Free Indiana Independent Contractor Agreement Template

An Indiana independent contractor agreement sets scope, pay, and ownership between two private parties, and the state neither files nor reviews it. Alongside it, though, the state runs a certificate process that decides workers’ compensation exposure – and the hiring party has a duty inside that process.

The document is unregulated. The certificate that sits beside it is not.

The Classification Standard

Indiana keeps this unusually simple. Under Indiana Code 22-3-6-1(b)(7), a person is an independent contractor and not an employee if the person is an independent contractor under the guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Certificate of Exemption

An independent contractor who falls outside the workers’ compensation provisions must file a statement with the Indiana Department of Revenue and obtain a certificate of exemption. Form WCE-1, the Worker’s Compensation Clearance Certificate, does that job. Revenue checks the applicant’s tax position first, so all Indiana returns have to be filed and current, with any outstanding delinquencies paid in full.

Cost and Timing

The filing fee is $20 and is non-refundable – $5 to the Department of Revenue and $15 to the Worker’s Compensation Board under Indiana Code 22-3-2-14.5. Payment must be made in guaranteed funds. Once the board file-stamps the certificate, it becomes effective at midnight seven business days later. Supporting documentation must be filed annually, so the exemption has to be renewed rather than left to run. Fees are set by the state and change from time to time, so confirm the current amount with the agency before you file.

No Filing or Notarization for the Contract

None of this touches the agreement itself, which stays private, unfiled, and free.

Secure a copy of the stamped certificate. Indiana Code 22-3-2-14.5 requires a person who contracts for the services of someone not covered by the workers’ compensation provisions to obtain a copy of the stamped certificate of exemption from the person hired.

Two consequences follow, and both favour the parties who get this right. A business may not require someone who has provided a stamped certificate to carry workers’ compensation coverage anyway. In addition, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier of a business that contracts with an independent contractor must accept a stamped certificate in the same manner as a certificate of insurance. A stamped certificate filed under the section is binding and holds harmless the business that contracted in reliance on it.

1. Agree the scope, rate, and ownership terms, then sign the agreement.
2. Ask whether the contractor holds a current stamped certificate of exemption.
3. If not, have them file Form WCE-1 with the Department of Revenue in guaranteed funds.
4. Wait for the Worker’s Compensation Board file stamp and the seven business days that follow.
5. Take a copy of the stamped certificate for your records.
6. Set a reminder to check the renewal before the next year’s work.

Start your Indiana independent contractor agreement and get the terms settled while the certificate is in progress.

• Scope, deliverables, and acceptance criteria.
• Rate, invoicing, and payment window.
• A clause requiring the contractor to hold and maintain a current exemption certificate, where relevant.
• Ownership of work product.
• Confidentiality.
• Termination notice.