Subcontractor Prequalification for Crane Work: What's Asked

Subcontractor prequalification is the GC checking a sub before it can bid or be awarded work. The form asks for the same core set almost everywhere: company basics, financials and bonding capacity, three years of safety numbers (experience modification rate and OSHA 300 and 300A logs), written safety programs, any OSHA citations, a current certificate of insurance and references. Some owners and GCs run it through a platform such as ISNetworld, Avetta or Highwire, where the sub pays a subscription. A crane company that keeps one prequal folder current, plus its crane and operator records, can answer most of these in an afternoon.

What prequalification forms actually ask

We read three published GC subcontractor prequalification forms: PARIC's 2026 packet, Torcon's 2025 form and JRM Construction Management's form. None of them is crane-specific, and that is the point: a crane company fills out the same form as the drywall sub.

Item	PARIC	Torcon	JRM
Company info, years in business, tax ID	Yes	Yes	Yes
Financial statements or gross sales	Yes, prior year end plus current YTD	Gross sales, this year and last	Gross receipts, 3 years
Bonding capacity and surety	Surety letter on letterhead	Surety and bonding capacity	Single and aggregate bond limit
EMR	Interstate and state, 4 years	Interstate, 3 years	Current, in decimal format
OSHA 300 / 300A data	"OSHA 300 and 300A - Last 3 years"	Column-by-column, 3 years, plus copies	Asks if hours are reflected in 300 reporting
Written safety program	Yes	Yes, plus hazard communication	Yes
OSHA citations	Past 3 years	Penalties, past 3 years	Past 5 years
Insurance	"Certificate of insurance - current / not expired"	Insurance carrier	Limits and a copy of the certificate
References / largest projects	3 largest in 5 years	5 largest in 3 years, 5 current	Last 3 projects

PARIC is explicit about when it applies: "All contracts over $250,000 will require prequalification PRIOR to award." Thresholds like that vary by GC. Ask before you bid.

The safety numbers, explained

EMR (experience modification rate). Your workers compensation carrier applies it to your premium. Pinnacol, a workers compensation insurer, describes it as "a multiplier applied to the premium of a qualifying policy" that works as a credit or a debit, and says "the experience period is generally based on three years of experience." Your agent or carrier can give you the EMR worksheet for each year; Torcon asks for "EMR verification forms."

OSHA 300 log and 300A summary. The 300 log lists recordable injuries and illnesses. The 300A is the year-end summary. Federal rules require it to be certified by a company executive and posted from February 1 to April 30 of the following year (29 CFR 1904.32). The log, the summary and the 301 incident reports must be kept for five years after the year they cover (29 CFR 1904.33).

Small crane shops and the 10-employee exemption. Under 29 CFR 1904.1, "If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics informs you in writing." Many small crane companies sit right around that line. If you are exempt, write that on the form and note your peak headcount. Blank boxes read like missing records. Serious incidents still have to be reported to OSHA regardless of size (1904.1 points to 1904.39).

Recordable and DART rates. PARIC asks for recordable, lost time and DART rates and hours worked. Those rates are calculated from your 300 log and total hours, which is one more reason to keep the hours number with the log each year.

Where ISNetworld, Avetta and Highwire fit

Some hiring clients do not use their own form. They require subs to join a third-party platform, upload documents there and keep them current.

• ISNetworld says contractors "submit health, safety, quality, risk, and regulatory information as requested by Hiring Clients," which its review team then checks. Its FAQ lists the documents it collects, including "written programs, incident and injury forms, insurance certificates, and workers' compensation documents." Contractors "pay an annual subscription fee and a one-time account setup fee per country based on the number of employees in the company."
• Highwire says its "contractor subscriptions are based on company headcount."
• Avetta is the other large network. Requirements depend on the hiring client.

Crane companies run into these platforms mostly through industrial, utility and large-owner work. The crane trade association SC&RA put it bluntly in a member webinar notice: "Contractor verification services are essential for you to remain competitive in the crane and specialized transportation industry." Whether a platform is worth it for your shop depends on whether your customers require it.

The crane-specific layer on top

General prequal forms rarely ask about the crane. The project paperwork does, once you are approved. A GC that prequalifies a crane sub will usually ask for this at mobilization:

• Annual inspection certificate and the full report for each crane coming to site.
• Operator certification for the crane type, plus the employer's 1926.1427(f) operator evaluation.
• Rigger and signal person qualifications.
• The load chart for that serial number and a lift plan.

The full list, ranked by how often 20 published GC, owner and agency documents demand each item, is in what to require from a crane subcontractor. Insurance specifics for lifting work are in crane subcontractor insurance.

The prequal folder a crane shop should keep ready

One folder, updated every February after the 300A is done:

1. W-9, signed within the year.
2. Current certificate of insurance, with your agent's contact. Keep sample additional insured and waiver endorsements with it.
3. EMR worksheets for the last three years.
4. OSHA 300 and 300A for the last three to five years, or a one-line note of the 1904.1 exemption with peak headcount.
5. Total hours worked per year and the recordable and DART rates calculated from them.
6. Written safety program, including your crane, rigging and signaling procedures.
7. A list of any OSHA citations in the last five years and how each was closed.
8. Year-end financials and a surety letter, if you bond.
9. Three to five references with contact names and phone numbers.
10. A fleet list: unit number, make, model, serial, last annual inspection date.
11. An operator roster: name, certification type, expiration date, evaluation date.

Items 10 and 11 are not on most prequal forms, but they are what the GC asks for next. Having them current turns "we'll get back to you" into a same-day reply. How long to keep the inspection records behind them is covered in crane inspection record retention.

For GCs: adding crane questions to your form

If you prequalify crane subs, three extra questions save a round of email later: Do you own or rent the cranes you will bring? Who performs your annual inspections? Do your operators hold certification for each crane type they run, and do you document the 1427(f) evaluation? Then keep their certificates current with the habits in subcontractor COI tracking.

Where CraneFile fits

We're building CraneFile to keep the crane half of this folder current: each crane's annual and monthlies, each operator's card and evaluation, and the COI, sent to a GC as one link. It does not replace a prequal platform; it keeps the documents you upload there up to date. It is not live yet. Crane shops can get early access or call us at (786) 471-4419; GCs can tell us what you need from crane subs.

This is plain-English guidance, not legal advice. The regulation text governs, and each GC's or platform's requirements may ask for more.

Questions we get

This is plain-English guidance, not legal advice. The regulation text and your state's rules govern.

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