North Carolina Workers’ Comp Class Codes for Roofing, Electrical and Plumbing Contractors (5551, 5190, 5183)
Quick answer: North Carolina class codes for roofing, electrical and plumbing
North Carolina uses NCCI classifications. Roofing is 5551 (Roofing — All Kinds and Drivers), electrical is 5190 (Electrical Wiring — Within Buildings and Drivers), and plumbing is 5183 (Plumbing NOC and Drivers). None of the three has a wage-based split — unlike California, one code applies at every wage. NCRB’s approved filing cuts voluntary loss costs 12.8% effective April 1, 2026. Verified September 7, 2026 by CPR Business Solutions.
Will we write it? Tell us the operation, the state, and roughly where the mod sits — we’ll come back within one business day with a straight answer: yes, no, or what we’d need to see. No ACORD, no loss runs, no obligation. Agents and business owners both welcome. Run it past us here.
The three codes and what sits inside them
5551 — Roofing, All Kinds and Drivers. Every kind of roofing — shingle, tile, metal, built-up, single-ply, residential and commercial — plus the drivers. Sheet metal roofing installed by a sheet metal contractor and gutter work can fall elsewhere, but for a roofing contractor, the whole crew is 5551.
5190 — Electrical Wiring Within Buildings and Drivers. Interior wiring, panels, fixtures, low-voltage and data when done by the same electrical contractor, plus drivers. Outside line work and utility construction are separately classified.
5183 — Plumbing NOC and Drivers. Plumbing not otherwise classified — residential and commercial rough-in, fixtures, water heaters, repair and service — plus drivers. HVAC equipment, ductwork and automatic sprinkler installation carry their own codes.
No dual-wage split in North Carolina — and the same numbers mean different things
Agents who work California accounts know 5190 and 5183 as the low-wage half of a pair — 5190/5140 for electrical, 5183/5187 for plumbing — with a $40.00 and $35.00 hourly threshold deciding which code an employee sits in. In North Carolina there is no threshold and no pair. 5190 is every electrician; 5183 is every plumber. Roofing is the reverse trap: California has no 5551 at all — its roofing pair is 5552/5553 — so a multi-state roofer is reported in 5551 for its North Carolina payroll and in 5552 or 5553 for its California payroll. The California class code lookup table has all sixteen California pairs for comparison.
The practical consequence is that a North Carolina contractor cannot buy its way into a cheaper code by raising wages. What moves the premium here is the experience mod, the carrier’s loss cost multiplier and schedule credits, and — for roofing especially — whether the account is in the voluntary market or the residual market at all.
What moves a North Carolina contractor’s rate
The North Carolina Rate Bureau’s approved filing cuts voluntary-market advisory loss costs by 12.8% for policies effective April 1, 2026 — one of the largest decreases in the country this cycle. Source: NCRB Circular Letter C-25-11. Class-level changes vary above and below that average.
The loss cost multiplier. Each carrier files its own multiplier over the advisory loss cost; on the same roofing account the spread between carriers can exceed the entire statewide change.
The experience mod. NCCI experience rating applies in North Carolina. A 1.50 mod on 5551 payroll is the difference between a placeable account and a residual-market one. See placing workers’ comp with a high X-Mod.
Schedule and program credits. Documented fall protection for roofers, drug-free workplace programs and safety credentials all carry weight with the specialty carriers that actually write these classes.
Who has to carry coverage in North Carolina
North Carolina requires workers’ compensation once an employer regularly has three or more employees. Corporate officers count unless they elect out, and part-time workers count. A three-person roofing or electrical crew is in from day one.
North Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Act makes a contractor liable for the injured employees of any subcontractor that has not secured coverage — and the sub’s payroll is charged to the contractor’s policy at audit without a certificate. Charlotte, Raleigh and the Triad GCs enforce certificates hard for that reason.
The residual market
North Carolina’s residual market is the assigned risk plan administered by the Rate Bureau. It writes what the voluntary market declines, at plan rates with a surcharge, and is where a high-mod contractor ends up if nobody intervenes. A voluntary specialty placement is almost always cheaper.
Placing North Carolina roofing, electrical and plumbing accounts
Standard markets in North Carolina write clean electricians and plumbers all day. What they decline is roofing with any loss history, any of the three classes with a mod above about 1.30, accounts coming off the residual market, and anyone non-renewed after an audit dispute. Those are the accounts CPR places — through specialty admitted carriers, PEO co-employment where it fits, and programs built for high-hazard construction.
CPR Business Solutions sits on the Carolinas line in Lake Wylie, twenty minutes from uptown Charlotte, and writes North Carolina as a home market. See our Charlotte-metro page for the local placement picture.
North Carolina class code FAQ
What is the workers' comp class code for roofing in North Carolina?
5551 — Roofing, All Kinds and Drivers. North Carolina uses the NCCI classification system, and 5551 covers every kind of roofing at every wage level; there is no separate high-wage roofing code. It is consistently the most expensive construction classification in the state.
What is the class code for electricians in North Carolina?
5190 — Electrical Wiring Within Buildings and Drivers. Same number as California’s low-wage electrical code, but in North Carolina it covers electricians at every wage; California’s high-wage 5140 does not exist here.
What is the class code for plumbers in North Carolina?
5183 — Plumbing NOC and Drivers. Again the same number as California’s low-wage plumbing code, but with no wage split in North Carolina. HVAC installation and sheet metal work are separately classified.
Does North Carolina use NCCI class codes?
Yes for classification — North Carolina uses the NCCI classification system, so roofing is 5551, electrical 5190 and plumbing 5183 — but loss costs and the assigned risk plan are filed and administered by the North Carolina Rate Bureau rather than by NCCI directly. There is no wage-based split in any of the three codes.
Can you place a North Carolina roofer or electrician with a high experience mod?
Yes. CPR Business Solutions specializes in high-mod and hard-to-place workers’ comp in North Carolina and nationally — roofing 5551 with a mod above 1.50, an electrician non-renewed after an audit, a plumber coming off the assigned risk pool. Send the operation, the mod and the loss runs and we will tell you within a business day whether we can write it.
Send us the account
CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers’ compensation broker and MGA built around high-mod and hard-to-place accounts. If a North Carolina roofer, electrician or plumber has a mod above 1.50, has been non-renewed, or is sitting in the residual market, that is the account we want.
Call 714-928-3858 or email proposals@cprbrokers.com.
