Workers' Comp Rates for Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim (Class Code 5437)

What's Included Under Class Code 5437

5437 applies to cabinet and interior-trim installation when the insured is a specialty contractor performing that work as its own job. Typical operations include installing kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, built-ins, interior doors and trim, baseboards, crown molding, mantels, stair trim, permanent show cases, garment racks, locks in new buildings, weather stripping, and finished wood flooring that requires cutting, sanding, drilling, and fastening.

WCRB's public 5437 description also places certain countertops in this code when the materials are laminated plastic, veneer, particleboard, pressed wood, Corian-type solid surfaces, high-density plastic base materials, nonlaminated solid wood, or butcher block. Stone surfaces are different: tile, granite, marble, and other stone countertops are routed to 5348 ceramic tile / indoor stone work rather than 5437.

5437 vs 5403 and 5645: Specialty Trim vs Project Carpentry

The main audit test is whether the employer performs any other carpentry operations at the same job or location. If the contractor is responsible only for cabinet work or interior trim, 5437 can fit. If the same employer performs framing, structural carpentry, exterior siding, general commercial carpentry, or all carpentry work on the project, payroll is usually reassigned to 5403 Carpentry NOC or 5645 detached one- or two-family dwelling carpentry, depending on the building type. The boundary also runs the other way: 5437 is built-in finish carpentry permanently fastened into the structure, so freestanding pieces that are merely set in place — modular workstations, demountable partitions, shelving, lockers, and showcases — are portable-fixture installation under furniture or fixtures installation — portable 5146 rather than 5437.

NCCI's 2023 Class Inspection Program flagged 5437 as one of the top reclassified codes. More than one-quarter of inspected policies using 5437 as the governing classification were changed, and many moved to 5645 because the trim work was being done by the same contractor responsible for the full residential dwelling project. In practical terms: a standalone cabinet installer can be 5437; a homebuilder's crew installing cabinets after it framed the house is not.

The project-classification rule also matters when rough carpentry is subcontracted. If a general contractor or project manager is responsible for the entire carpentry project, its own trim employees do not stay in 5437 merely because subcontractors performed the rough carpentry. The payroll follows the overall project classification.

Audit Records for Cabinet and Interior Trim Contractors

The audit file that protects a 5437 assignment shows that the company performed standalone finish-carpentry work and did not perform other carpentry operations at the same job or location. Keep contracts, scopes of work, change orders, job-cost reports, and payroll detail that separate cabinet/trim crews from any framing, siding, remodeling, or general carpentry crews.

If the business installs both wood/laminate countertops and stone countertops, keep those operations distinct. The wood, laminate, and solid-surface work can support 5437; stone, tile, granite, and marble countertop work points to 5348 or another local trade classification. For quote shoppers, the figures on this page — filed figures where a state publishes them and a relative cost index elsewhere — are not a binding quote. Final premium still changes after payroll, carrier loss-cost multiplier, experience mod, schedule credits, minimum premium, and any audit reclassification.