District of Columbia Business Insurance Guide 2026

Who must carry it: 1 or more employees (D.C. Department of Employment Services, Office of Workers' Compensation FAQs (PDF)).

Yes, if an employer has one (1) or more employees, the employer is required to have workers' compensation insurance coverage.

Source: D.C. Department of Employment Services, Office of Workers' Compensation FAQs (PDF)

Exemptions and exclusions

The statute excludes an employee whose work is casual and not in the usual course of the employer's trade, business, occupation or profession, so casual help hired for the business's ordinary work is not exempt. Household domestic workers are excluded unless the employer employed one or more household domestic workers for 240 hours or more in any calendar quarter of the current or previous year (D.C. Code § 32-1501) (D.C. Code § 32-1501).

The agency to ask is the D.C. Department of Employment Services, Office of Workers' Compensation. Pricing is separate from the legal rule: the workers' comp calculator multiplies the payroll, rate and modifier you enter, and the workers' compensation guide explains the coverage.

The District of Columbia's minimum auto liability limits:

• Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $10,000 per accident
• Start date: not stated in the source; confirmed in force on October 3, 2026
• Source: D.C. Code § 31-2406 (Council of the District of Columbia)

Insurers selling motor vehicle insurance in the District must also include uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $5,000 for property damage. Personal injury protection and underinsured motorist coverage must be offered but are optional (D.C. Code § 31-2406 (Council of the District of Columbia)). Ask your insurer whether these also apply to your commercial and fleet policies.

Commercial and for-hire vehicles can face different or higher federal or state requirements, as our commercial auto guide explains.

DC Paid Family Leave is fully employer-funded: covered private-sector employers pay a quarterly payroll tax of 0.75% of each covered employee's wages for all four quarters of 2026 (DC PFL employer information), with no payroll deductions from workers (DC PFL program updates).

Changes under the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act of 2026 took effect October 1, 2026: Medical Leave falls from 12 to 10 weeks, Family Leave from 12 to 6 weeks, and the maximum weekly benefit from $1,190 to $1,100, while Parental (12 weeks) and Prenatal (2 weeks) leave are unchanged (DC PFL program updates).

On July 1, 2024, the Paid Family Leave (PFL) tax rate increased from 0.26% (0.0026) to 0.75% (0.0075) of the wage paid to each covered employee …

Source: DC Office of Paid Family Leave, Employer Information (PFL Tax Rate Change FAQ)

What employers do: Private-sector employers file quarterly wage reports and pay the employer-funded PFL tax (0.75% of covered wages in 2026) through the DOES portal and post the Mandatory Employee Notice (DC PFL for employers).

Beyond state law, a District of Columbia license, lease or client contract can impose its own insurance or bond conditions, such as general liability limits. Record each request in the certificate of insurance checklist; other states are in the requirements-by-state guide.

• Workers' compensation: D.C. Department of Employment Services, Office of Workers' Compensation
• Auto liability minimums: D.C. Code § 31-2406 (Council of the District of Columbia)
• Paid leave and disability insurance: DC Department of Employment Services (DOES), Office of Paid Family Leave

Our state requirements checklist turns your employee count and vehicle use into questions for those offices. To ask PolicyBenchmark for a follow-up about your District of Columbia business, request coverage help.