What code 5059 covers
Typical duties
- Setting columns and connecting beams and girders on one- and two-story steel buildings
- Bolting, welding or riveting the frame once members are plumbed
- Connecting bar joists to the steel framework
- Assembling or fabricating frame members at the job site
- Setting precast concrete beams or girders cast by another company
- Rigging and signaling picks for the crane
Operations included
- Erection of iron or steel frames for buildings other than dwellings, not over two stories
- Barns, garages, warehouses, aircraft hangars, Quonset huts, lunch stands and gas station canopies
- Assembling or fabricating at the job site
- Specialists who erect concrete structural beams or girders cast by others
- Specialists who connect bar joists to the steel frame
What code 5059 does not cover
- Frames over two stories: Code 5040, which NCCI says cannot be assigned to the same job as 5059
- Iron or steel dwellings of two stories or less: Code 5069
- Ground-level iron work with no structural frame, such as tanks and railings: Code 5057
- Sheet metal siding and light-gauge steel framing, which can be divided out where the manual allows
- Placing reinforcing steel for a concrete pour: the concrete code, such as 5213
Code 5059 rate and cost context
Florida’s 5059 rate was $18.29 on the 2022 FWCJUA table. It is $10.395 for 2026, a big drop, but still more than three times the 5057 rate, because a fall from a frame is often a catastrophic claim.
The $1,200 NCCI minimum premium is one of the highest on the Florida pages. Even a one-truck erector with a small payroll will pay at least that in the voluntary market.
| Year | Rate per $100 |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $18.29 |
| 2023 | $15.11 |
| 2024 | $11.91 |
| 2025 | $10.71 |
| 2026 | $10.395 |
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 $20.06 (Tier 1) or $29.42 (Tiers 2–3) per $100 of payroll before any experience mod.
Example: estimating code 5059 premium
Example for a low-rise steel erector with the payroll below, all on one- and two-story warehouse frames.
| Annual payroll in this code | $560,000 |
| Voluntary-market premium (rate × payroll ÷ 100) | $58,212 |
| FWCJUA Tier 1 (with 93% surcharge) | $112,349 |
| FWCJUA Tiers 2–3 (with 183% surcharge) | $164,740 |
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 5059
Calling a frame a slab-and-rebar job
This page used to be listed as reinforcing iron. Placing rebar for concrete is part of the concrete code, not 5059. If your crews only set rebar, you are in the wrong place; if they erect frames, you are in 5059.
Mixing 5040 and 5059 on the same project
NCCI does not allow 5040 and 5059 at the same job or location. If any part of the building is over two stories, expect the whole job to go to 5040.
Metal building kits treated as carpentry
Pre-engineered steel buildings are still steel frame erection. A carpenter crew that bolts up a steel warehouse frame belongs in 5059 for those hours.
Owner-operators without an exemption
In Florida a construction officer needs an exemption certificate to be left off the policy. Without one, auditors include the officer’s payroll at this rate.
Codes that sit next to 5059
- Code 5040: for steel frame structures over two stories, and for any job where 5059 cannot apply.
- Code 5069: for iron or steel dwellings of two stories or less.
- Code 5057: for iron or steel work with no structural frame, such as tanks, railings and storefronts.
- Code 5213: for concrete construction, which includes placing reinforcing steel for the pour.
- Code 5535: for sheet metal work installation, such as metal siding on a frame someone else erected.
Payroll and audit notes for code 5059
Ironworkers, connectors, welders, riggers, signal people and crane operators employed by the erector are all 5059 payroll on low-rise frame jobs.
If you also erect taller buildings, keep payroll by job and note the number of stories on each contract. That is the fact the auditor will use to choose between 5059 and 5040.
Keep subcontractor certificates for crane rental with operator, welding subs and bolt-up crews.
Who usually reports code 5059
- Pre-engineered metal building erectors
- Structural steel erectors for warehouses and retail boxes
- Canopy and gas station frame contractors
- Aircraft hangar steel erectors
- Bar joist and deck setting specialists
- Precast beam setting specialists
Code 5059 questions
What is class code 5059?
Iron or steel erection of frame structures not over two stories in height, other than dwellings. The 2026 Florida rate is $10.395 per $100 of payroll.
Is 5059 the code for rebar?
No. Placing reinforcing steel for concrete belongs to the concrete construction code. 5059 is for erecting steel frames.
What is the difference between 5059 and 5040?
5059 is limited to frames of two stories or less. 5040 covers frames over two stories, and NCCI does not allow both at the same job.
Does 5059 include metal building erection?
Yes. Erecting the steel frame of a pre-engineered warehouse or garage of two stories or less is 5059 work.
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: National Scopes, Code 5059 (Iron or Steel—Erection—Frame Structures Not Over Two Stories in Height)
- Florida Administrative Code: Rule 69L-6.021 — Construction Industry Classification Codes, Descriptions, and Operations Scope of Exemption
- Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation: Certificates of election to be exempt
Facts checked October 19, 2026.