Workers' Comp Rate for Excavation NOC in Missouri (Class Code 6217)
Last verified: 2026-06-25
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About Class Code 6217: Scope, Inclusions, and Common Misclassifications
NCCI Class Code 6217 - "Excavation NOC & Drivers" - is the general excavation classification for contractors digging, trenching, burrowing, filling, backfilling, grading, or preparing sites when a more specific excavation, road, tunnel, pile-driving, or utility classification does not control. The NOC label matters: 6217 is the catch-all excavation code, not a blanket code for every earthmoving job.
Across the states modeled on this page, filing-based 6217 base-rate estimates run from roughly $8.40 per $100 of payroll in the lowest-cost states (such as Indiana and Texas) to about $15.70 in the highest-cost states (such as New York and Alaska), with a national median near $11.45 as of 2026 — though independent-bureau states like California file excavation under their own dual-wage classifications rather than the NCCI 6217 number, so those figures are not directly comparable. Every estimate is a benchmark for comparing the state-to-state spread, not a binding quote.
The audit question is whether the employer is performing general site excavation or a specialized operation with its own code. A small excavating contractor preparing house pads, digging utility trenches, backfilling, or removing earth with bulldozers and trenchers can fit 6217. A contractor doing street or road grading (separately rated as Code 5507), mass rock excavation, tunneling, shaft sinking, caisson work, pile driving (Code 5040), sewer work, or California dual-wage excavation may need a different state-specific classification.
What's Included Under Class Code 6217
Public bureau guidance describes 6217 as general excavation work, including ditch digging, burrowing, filling, and backfilling. The typical job uses earthmoving equipment such as power shovels, trench diggers, bulldozers, loaders, compactors, and dump trucks to remove earth, small boulders, or rocks and place material for later backfill.
Common 6217 exposures include residential or commercial site preparation, foundation excavation, utility trenching before the utility contractor installs lines, septic or cesspool digging where the state manual maps it to excavation, stump removal by a specialist using mechanical equipment, and debris removal left by a demolition contractor. Drivers tied to the excavation operation are included when the state phraseology includes drivers.
The code is often searched as "workers comp code 6217" or "6217 workers comp code" because excavation contractors need a rate quickly before bidding. The rate table on this page shows filing-based base-rate estimates by state, but the final premium still depends on payroll, carrier loss-cost multipliers, experience modification, and whether the audit splits any payroll to a more specific construction code.
When 6217 Is the Wrong Excavation Code
Street and road work is the first boundary. Bureau manuals commonly separate grading or excavation performed in connection with street or road construction from general excavation. If the contractor is bringing a roadbed to grade, preparing for asphalt paving, setting drainage, or performing sub-surface street or highway work, verify the road-construction code instead of defaulting to 6217.
Mass rock, tunneling, pile driving, shaft sinking, caisson, cofferdam, quarrying, sand or gravel digging, sewer construction, and bridge or culvert work are also common carve-outs. Those jobs have different hazards from ordinary site excavation because they involve depth, confined spaces, explosives, water, structural support, or heavy civil construction. Payroll records should separate that work before the final audit.
California is a major mapping exception. WCIRB does not simply apply NCCI 6217. California excavation and grading work can map to dual-wage classifications such as 6218/6220 variants for excavation, grading land, or land leveling, while street or road grading can map to 5507. A California contractor should use the WCIRB classification search and wage-threshold rules before relying on a national NCCI 6217 comparison.
Common 6217 Audit Disputes
The most common dispute is "site prep vs road work." A contractor clearing and excavating a building pad may fit 6217, while the same equipment grading a roadbed or airport runway can move to a street or road construction classification. The customer contract, job plans, and invoices usually decide which exposure dominates.
The second dispute is "ordinary excavation vs specialty excavation." Digging a trench with a backhoe is different from mass rock excavation, tunneling, shaft sinking, or caisson work. If the contractor uses blasting, deep shafts, tunnel headings, pile-driving crews, or cofferdam operations, the payroll should be reviewed under the specific specialty code rather than blended into 6217.
The third dispute is "excavation contractor vs multi-trade contractor." A general contractor that performs excavation, concrete, sewer, paving, landscaping, or demolition with different crews may need multiple classifications. On a typical residential site the same builder might run the dig crew under 6217, a framing crew under carpentry NOC 5403, a concrete flatwork crew under 5221 workers comp code, a plumbing crew under plumbing NOC 5183, and a finish crew under painting 5474 — each crew's payroll belongs in its own classification. Clean payroll division by job and crew is easier to defend than trying to reconstruct which hours were excavation after the auditor arrives.
Sources
- NYCIRB Classification Digest - Class 6217 Phraseology and Description (retrieved 2026-05-17)
- WCRB Class Code Lookup - 6217 Excavation & Drivers (retrieved 2026-05-17)
- WCIRB California - Street or Road Construction, Grading Classification Footnote (retrieved 2026-05-17)
- General Liability Insure - Workers Comp Class Code 6217 Excavation & Drivers (scope, 5507 road-grading and 5040 pile-driving carve-outs) (retrieved 2026-06-25)
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