Domicile Guide

OpenInsure codifies the regulatory requirements for the leading US captive insurance domiciles. The compliance engine uses this configuration to generate automatic filing deadline reminders and validate that your captive meets minimum capital requirements.

Supported Domiciles at a Glance

State	Min. Capital (Pure Captive)	Formation Fee	Annual Fee	Key Regulator
Vermont (VT)	$250,000	$3,000	$5,500	Vermont DFR
Delaware (DE)	$250,000	$5,000	$5,000	Delaware DOI
Hawaii (HI)	$250,000	$3,000	$3,000	Hawaii DOI (DCCA)
North Carolina (NC)	$250,000	$2,500	$5,000	NCDOI
District of Columbia (DC)	$250,000	$3,500	$4,500	DC DOI
Montana (MT)	$250,000	$2,000	$2,500	Montana DOI

Vermont (VT)

Vermont is the largest and most established US captive domicile, with over 600 active captives.

Regulatory Contact: Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Website: dfr.vermont.gov

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive); $500,000 (association captive)
Letter of credit accepted in lieu of paid-in capital (subject to DFR approval)
Must appoint a Vermont-licensed captive manager
Business plan required at formation (5-year projection)
Actuarial feasibility study required for association captives

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Report	March 1	Financial statements + management discussion
Actuarial Opinion	March 1	Signed by qualified actuary
Audited Financials	June 1	By licensed CPA
Premium Tax Return	March 1	0.38% of first $20M GWP; 0.285% above
Business Plan Update	Upon material change	Required within 30 days

Annual Premium Tax

Vermont uses a tiered premium tax:

GWP Band	Rate
First $20,000,000	0.38%
$20,000,001 – $40,000,000	0.285%
Over $40,000,000	0.19%
Minimum tax	$7,500

Delaware (DE)

Delaware is favored for its flexible corporate law and well-established Series LLC structure.

Regulatory Contact: Delaware Department of Insurance Website: insurance.delaware.gov

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive)
Series LLC structure available for PCCs
Must appoint a Delaware resident registered agent
No resident captive manager requirement (unlike Vermont)

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Report	March 2	Financial statements
Actuarial Certification	March 2
Premium Tax Return	March 2
Audited Financials	June 1

Annual Premium Tax

GWP Band	Rate
First $20,000,000	0.30%
$20,000,001 – $40,000,000	0.20%
Over $40,000,000	0.10%
Minimum tax	$5,000

Hawaii (HI)

Hawaii is the primary domicile for Pacific Rim–based captives and healthcare captives.

Regulatory Contact: Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions (DCCA) Website: cca.hawaii.gov

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive); $500,000 (association)
Well-suited for health and workers’ compensation lines
FHIR-integrated health captives benefit from OpenInsure’s @openinsure/fhir package

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Report	March 31
Actuarial Opinion	March 31
Premium Tax Return	April 1
Audited Financials	June 30

North Carolina (NC)

North Carolina has grown rapidly since updating its captive laws in 2013.

Regulatory Contact: NC Department of Insurance Website: ncdoi.com

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive)
No requirement for a North Carolina captive manager
Flexible redomestication process for captives moving from other states

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Statement	March 1	NAIC-formatted preferred
Actuarial Certification	March 1
Premium Tax Return	March 1
Audited Financials	June 1

District of Columbia (DC)

DC is a newer domicile but growing, particularly for risk pools and association captives.

Regulatory Contact: DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking Website: disb.dc.gov

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive); $500,000 (association)
Must maintain a DC registered agent
Suitable for federal government contractors

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Report	April 1
Actuarial Opinion	April 1
Audited Financials	June 1
Premium Tax Return	April 1

Montana (MT)

Montana offers the lowest formation and annual fees, making it attractive for small captives.

Regulatory Contact: Montana Insurance Division Website: csi.mt.gov

Formation Requirements

Minimum capital: $250,000 (pure captive)
Lowest ongoing costs of any supported domicile
Informal, accessible regulator — good for first-time captive owners

Annual Filing Deadlines

Filing	Due Date	Notes
Annual Statement	March 1
Actuarial Opinion	March 1
Premium Tax Return	March 1	0.00% for first $0.5M; 0.20% above
Audited Financials	June 1

Compliance Automation in OpenInsure

The @openinsure/compliance package manages domicile-specific deadlines automatically:

How It Works

On captive creation, the domicile is set in the organization config.
The compliance engine loads the filing calendar for that domicile.
Filing deadlines are stored in the compliance_calendar table with reminder schedules.
Automated reminders are sent to the configured compliance officer at 30, 14, and 7 days before each deadline.
Once a filing is completed, it is marked filed in the compliance dashboard with the filing date, filer, and confirmation number.

Compliance Dashboard API

GET /v1/compliance/:orgId/calendar?year=2025

# Returns:
{
  "domicile": "VT",
  "filings": [
    {
      "type": "ANNUAL_REPORT",
      "dueDate": "2025-03-01",
      "status": "filed",
      "filedDate": "2025-02-14",
      "filedBy": "admin@acmecaptive.com"
    },
    {
      "type": "AUDITED_FINANCIALS",
      "dueDate": "2025-06-01",
      "status": "pending",
      "daysUntilDue": 42,
      "reminderSent": true
    }
  ]
}