Contractor Misclassification Risk Check
See which terms in a contractor agreement read the way employment reads — factor by factor
Is Your Agreement 1099-Safe?
Paste or upload a contractor agreement and we read it against the factors a court or agency would weigh in a classification analysis — control, exclusivity, schedule, financial risk and six more. You get the risk profile free on screen.
Risk Profile
A 0-100 read of how many terms point toward employment-style treatment
Nine Factors
Each one rated Lower Risk, Caution or Higher Risk against the actual clause language
ABC Test Lens
What the agreement says about each prong, and which one it cannot answer
Your documents are processed securely and never stored permanently.
What is misclassification risk?
Misclassification risk is the chance that a working relationship papered as a contractor engagement would be weighed differently by a court or an agency. No test in U.S. law turns on the label the parties used. The Department of Labor applies an economic-reality analysis for federal wage law; the IRS applies a common-law control test for tax; and roughly a third of states apply an ABC test that is stricter than either, and that decides most real cases.
The federal picture is unsettled. The DOL proposed a two-factor economic-reality test on February 26, 2026, built on control and opportunity for profit or loss. The comment period closed in June 2026 and no final rule has been published as of August 2026. The 2024 six-factor rule is still in the Code of Federal Regulations but the DOL has said it is not applying it in investigations. Which is why the state test, not the federal one, is the thing to plan around.
A contract cannot settle classification, and this tool does not try to. It reports how the agreement's terms would read against the factors those tests weigh — control over the method, schedule, exclusivity, financial risk, tools, term, integration, subcontracting, and responsibility for taxes and benefits. The determination itself depends on how the relationship operates in fact.
For the full picture on which test applies where and what a well-drafted agreement should say, read Independent Contractor or Employee? The 2026 Classification Rules.
Frequently asked questions
Does a contract that says 'independent contractor' make someone an independent contractor?
No. Every classification test in U.S. law looks at how the relationship actually operates, not what the parties called it. A label is a factor, and a weak one — it will not survive a working relationship where the hiring party sets the schedule, supplies the tools, requires exclusivity and supervises the method. What the agreement can do is describe an arrangement that is genuinely independent, in terms that hold up when someone reads it two years later alongside the invoices and emails.
What does this tool check?
It reads the agreement against nine factors that classification analyses turn on: control over the method, schedule autonomy, exclusivity and other clients, payment structure and financial risk, tools and equipment, term and permanence, integration into the core business, the right to subcontract, and responsibility for taxes, insurance and benefits. Each factor is rated Lower Risk, Caution or Higher Risk based on the clause language, and the report also notes what the agreement does and does not say about the three ABC-test prongs.
What does this tool not do?
It does not decide anyone's classification. It reports risk factors in the agreement text and describes how those terms would read in a classification analysis. The actual determination depends on how the relationship operates in fact — the schedules kept, the supervision given, the other clients served — none of which a document can establish. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Which classification tests apply in 2026?
Several at once, for different purposes, and the strictest applicable one usually decides the outcome. On February 26, 2026 the Department of Labor proposed a two-factor economic-reality test built on control and opportunity for profit or loss; the comment period closed in June 2026 and no final rule has been published as of August 2026. The 2024 six-factor rule is still in the Code of Federal Regulations but the DOL has said it is not applying it in investigations. The IRS common-law test governs tax withholding. State tests govern state wage law, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation, and roughly a third of states apply an ABC test that is substantially harder to satisfy.
Why can't the tool assess ABC prong B?
Prong B asks whether the work is outside the hiring entity's usual course of business, which depends on what that business actually does — a fact that lives outside the contract. A freelance designer engaged by a design agency is inside the agency's usual course of business no matter how independent the day-to-day arrangement is; the same designer engaged by a dental practice is plainly outside it. The report says so plainly rather than guessing.
Is my agreement stored anywhere?
No. The text is sent for analysis and is never stored on our servers. If you unlock the full report, the only thing recorded at checkout is a SHA-256 fingerprint of the report data, which is what lets you re-download it for 30 days. The document itself stays in your browser.
Disclaimer: This tool provides an automated assessment and should not replace legal advice. It describes risk factors in the agreement text. It is not a determination of any worker's legal classification, which depends on how the relationship operates in fact.