Ohio HVAC Workers Comp Rates 2026: Class Code, Cost

HVAC workers comp in Ohio 2026: the state's class code, rate, cost per worker from BLS wages, and neighboring states.

Ohio HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Ohio employers buy HVAC workers comp from the state fund. The 2026 base rate for class 5537 (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair and Drivers) is $2.15 per $100 of payroll, before your experience modifier.

The state fund sets one base rate per class; your experience modifier moves it up or down. Source.

Ohio class code for HVAC

  • 5537: Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair and Drivers

Monopolistic state fund that uses NCCI manual classification numbers but sets its own base rates (about 500 classes) and does not use NCCI loss costs; some NCCI or state-specific codes (e.g. 5436, 5651) are not in Ohio's table.

HVAC technicians work in attics and on roofs and handle electrical circuits and refrigerants.

What comp costs per hvac technician in Ohio

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 14,150 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Ohio (May 2025), the 8th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $30.06 an hour, 2% above the US median of $29.33.

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Ohio jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.97).

At the Ohio state fund's 2026 base rate of $2.15 per $100 of payroll for class 5537, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.65 for every hour worked, or $1,347 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,694 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Ohio pay runs from $18.57 an hour at the 10th percentile to $47.26 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.40 an hour on a new hire and $1.02 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Ohio

  • Coverage required: 1 employee
  • Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with no employees may elect self-coverage; mandatory once any employee is hired
  • State fund: Monopolistic; coverage only from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)
  • Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability exceeds 14 days
  • Penalty for going without: Liable for all claim costs during a lapse, BWC penalties, and personal officer liability

Ohio is one of four monopolistic states and offers state-run group-rating and rebate programs unavailable in private-market states.

Ohio vs neighboring states

Among its neighbors, Indiana is the cheapest for HVAC comp at $1.36 and Pennsylvania the most expensive at $2.71 per $100 of payroll.

If your crews cross into Indiana or Kentucky or Michigan or Pennsylvania or West Virginia, your Ohio state-fund coverage does not follow them. Buy a private policy for the out-of-state work, with Ohio excluded from it.

What moves a HVAC comp bill

  • Service techs and install crews usually share one class, so the rate is driven by your claim history: back strains from lifting condensers and falls from ladders and roofs are the typical losses.
  • If you also do sheet-metal fabrication or duct work outside buildings, ask how your bureau classifies it. Some of that work rates differently from installation and service.
  • Dispatchers, office staff, and outside salespeople can be rated as clerical or sales when their duties keep them out of the field. Keep their timesheets separate.
  • Company vehicles put a lot of miles on service crews. A driving policy and clean MVRs help on the auto side and with comp, because vehicle accidents on the job are comp claims.

Related Ohio HVAC pages