(1) The independent contractor exemption from the coverage requirements of the Workers' Compensation Act is available only to individual persons, not to business entities such as corporations or manager-managed limited liability companies. The independent contractor exemption certificate relieves the person holding the independent contractor exemption certificate from having to be personally covered by workers' compensation insurance. The independent contractor exemption certificate does not relieve the owner(s) of a business from having to provide workers' compensation coverage for all of the employees of the business.

(2) Notwithstanding this rule, any person who wishes to obtain an independent contractor exemption certificate and meets the requirements for having an independent contractor exemption certificate may obtain one.

(3) As used in this rule, "person" means a sole proprietor, working member of a partnership, working member of a limited liability partnership, or working member of a member-managed limited liability company.

(4) The following persons generally do not need to obtain the independent contractor exemption certificate provided in 39-71-417 , MCA:

(a) any person who is covered by a workers' compensation insurance policy for the work performed;

(b) persons who provide their own fixed regular commercial business location where they render services to the public at large;

(c) persons who use their home as their fixed regular commercial business location where they render services to the public, if the person is able to meet the IRS criteria to claim a business deduction for their home business location on their federal and state tax returns; and

(d) persons who practice in the traditional learned professions such as medicine, law and accounting, who provide their own business location but may periodically be called upon to render services to their customers at the customer's location.

(5) The following persons generally do need to obtain the independent contractor exemption certificate provided in 39-71-417 , MCA:

(a) a person who regularly and customarily performs services at locations other than the person's own fixed business location;

(b) a person not falling within the provisions of (4) , where the person primarily provides personal services for commercial customers at the customer's place of business; and

(c) a person not falling within the provisions of (4) , where the person primarily provides personal services for commercial customers, where the services provided are substantially similar to the customer's business operations.