EMR Letter for Contractor Bids: Who Issues Your Mod and What to Request

The organization depends on where your payroll is. NCCI's guide lists the states where its Experience Rating Plan applies, where independent bureaus produce their own intrastate mods, and where the plan does not apply (NCCI, ABCs of Experience Rating). Bureau names come from the Indiana bureau's directory of the 11 independent rating bureaus (ICRB, Independent Bureaus).

The worksheet itself names the organization that issued it. If your business works in a state from one row and also in another, you can hold more than one mod. NCCI gives the example of an employer in Florida and Pennsylvania: NCCI rates the Florida experience and the Pennsylvania bureau rates the Pennsylvania experience (NCCI).

To see what an issued mod does to your own premium subtotal, enter your payroll, rate and mod in the workers' comp and EMR calculator.

NCCI states. Your insurer of record, or a party with a letter of authority on file, can pull the worksheet with the payroll and loss detail behind the mod (NCCI, Experience Rating Mods and Worksheets). An employer or its authorized representative can also log in to NCCI's Worksheets On Demand with the business's Risk ID and PIN (NCCI Worksheets On Demand). Keep those credentials to yourself; send the buyer the document, not the login.

California. A policyholder that qualifies for experience rating can request a free ratesheet from the WCIRB. A business that does not qualify and needs verification of that is directed to the WCIRB Contact Center Online Inquiry Form. The WCIRB releases confidential rating information only to the policyholder's insurer, agent or broker of record, or a third party the policyholder has authorized (WCIRB, Policyholder Experience Rating Worksheet Request).

Pennsylvania and Delaware. Each bureau's Special Services unit sells worksheets for $15 each. A request from anyone other than the carrier of record needs a letter of authority on original employer letterhead (PCRB, DCRB).

Wisconsin. When a mod is released, the employer can open the worksheet in the WCRB's Find My Mod application with the code in its access-code letter (WCRB FAQ).

Washington. The experience factor is printed on the Workers' Compensation Rate Notice and published at Lni.wa.gov/Verify (Washington L&I, Employers' Guide).

No EMR yet? A new business, one below its state's eligibility threshold, or one missing data has no issued rating. Under NCCI's plan it carries a unity factor of 1.00 instead (NCCI). Do not enter 1.00 as if it were an issued mod. Ask for written verification of your status. Connecticut's contractor prequalification tells a company that does not qualify for an EMR to request a letter from NCCI stating this (Connecticut DAS). In Pennsylvania and Delaware, an Abstract of Experience is available for rated and non-rated employers (PCRB).

Some buyers set their own convention: Virginia DOT's C-38 guidelines tell the insurance company to document "none" for a missing year and default the rate to 1.0 for that year (VDOT C-38 guidelines, 10/2025).

If you are preparing a bid and want help with the workers' compensation coverage behind it, you can request coverage help from PolicyBenchmark. We are an educational publisher, not an insurer or agent, so your agent or insurer still issues the letter.

Read the bid instructions before you ask for anything. Two public examples:

• Connecticut DAS contractor prequalification asks for an NCCI experience modification worksheet. It also accepts a modification document from a state Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau, naming NYCIRB, WCRIBMA and NJCRIB. It accepts a parent company's NCCI worksheet if the parent is listed on the Affiliates tab (Connecticut DAS).
• Virginia DOT prequalification wants an originally signed letter from the insurance agent, on the insurance company's letterhead, certifying the EMR for the most recent six years. It identifies the contractor by full legal name as registered with the State Corporation Commission (VDOT EMR letter example). VDOT says its process is intended solely for VDOT highway construction projects and directs questions about other contracts to the entity soliciting them (VDOT highway contractors).

A one-year worksheet does not satisfy a six-year letter request, and if the buyer asks for a bureau worksheet, a letter on agency letterhead does not satisfy it. Before you contact your agent, confirm these items:

Compare the letter with the worksheet and the bid form: legal name, years, rating effective date and the issuing organization. Ask about any mismatch before you upload.

Ownership matters. Under NCCI's plan, businesses with more than 50% common majority ownership are combined into one mod. An ownership change must be reported to the insurer in writing within 90 days, and NCCI may revise the current mod and up to two prior mods as a result (NCCI). If your group has several entities, ask which mod belongs on the bid rather than choosing the lowest.

If a revised worksheet arrives after you submit, ask the buyer how to replace the earlier document, and keep both versions.

A certificate of insurance (COI) shows that a policy exists; it cannot change that policy. Texas, for example, prohibits certificate terms that would alter, amend or extend the coverage in the policy (Texas Department of Insurance, certificate FAQ). Treat the EMR letter, the COI and any safety forms as separate items on your bid checklist. Our COI checklist helps organize the certificate side.

Confirm the number and the period first. If both are right, ask the buyer whether it has a written review or exception process. Prepare a factual explanation of the issued mod and any correction under review. A plan to improve future results does not change today's factor, but it may be worth describing if the buyer asks. Our experience mod improvement plan organizes that work.

Adapt this wording to the actual bid instructions:

Our business, [full legal name], is preparing a submission for [project owner and project]. Please review the attached EMR requirements and provide the issued worksheet or a signed letter for the requested years. Please identify the rating organization, the rating effective dates and any years without an issued mod. If our ownership structure affects which mod applies, please explain it. The buyer's deadline is [date].

Check every number against the worksheet before you send it, and remove unrelated claim or employee details from the attachments.