How long does a doctor have to send a work status report in workers comp, for claims assistants?

There is no federal deadline. Texas doctors have until the end of the second working day after the exam to send the work status report to the carrier and employer. Florida is three business days on first treatment. California is 20 days of a change, or 45 days from the last report. Rules vary. This is not legal advice.

This is for the claims assistant, case coordinator or medical-only examiner at a regional TPA, self-insured desk or carrier unit on Guidewire, Origami Risk, mySedgwick, Juris or a spreadsheet of outstanding items.

A work status report is the treating doctor’s written statement of whether the injured worker can work, and under what restrictions. The adjuster uses it to pay or stop temporary disability. The employer uses it to offer modified duty. It is not the chart, not an IME or QME opinion, and not a verbal from the front desk. For the chase packet itself, see how to get a work status report from the treating doctor. Rules vary. Check counsel. This is not legal advice.

What a work status report is

A complete report is the state’s numbered form, or the clinic form where the state has no number. It states full duty, modified duty with specific restrictions, or off work, with dates. “Light duty” with no pounds or hours is not a status the employer can match to a job.

Texas DWC Form-073 (Rev. 09/19, read 2026-10-09), Florida DFS-F5-DWC-25 with DWC-25-A instructions (Rev. 01/01/2015, read 2026-10-09), and California Form PR-2, named in 8 CCR §9785 (read 2026-10-09), are the numbered packets. Other states use a clinic form or fold work status into a medical report.

There is no federal clock

45 CFR 164.512(l) (eCFR up to date as of 2026-10-07, Title 45 last amended 2026-10-06, read 2026-10-09) lets a covered provider disclose protected health information as authorized by, and to the extent necessary to comply with, workers’ compensation law. It is a disclosure rule. It is not a filing deadline.

A comment on r/WorkersComp in January 2025 put the employer copy at two to seven days after the appointment. That is not a statute. Use the state’s rule.

What actually starts the clock

Most clocks start at the examination or first treatment, not at the assistant’s fax. A blank form sent after the visit already happened does not restart a clock that began at the exam.

Event	Starts the clock?
Treating-doctor exam, initial visit	Yes, in Texas, Florida, and California
Change in work status or restrictions	Yes, in Texas and California. Florida files after each later visit
Carrier or employer request on a Texas file	Yes, on a schedule of existing appointments, not more than every two weeks, §129.5(e)(3)
Texas functional job description or RME return-to-work status received	Yes. Seven days from receipt, even with no new exam, §129.5(g)
Assistant faxes a blank form after the exam	No. The exam already started it
Visit notes, an ER seen letter, or a verbal from the front desk	No. Those are not the form
HIPAA authorization missing	No. 164.512(l) already permits the disclosure the state requires
Asking the injured worker to pick up a pocket copy	No. The doctor files with the carrier

Send the request on the treating clinic fax or portal already on the claim. Do not autodial the injured worker’s cell for this packet.

State clocks we read

Only states whose rule or form we read. Other states differ. Check the state’s rule and counsel. This is not legal advice.

Place	Form	When the treating doctor has to file
Texas	DWC Form-073	After the initial exam, when status or restrictions change, and on a carrier schedule not more than every two weeks. To the worker at the exam. To the carrier and employer by the end of the second working day. Seven days after a functional job description or an RME return-to-work status. 28 TAC §129.5 (read 2026-10-09). Full duty is not MMI. Designated-doctor and RME reports use a separate seven-day clock.
Florida	DFS-F5-DWC-25	First treatment: to the insurer and employer within three business days (DWC-25-A, Rev. 01/01/2015, read 2026-10-09), matching §440.13(4)(a) (2026 Florida Statutes, read 2026-10-09). Later visits: next business day, or at most 30 days from the prior DWC-25. The statute also requires a complete report 15 days after the preliminary notice, and progress reports if requested at intervals of not less than three weeks. Those are separate from the subsequent DWC-25 clock. No substitute form (69L-7.730, read 2026-10-09).
California	Form PR-2	Within 20 days of a change in work status, restrictions, return to modified or regular work, or leaving work. Periodic report no later than 45 days from the last report of any type. If there was an exam, signed and sent within 20 days of it. One copy to the claims administrator. 8 CCR §9785 (read 2026-10-09). Doctor’s First Report Form 5021 is a different artifact, due five working days after the initial exam. Once permanent and stationary, use PR-3 or PR-4.
New York	Chair’s prescribed medical report	Within 48 hours of first treatment, then a complete report within 15 days after that filing, then a progress report at each follow-up visit with no more than 90 days between visits. 12 NYCRR §325-1.3 (read 2026-10-09). Work status is a field on that medical report. New York has no Texas-style numbered work-status form.
Pennsylvania	LIBC-9 REV 09-22	LIBC-9 and documentation within 10 days of commencing treatment, and at least monthly while treatment continues. Documentation must include whether the claimant can return with or without limitations, and any specific restrictions. The employer or insurer is not obligated to pay until the required report is received (read 2026-10-09). This is a medical report that must carry work status, not a dedicated numbered work-status form.

What does not start or stop the clock

A specialist who injects or operates often will not write restrictions. The reporting duty sits with the treating doctor, or in California the one primary treating physician at a time under 8 CCR §9785(b)(1). A Texas treating doctor may delegate DWC Form-073 to a PA or APRN and stays responsible for it. An IME, QME or designated-doctor status answers that exam. It does not close the treating-doctor row.

On a Texas file, return to work without restrictions is not equivalent to maximum medical improvement. §129.5(a)(4)(A). A full-duty DWC Form-073 can still leave an MMI item open.

HIPAA does not add days. A missing authorization does not pause a clock the state already started at the exam. Attach the medical release already on the claim and send the form.

When the form is late

The day after the state’s window, treat the file as late. Resend the state’s form to the treating clinic fax already on the claim, not HIM. Log the sent date, number, and who took it. If nothing is back in three business days, call the same clinic. When indemnity is inside 14 days, escalate to the office manager, then the treating doctor of record. On a Texas file, the carrier can put the report on a schedule under §129.5(e)(3).

Do not close the row on visit notes, an ER letter, “light duty” with no pounds or hours, a verbal, or a specialist’s refusal. Keep the treating-doctor form outstanding.

Pull the open lost-time claims with a work-status row still outstanding. Write the last exam date next to the state’s clock. Treat any file past that window as late. Resend the state’s form to the treating clinic fax already on the claim, not HIM, and log the sent date that afternoon. Do not autodial the injured worker.