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Handle an expired COI

In this article: What to do when a certificate lapses, and how to get the renewal without chasing it yourself.

A certificate has lapsed. Here's the short version: send a renewal request, and check whether they're actually on site right now.

Get the replacement moving

  1. Request the renewal

    Open the contractor and click Request Documents. Say what's expired in the message — "your workers' comp lapsed on 3 March" gets a faster response than "please send an updated COI".

  2. Ask the broker if you can

    Send it to the broker rather than the contractor if you have the address. Brokers issue certificates; contractors have to ask their broker and then remember to forward it.

  3. Let it clear itself

    The new certificate arrives, is read, and the status clears on its own. You don't need to delete the expired one — it stays as history, and it doesn't hold the contractor back once a current certificate is on file.

The question worth asking first

Is this contractor on a job today? An expired certificate on someone who last worked for you in autumn is an admin task. An expired certificate on someone currently on site is a different conversation, and it's the reason the Action Queue orders by urgency rather than alphabetically.

Stopping it happening again

Expired certificates mostly mean nobody was warned in time. On a Starter plan or above, alerts fire at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days and the contractor gets their own copy with an upload link — so the renewal usually arrives before the lapse. If you're on Free, the Monday summary is your warning; see How expiration alerts work.

Note

A certificate can lapse one coverage at a time. If a contractor is Non-Compliant but the certificate looks current, check each coverage's own expiry — the general liability line may run to December while workers' comp ended in March.

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