What code 5069 covers
Typical duties
- Erecting structural steel or iron frames for single-family and duplex homes
- Setting steel beams, posts and moment frames in two-story houses
- Bolting, welding or riveting members once they are set
- Connecting bar joists in dwelling construction
- Setting precast concrete beams cast by another company on a home
- Assembling steel members on the lot before they are lifted
Operations included
- Any iron or steel erection on one- or two-family homes and other dwellings not over two stories
- Steel-frame houses and Quonset-type dwellings
- Assembling or fabricating at the job site
- Specialists who set precast concrete beams or girders on dwellings
- Iron or steel erection on military housing and related buildings not over two stories, under the military reservation rule
What code 5069 does not cover
- Steel frames for buildings other than dwellings, two stories or less: Code 5059
- Frames over two stories: Code 5040
- Iron work with no structural frame, such as tanks and storefronts: Code 5057
- Light-gauge steel studs installed by the carpentry contractor building the house: the carpentry code, such as 5645
- Metal fence installation around the home: Code 6400
Code 5069 rate and cost context
5069 was $20.48 on the 2022 FWCJUA table and $18.21 in 2025. It is $15.353 for 2026, still higher than any other iron or steel erection code in Florida.
With a $1,200 NCCI minimum premium and a rate this high, getting the right code matters more than shopping the rate. A crew that only installs ornamental railings is not doing 5069 work, and a steel framer on a house is not doing 5057 work.
| Year | Rate per $100 |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $20.48 |
| 2023 | $20.59 |
| 2024 | $18.18 |
| 2025 | $18.21 |
| 2026 | $15.353 |
If you are placed in the FWCJUA
Florida’s residual market charges the voluntary rate plus a surcharge on the voluntary premium: 93% in Tier 1 and 183% in Tiers 2 and 3 for 2026. On this code that works out to about $29.63 (Tier 1) or $43.45 (Tiers 2–3) per $100 of payroll before any experience mod.
Example: estimating code 5069 premium
Example for a residential steel erector with the payroll below, all on homes of two stories or less.
| Annual payroll in this code | $240,000 |
| Voluntary-market premium (rate × payroll ÷ 100) | $36,847 |
| FWCJUA Tier 1 (with 93% surcharge) | $71,115 |
| FWCJUA Tiers 2–3 (with 183% surcharge) | $104,278 |
Example only. Assumes no experience modification, schedule credits, expense constant or taxes. Minimum premium applies if the result is lower ($1,200 / FWCJUA $2,900).
Misclassification pitfalls for code 5069
Ornamental railings filed as 5069
This page used to be labeled ornamental iron. NCCI places outside railings and iron or steel fronts in 5057. 5069 is the structural steel on a home.
Steel studs treated as iron erection
Light-gauge steel framing and sheet metal siding can be divided out under the manual’s payroll rules. When the carpentry contractor for the whole house installs the studs, that work usually stays in the carpentry code.
Apartment buildings above two stories
5069 stops at two stories. Steel on a three-story residential building goes to a frame code, and the auditor will read the plans.
No time records between house and commercial jobs
Erectors who also do warehouse frames need payroll by job. Without it, the higher rate can be applied to everything.
Codes that sit next to 5069
- Code 5059: for steel frames of two stories or less on buildings that are not dwellings.
- Code 5040: for frame structures over two stories.
- Code 5057: for iron or steel work without a structural frame, including outside railings and storefronts.
- Code 5645: for carpentry on detached one- and two-family homes, including light-gauge steel studs installed by that carpenter.
- Code 6400: for metal fence installation.
Payroll and audit notes for code 5069
5069 payroll is the iron crew on residential jobs: connectors, welders, riggers and helpers, plus drivers who serve those crews.
Write the dwelling type and number of stories on every work order. That is how an auditor tells 5069 from 5059 and 5040.
Ask the general contractor which trades are on your contract. If your crew also installs studs or siding, record those hours separately.
Who usually reports code 5069
- Steel erectors for custom and coastal homes
- Contractors building steel-frame houses
- Residential moment-frame and beam installers
- Precast beam setters on residential projects
- Contractors on military housing projects
- Welding contractors who erect residential steel
Code 5069 questions
What is class code 5069?
Iron or steel erection in the construction of dwellings not over two stories. The 2026 Florida rate is $15.353 per $100 of payroll.
Is ornamental iron class code 5069?
No. NCCI places outside railings and iron fronts in 5057. 5069 is structural iron or steel on homes.
Why is 5069 higher than 5059?
Both are low-rise frame codes, but 5069 is rated on dwelling work, and its filed rate is higher in Florida for 2026.
Does 5069 include steel studs?
Light-gauge steel framing can be divided out, and when the carpenter building the house installs it, it usually stays in that carpenter’s code.
Sources
- NCCI: Summary of the Florida Workers Compensation Rate Filing Recommendation Effective January 1, 2026
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Commissioner approves 6.9% workers’ compensation rate decrease effective January 1, 2026 (Nov. 17, 2025)
- Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA): Rates (2022–2026 rate tables and minimum premiums)
- FWCJUA: Bulletins (Bulletin 25-9: 2026 Tier 1, 2 and 3 surcharges)
- NCCI Scopes Manual: State Special Scopes, Code 5069 (Iron or Steel: Erection—Construction of Dwellings Not Over Two Stories in Height; applies in FL)
- NCCI Scopes Manual: National Scopes, Code 5057 (Iron or Steel—Erection—NOC)
- Florida Administrative Code: Rule 69L-6.021 — Construction Industry Classification Codes, Descriptions, and Operations Scope of Exemption
Facts checked October 19, 2026.