What the EMR is
In most states the experience rating plan comes from NCCI, the National Council on Compensation Insurance. NCCI's ABCs of Experience Rating explains it (ncci.com):
- Experience rating compares your company's experience with that of the average employer in the same classification.
- A mod of 1.00 is the unity factor and changes nothing. Below 1.00 is a credit mod; above 1.00 is a debit mod.
- A company gets 1.00 when it doesn't meet the eligibility requirements, lacks the minimum data, or is new with no history.
- The experience period is generally based on three years of payroll and loss data.
- The plan gives greater weight to how often accidents happen than to how severe they are: losses are split at a state-approved split point into primary loss, which reflects frequency, and excess loss, which reflects severity.
- In most states, the experience rating adjustment counts only 30 percent of a medical-only claim.
NCCI's plan doesn't apply everywhere. The same document says it does not apply in California, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania, or in the four monopolistic states (North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming), and that Indiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina use the plan but have independent rating organizations that produce their own intrastate mods. It also explains that an intrastate mod is issued when you have exposure in only one participating state, and an interstate mod when you have exposure in two or more.
Whether you get a calculated mod at all depends on premium, and the threshold varies by state, according to an NCCI presentation to state legislators (ncoil.org).
What prequal forms and platforms do with it
| Who | What they ask for |
|---|---|
| McGough (sample, 2025) | EMR for each of three years, from your workers' compensation carrier, and an EMR verification letter with a three-year history. If you did not qualify, enter 1 and attach a letter from your insurer stating the years (mcgough.com). |
| Torcon (2025) | One EMR per year; the interstate EMR preferred, the state EMR accepted; EMR verification forms attached (torcon.com). |
| Howard University | EMR printed on the carrier's letterhead; the interstate rate unless only an intrastate rate is available. Without the EMR letter and the 300 and 300A, the questionnaire is considered nonresponsive (ehs.howard.edu). |
| GBC Construction (2024) | Three years, plus a copy of the most recent rating sheet showing the Risk Identification Number (gbcconstruct.com). |
| SOLV Energy (2023) | An EMR history letter for three years; at 1.25 or higher, a letter of explanation and the safety program improvements you made (solvenergy.com). |
| Highwire | The three-year average, against the insurance benchmark of 1.0: below 0.6 earns the full 10 points, 1.5 or higher earns none (help.highwire.com). For a year with no EMR, a letter from your insurer saying you did not have or did not qualify for one (help.highwire.com). |
What they share: three years, the carrier's paper, and a written explanation when the number is high or missing. The cutoff a client uses is its own. If it isn't on the form, ask.
Getting the letter
- Ask your agent or carrier for the letter. An EMR verification letter covering the last three years, on letterhead. GBC's form also wants the rating worksheet itself.
- Ask whether your mod is interstate or intrastate. Send the one the form asks for.
- Cover the years without a mod. For any year you were not eligible, ask for a letter saying your company did not have or did not qualify for an EMR that year.
- New company? Expect 1.00 or a letter saying no mod was calculated, and say so on the form.
- File the letters with the 300A summaries. Same years, side by side, so the packet tells one story. See what goes in the prequal packet.
Texas non-subscribers
Texas lets most private employers choose whether to carry workers' compensation insurance, and an employer without coverage has to report that to the state (tdi.texas.gov). No policy means no mod. If that is you, have a letter ready that says what coverage you carry instead, and read the general contractor's insurance requirements before you bid: a contract can require coverage that state law does not.
What moves the number
You can't edit the mod; your carrier and the rating organization calculate it from your payroll and claims. What you control is the loss history it is built on. Because the plan weighs how often accidents happen more than how much they cost, the number of claims counts for more than the size of any one. That is the work a prevention program does: written programs people follow, a hazard analysis before the job, training, and incident investigations that fix the cause. Report every injury the way your policy requires, and ask your agent to review the rating worksheet each year for payroll or claim errors before it becomes the number on every prequal form you fill out.
Rather have the 29Safety safety team write it? The Bid and prequal packet, $795:
- Your company safety manual
- Up to 8 written programs from your GC's list
- A site-specific safety plan for one job
- English and Spanish, as separate copies
Written from the list your general contractor or platform gives you, filled in with your company. What passes is still the reviewer's decision. See what's in the Bid and prequal packet.
More on prequalification
- Written programs for ISNetworld, Avetta, Veriforce and GC prequalification
- ISNetworld RAVS written programs: what the review is and how to prepare
- Avetta safety manual audit: what it reviews and why documents come back
- Highwire safety assessment: the documents, the score and how to clear a discrepancy
- Subcontractor prequalification packet: what general contractors ask for
- OSHA 300A for prequalification: three years, exempt companies and numbers that match
- TRIR and DART for prequalification: the formula and the mistakes reviewers catch
Your EMR letters and 300A summaries in one packet
29Safety's one-click prequal packet puts your insurance certificate and your carrier's EMR letters in the same PDF as your written programs, training records and three years of 300A summaries, in the order a prequal questionnaire asks for them. The letters come from your agent or carrier, not from 29Safety or OSHA. The rest of 29Safety is the prevention side: written programs cited to the rule, JHAs, toolbox talks crews sign on their phones, and training records with alerts before cards run out.
See exactly what you'd get
The JHA plus a toolbox talk record, an inspection and more, in one PDF: five documents for a jobsite crew, or three for a plant. No watermark.
Plans from $199 a month. No per-person fees. 14 days free.
Rather have us write it? Two written programs ($295)
Need the whole packet? Bid and prequal packet ($795)
Questions we get
What is a good EMR for prequalification?
Below 1.00 is a credit mod, 1.00 is the unity factor, and above 1.00 is a debit mod. Each client sets its own cutoff: SOLV Energy asks for a letter of explanation at 1.25 or higher, and Highwire gives full points below 0.6 and none at 1.5 or higher. If the form doesn't say, ask.
We don't have an EMR. What do we send?
A letter from your insurer saying you did not have or did not qualify for an EMR for each year. McGough's form says to enter 1 and attach that letter, and Highwire asks for the same kind of letter. Under NCCI's plan, a company that isn't eligible or has no history carries the unity factor of 1.00.
Interstate or intrastate?
Send the one the form asks for. Torcon prefers the interstate EMR and accepts the state rate; Howard wants the interstate rate unless only an intrastate one is available. Under NCCI's plan, an interstate mod is issued when you have exposure in two or more participating states.
Why do general contractors ask for three years?
One year can mislead in either direction, and the mod itself is generally based on three years of payroll and loss data. Three years on one carrier letter is also simpler for the reviewer to check against your 300A summaries.
Can 29Safety lower our EMR?
No. Only your carrier and the rating organization calculate the mod, and it follows your claims. 29Safety helps with the work that prevents injuries: written programs, JHAs, toolbox talks and training records. It also puts your carrier's EMR letters in the prequal packet next to your 300A summaries.
Not sure how this applies to your work? in the chat, or email safetyteam@29safety.com.
Sources
Checked November 5, 2026. Platforms, owners and general contractors set their own requirements and change them; the list in your account or on your form is the one that counts.
- ABCs of Experience Rating, NCCI
- Basics of Experience Rating (presentation to NCOIL, December 2020), NCCI
- Sample prequalification application questionnaire (May 2025), McGough
- Subcontractor prequalification form (2025), Torcon
- Subcontractor health and safety questionnaire, Howard University
- Subcontractor safety questionnaire (October 2024), GBC Construction
- Prequalification application (December 2023), SOLV Energy
- How is a Safety Score calculated?, Highwire help center
- Completing the Injury & Illness Section, Highwire help center
- Employer resources: workers' compensation coverage, Texas Department of Insurance
- 29 CFR sections linked in the text: eCFR, the official text