year to cover two medical-office buildings on a labor-only deal. With no payroll records from the sub, the full $80,000 could be added to your 9014 payroll at audit. Even with paperwork showing the payroll share, at least $72,000 would count.

The fix is a certificate of insurance showing the sub's workers' comp, with dates that cover the work. Get it before the first shift and again when their policy renews. Our guide to certificates of insurance for cleaning companies explains what to look for on one.

Ohio BWC and Texas non-subscriber notes

Ohio: comp only from the state fund

In Ohio, comp comes from the state fund, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC). The only other path is to qualify to self-insure. Private carriers don't sell Ohio comp.

BWC runs its own version of the audit. Its policy year starts July 1. After the year ends, private employers file a payroll true-up report. If actual payroll beat the estimate, you owe more, and if it came in lower, you get a credit. A zero-payroll year still needs a report, unless BWC notifies you that it has waived it because you've reported no payroll and no employees in the past.

The state fund policy leaves out employer's liability. That's the part that can answer certain employee injury suits that comp itself doesn't, such as some intentional-tort claims. So many Ohio cleaning companies add stop-gap coverage. It's often an add-on to the general liability policy. Our Ohio commercial cleaning insurance page has more.

Texas: opting out is allowed, with trade-offs

Most private Texas employers may decide for themselves whether to buy comp. A company that goes without it is a non-subscriber. Non-subscribers send a notice to the state's workers' comp division each year. It's part of the Texas Department of Insurance, and the window runs February 1 to April 30. They must also post a notice of no coverage and give new hires written notice.

A non-subscriber can be sued by a hurt worker. In that suit, it can't argue that the worker was partly at fault, that the worker assumed the risk or that a co-worker's negligence caused the injury.

Many property managers also list workers' comp in the insurance exhibit, so going without it can cost you bids. See our Texas commercial cleaning insurance page. Our guide to contract insurance requirements helps too. Whether to subscribe is a business and legal call, so talk it through with your attorney or CPA.

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