How do workers comp class codes work for oilfield crews?

TDI describes the Texas process plainly: each employer is assigned one or more Texas classifications, and each employee's payroll is assigned to the matching class. The payroll in each class is multiplied by the insurer's rate per $100 of payroll, and the totals are added up. The rate is the loss cost NCCI files for that class, multiplied by the insurer's loss cost multiplier.

NCCI explains why the codes exist: employers are grouped by business operation so that the rate for a class reflects the costs of all employers with similar characteristics. A class with more injuries and more expensive injuries carries a higher rate. NCCI's own illustration compares a clerical class with a roofing class, where the roofing rate per $100 of payroll is many times higher.

That is why class assignment is not a paperwork detail. Two crews doing similar work with the same payroll can pay very different premiums if they sit in different classes.

The NCCI manual has a group of oil and gas codes. Florida's workers comp rule (Fla. Admin. Code 69L-6.021) publishes the NCCI multistate descriptions, which give a sense of how the family is organized.

Texas uses NCCI's Basic Manual for Texas, which includes Texas-specific classifications and wording alongside multistate codes. The table above shows multistate descriptions, and the Texas phraseology or code for a given operation can differ. Always check the code and description printed on your own policy and audit.

The Texas manual is also changing. In Order No. 2026-9956 (June 3, 2026), the Commissioner of Insurance approved NCCI Item 01-TX-2025, which replaces some Texas classifications and phraseologies with multistate ones for new and renewal policies effective on or after July 1, 2027. If you renew after that date, ask whether any of your codes are affected.

A few patterns to understand when reading the descriptions:

• "NOC" means not otherwise classified. A code like lease work NOC is a catch-all for operations no more specific code describes.
• "& Drivers" means the code includes the drivers who support that operation, rather than putting them in a separate trucking class.
• Clerical and office staff are generally rated in a separate, much lower-rated class, provided they meet the manual's definition.

In our review work, these are the problems that cost money:

• Everyone in the highest-rated code. Office staff or salespeople who never go to location may qualify for a lower-rated class if your records support it.
• Operations drift. A roustabout company that starts running hot oil units or hauling water has changed its operations. The class codes should change with them, or the audit will catch it.
• Payroll records that do not support the split. If your records do not show which employees did which work, the auditor may put more payroll in the higher-rated code.
• New services added mid-year without telling the insurer. Texas Insurance Code Section 2051.101 requires you to disclose your operations and payroll to your workers comp insurer.

Your class codes also feed your experience mod, because expected losses on the mod worksheet are calculated from payroll in each code. And if you are thinking of going without comp, read what a Texas nonsubscriber is first.