Classification

Workers compensation classification codes are the backbone of fair pricing and policy administration across Delaware. They define the nature of workplace exposures and ensure employers are rated consistently based on the actual type of work performed. DCRB maintains and administers the Delaware classification system, helping agents assign codes accurately, enabling employers to understand and validate their classifications, and ensuring carriers apply consistent rules across all policies.

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Helping You Get It Right, Every Time

Whether you’re an agent assigning a code, an employer reviewing your premium, or a carrier submitting a policy, understanding the correct classification is critical to ensuring fairness and accuracy in workers compensation insurance. 

At DCRB, we maintain Delaware’s workers compensation classification system, a structured, rule-based set of codes that help determine the appropriate premium based on the type of work being performed. 

Our goal is to make this system clear, consistent, and easy to navigate, so you can:

  • Select the right classification with confidence
  • Avoid misclassifications
  • Support accurate pricing, experience rating, and compliance across the board

The classification system doesn’t just serve the industry—it serves you, by making the process more predictable, equitable, and transparent. 

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Classification Resources

Classification Research

Easily find the correct classification code for a job, operation, or business type.

Classification Inquiry Form

Not sure which code to use? Request a classification review from our team.

Ownership (ERM-14) Form

Required form for ownership changes, additions, or combinability.

Volunteer Fire Company Form

Required form for classifying volunteer fire operations.

Coded: Delivering Clarity and Ensuring Accuracy

Coded is our quarterly newsletter for member insurers and their underwriting and premium audit professionals. This insight-driven publication helps members navigate the complexities of workers compensation classification and audit practices through practical guidance, timely updates, and expert perspectives.

Coded: July 27, 2026

Coded: April 14, 2026

Coded: Jan. 19, 2026

Coded: Oct. 14, 2025

Coded: July 14, 2025

Subscribe to receive Coded and other DCRB news here.

 

Why Classifications Matter

Workers’ compensation classification codes are a fundamental component of the premium determination process. Each classification is designed to reflect the nature of an employer’s business operations and the relative level of risk associated with those operations. Accurate classification supports the integrity and fairness of the workers’ compensation system.

Stakeholders rely on classification codes to:

  • Facilitate regulatory oversight and market analysis through the use of standardized, reliable data.
  • Determine premium accurately by aligning rates with the exposure and hazards inherent in specific types of businesses.
  • Promote uniform application of rules by ensuring that employers with similar operations are classified consistently across the system.
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FAQs – Classification

Classifications are a way of grouping together various types of businesses and identifying experience attributable to those various types of businesses. In Delaware there are approximately 330 different business classifications approved for use in workers compensation insurance.

Latest News

Revision to the Delaware Workers Compensation Insurance Plan Residual Market Surcharge Methodology – Proposed Effective December 1, 2026