Running a cleaning business means navigating complex insurance requirements that can feel overwhelming. Two things drive your cleaning business insurance decisions: what the law requires and what clients demand in contracts. The right coverage leads to profitable commercial work while keeping you compliant and protected.
Cleaning Business Insurance Requirements
Cleaning business insurance requirements include workers’ comp and commercial auto coverage, but you also need general liability for commercial contracts.
Discover cost-effective cleaning business insurance below.
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Updated: September 3, 2025
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Key Takeaways
Hire employees? Forty-eight states require you to buy workers' comp. Use business vehicles? Personal car insurance won't cut it.
Beyond legally mandated coverage, general liability, tools and equipment coverage, and janitorial bonds protect your cleaning business.
Classify equipment correctly, understand client requirements and work with insurers who know cleaning businesses to get the best coverage.
What Business Insurance Is Required for Cleaning Businesses?
Legal Requirement: Mandated in 48 states once you hire employees (Texas and South Dakota are optional) | Employee medical bills, lost wages, disability benefits from work-related injuries | Covers medical expenses when employees are injured while cleaning, like throwing out their back moving a floor buffer or being exposed to chemicals. Protects you from employee lawsuits over workplace injuries. | |
Legal Requirement: Required by most states for business-owned vehicles (all states except New Hampshire) | Vehicle damage, liability coverage, medical bills from business vehicle accidents | Protects your cleaning business when company vehicles transporting equipment cause accidents or are damaged. Personal auto insurance won't cover business use of vehicles. | |
Client Contract Requirement: Required by commercial clients, landlords, and lenders for contracts and leases | Third-party injury, property damage, legal defense costs | Covers lawsuits when clients slip on wet floors you've mopped or when you accidentally damage expensive client property during cleaning. Essential for securing commercial contracts. | |
Client Contract Requirement: Required by sophisticated commercial clients and larger contracts | Claims work didn't meet expectations, caused financial harm, inadequate service performance | Protects when clients claim your cleaning didn't meet standards and caused them financial losses, such as a failed inspection or business disruption. Covers defense costs even for baseless claims. | |
Client Contract Requirement: Required when clients demand liability coverage above $2 million | Additional liability protection above primary policies | Provides extra coverage when accident costs exceed your standard policy limits, such as major property damage claims exceeding $2 million. Enables you to meet high-value contract requirements. | |
Janitorial Bond | Client Contract Requirement: Required by most commercial clients, government contracts, banks, law firms, medical facilities | Employee theft, dishonesty, failure to complete work as promised | Reimburses clients if your employees steal from their property or you fail to complete contracted work. Many commercial clients won't hire unbonded cleaning services. |
Performance Bond | Client Contract Requirement: Required for government contracts and large commercial projects | Guarantees contract completion and project performance | Ensures government clients that you'll complete the contracted cleaning work as specified within agreed timeframes. Most cleaning contracts from government agencies and large commercial projects require it. |
Workers’ Comp Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
Hire your first cleaning employee? Most states require workers' compensation insurance. New York requires coverage with just one part-time worker, but Florida lets you hire up to four people before mandating coverage.Â
Skip workers' compensation insurance and you'll face escalating fines plus the risk of business closure. The good news: most insurers offer competitive rates for cleaning businesses, and coverage protects your employees and business investment.
Commercial Auto Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
Commercial auto insurance is legally required in all states except New Hampshire when your cleaning business owns vehicles. Personal auto won't cover accidents while hauling vacuum cleaners and chemicals to client sites, leaving you to pay repair bills and lawsuit costs out of pocket. Even employees driving personal cars between cleaning jobs need hired and non-owned auto coverage.
General Liability Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
General liability insurance isn't legally required, but commercial clients won't hire you without it. Most property managers demand proof of coverage before signing contracts, and landlords require it for leases. General liability coverage opens up higher-paying jobs at office buildings and medical facilities instead of limiting you to residential house cleaning.
Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
Professional liability insurance helps when commercial clients blame your cleaning for their business problems. Say a restaurant fails a health inspection after you cleaned its kitchen. The restaurant might sue you for lost revenue. No law requires professional liability coverage, but hospitals and office complexes often want proof before hiring you.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
Some high-value clients require liability coverage above the standard $2 million limit before hiring your cleaning company. Commercial umbrella insurance kicks in when accident costs exceed your primary policy limits, like flooding from broken pipes that damages an entire office floor. Umbrella coverage helps you qualify for premium contracts with luxury hotels and corporate headquarters.
Bonding Requirements for Cleaning Businesses
Janitorial and performance bonds aren't legally required, but most commercial clients demand them before hiring cleaning services. Janitorial bonds protect clients if your employees steal, while performance bonds guarantee you'll complete contracted work as promised. Banks, law firms and medical facilities require both types before letting cleaning crews enter their buildings.
What Type of Insurance Is Best for Cleaning Businesses?
To secure commercial contracts, every cleaning business needs three essential coverages: workers' compensation (if you have employees), commercial auto (for business vehicles) and general liability insurance. Beyond these must-haves, your additional coverage should target your cleaning specialty's specific risks and client demands.
Residential house cleaning | Janitorial bond, professional liability | Homeowners want theft protection and quality guarantees when you're working alone in their personal spaces. Many clients now expect coverage for cleaning mistakes that damage expensive furnishings. |
Commercial office cleaning | Commercial umbrella, cyber liability | Office buildings contain expensive equipment that could result in claims exceeding standard limits. You handle sensitive business information and may use digital scheduling systems that create cyber risks. |
Medical facility cleaning | Professional liability, commercial umbrella | Health care facilities demand the highest standards since cleaning mistakes can affect patient safety. Regulatory violations from improper sanitization can lead to huge lawsuits and facility shutdowns. |
Government contract cleaning | Performance bonds, commercial umbrella | Federal and state contracts legally require performance bonds to guarantee project completion. Government buildings contain high-value equipment and sensitive areas that greatly increase liability exposure. |
Carpet/Upholstery cleaning | Professional liability, tools and equipment coverage | Your specialized equipment is expensive to replace if stolen or damaged during transport. Chemical treatments and steam cleaning can permanently damage fabrics, triggering costly replacement claims. |
Window cleaning | Commercial umbrella, tools and equipment coverage | Working at heights creates catastrophic injury risks that can exceed standard liability limits quickly. Specialized ladders, squeegees, and safety equipment represent significant investments requiring protection. |
Pressure washing | Commercial umbrella, professional liability | High-pressure water can cause severe property damage including structural harm to buildings and vehicles. Clients may blame you for pre-existing damage discovered after your cleaning reveals hidden problems. |
Post-construction cleanup | Performance bonds, tools and equipment coverage | Construction contracts typically require bonds guaranteeing debris removal and site preparation completion. Heavy-duty equipment faces extreme wear from construction sites, increasing replacement and repair costs. |
Disclaimer
Every type of cleaning business has unique risks, so discuss your coverage needs with licensed insurance professionals who can help you find the right combination.
Other Coverage Type Considerations
Meeting legal minimums protects you from fines and penalties but won't protect your business from many common risks. Your clients expect more comprehensive coverage, and several types of business insurance address the specific vulnerabilities cleaning businesses encounter:
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability covers you if clients claim your work didn't meet their expectations and caused them financial harm. For example, a client lost business because their office wasn't properly cleaned before an important presentation.
Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA)
Employees driving personal vehicles to job sites create coverage gaps. Their personal auto won't cover business-related accidents.
Tools and equipment insurance
Standard policies don't cover cleaning supplies, vacuums and specialized equipment once they leave your premises. This policy covers theft, damage or loss at client locations.
Cyber liability coverage
Store client info on your phone or computer? Take credit card payments online? Hackers love small businesses because they're easy targets. When customer data gets stolen, you face lawsuits and government fines.
Employment practices liability
Employees can sue for discrimination or harassment, even at small cleaning companies. One wrongful termination claim costs more than years of premium payments.
Business interruption coverage
Your vacuum breaks, and you can't work for two weeks? Business interruption pays your bills while you get back up and running.
Commercial umbrella insurance
Provides additional liability protection above your primary policies. For cleaning businesses, this extra layer helps when accident costs exceed standard coverage limits.
How to Get Business Insurance for Cleaning Companies
Getting business insurance for cleaning companies presents specific challenges you won't face in other industries:
- 1
Sort equipment and services by risk level
Group your gear by its danger. Pressure washers and floor buffers create bigger liability risks than mops and vacuum cleaners. Double-check your workers' comp code, too. Insurers charge carpet cleaning companies more than basic office cleaners.
- 2
Match services to coverage requirements
Clean windows above ground level? You'll need higher liability coverage because falls happen. Haul equipment in company vehicles? Commercial auto becomes mandatory. Make a list of what you do so you don't miss any required coverage.
- 3
Understand client insurance requirements
Commercial clients usually require additional insured endorsements (which add your client's name to your policy for extra protection), certificates of insurance and $1 million to $2 million in liability coverage. Some require bonding for employee theft protection. Residential clients rarely have insurance requirements.
- 4
Choose cleaning-experienced insurers
Work with insurers who understand cleaning-specific scenarios like wet floor liability and equipment theft. You'll specify hazardous materials handling, height work or equipment transport. Some offer cleaning-specific bundled packages.
- 5
Get certificates before bidding
Request certificates of insurance before pursuing contracts. Having proof of coverage ready enables bidding on higher-paying commercial jobs. Order multiple certificates since clients often require separate ones, naming them additional insureds.
- 6
Reassess insurance requirements as you grow
Review cleaning business insurance requirements annually as operations evolve. Adding services changes requirements and rates. Hiring employees triggers workers' compensation requirements. Document service changes to avoid audit surprises during annual workers' comp reviews.
Insurance Requirements for Cleaning Business: Bottom Line
Getting proper coverage means understanding what's legally required, what clients expect and what your business needs. Most states require workers' compensation and commercial auto for businesses with employees or vehicles, while general liability and bonding help you compete for better contracts. Smart cleaning business owners sort equipment correctly, research coverage options and choose experienced insurers to get the best rates.
Cleaning Company Insurance Requirements: FAQ
Cleaning business insurance requirements raise many concerns for business owners. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions:
How much does cleaning business insurance cost?
Cleaning business insurance costs depend on your services and location. Workers' compensation rates vary by state and employee count, according to MoneyGeek's study. General liability coverage recommended at $1 million costs less than losing one commercial contract due to inadequate coverage.
Do I need insurance if I'm a solo cleaning business owner?
Solo cleaning business owners aren't required to carry workers' compensation insurance, but you'll need general liability coverage to secure commercial contracts. Most commercial clients won't hire cleaning services without proof of general liability coverage, severely limiting your earning potential.
What's the difference between bonding and insurance for cleaning businesses?
Insurance covers accidental damage, while bonds protect clients from employee theft and dishonesty. When clients ask for "bonded and insured" services, bonds guarantee your honesty while insurance covers accidents and liability claims. You'll need both for many commercial contracts.
Which states don't require workers' compensation for cleaning businesses?
Only Texas and South Dakota make workers' compensation optional for cleaning businesses. All other states require coverage once you hire employees, though timing varies. For example, New York requires coverage with one part-time employee, while Florida mandates it after four employees.
Can I use personal auto insurance for my cleaning business?
Personal auto insurance won't cover business use, leaving you exposed during work-related accidents. Most cleaning businesses transport equipment to job sites, whether using vans for carpet cleaning machinery or cars for house cleaning supplies, you'll need commercial auto coverage.
What insurance do cleaning clients typically require in contracts?
Most commercial clients require proof of general liability coverage, additional insured endorsements and certificates of insurance. Coverage limits usually range from $1 million to $2 million, and some clients require bonding for employee theft protection before hiring cleaning services.
What happens if I operate my cleaning business without the required insurance?
Without workers' comp, you'll pay substantial fines and face business shutdowns. If you don't have commercial auto coverage, you'll shoulder damages if a work vehicle causes an accident. Skipping general liability limits you to residential jobs since most commercial clients won't hire cleaning services without this coverage.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick, a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer, is MoneyGeek's resident Personal Finance Expert. With over five years of experience analyzing the insurance market, he conducts original research and creates tailored content for all types of buyers. His insights have been featured in publications like CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.
Fitzpatrick holds a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He's also a five-time Jeopardy champion!
Passionate about economics and insurance, he aims to promote transparency in financial topics and empower others to make confident money decisions.
sources
- Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, Bureau of Compliance. "Coverage Requirements." Accessed September 7, 2025.
- New Hampshire Insurance Department. "New Hampshire 2022 Automobile Insurance Guide." Accessed September 7, 2025.
- New York State Workers' Compensation Board. "Workers' Compensation Coverage Requirements.." Accessed September 7, 2025.
- South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. "Workers' Compensation." Accessed September 7, 2025.
- Texas Department of Insurance. "Workers' Compensation Insurance Guide." Accessed September 7, 2025.