Labor Code §5702 – Stipulations with Request for Award

California Labor Code section 5702 lets the parties to a workers’ compensation case agree on the facts in writing, file that stipulation with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), and have a judge issue findings and an award based on it. That award is what most people call a stipulated award. The judge can also refuse to rely on the stipulation alone and set the case for hearing or further investigation instead.

A stipulated award usually pays your permanent disability (PD) in installments and can keep your right to future medical care open. This page explains the statute and the rules around it. For a plain-language overview of how a stipulated award works day to day, see our guide What Is a Stipulated Award in California Workers’ Comp? To compare it with a lump-sum settlement, see compromise and release vs. stipulated award.

What Labor Code §5702 says

Section 5702 is two sentences long. Most of the procedure around it lives in WCAB rules and state forms, not in the statute.

Part	What it says (paraphrased)
Sentence 1	“The parties to a controversy may stipulate the facts relative thereto in writing” and file the stipulation with the appeals board.
Sentence 2	The appeals board may then make findings and an award based on the stipulation, or set the matter for hearing and take more testimony, or investigate further to decide the dispute.

The state form used for this is called “Stipulations with Request for Award.” A separate version is used in death cases.

By the numbersFive years

Who section 5702 covers

Any “parties to a controversy” in a California workers’ comp case can use it: the injured worker, the employer, and the insurer or claims administrator. Dependents can use the death-case version. You can use it with or without a lawyer. WCAB Rule 10700 requires the board to examine the adequacy of every stipulation, whoever drafted it.

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The rules, step by step

1. The stipulation is written down

The parties fill out state form 10214(a), Stipulations with Request for Award (called DWC-CA form 10214(a) in the WCAB’s rules). Among other things, it records:

• each date of injury, whether it is a specific or cumulative injury, and the body parts injured;
• temporary disability periods, the weekly rate and what has been paid;
• the PD percentage, the weekly PD rate, the start date and the total, with credit for payments already made;
• whether you need further medical treatment to cure or relieve the effects of the injury;
• liens, medical-legal costs, and the attorney’s fee requested and how it will be commuted; and
• accrued Labor Code §5814 penalties, which are included unless expressly excluded.

2. It is filed with the medical reports

Under WCAB Rule 10700(a), the parties must also file any relevant reports not already on file, such as agreed medical evaluator, qualified medical evaluator and treating doctor reports that bear on adequacy.

3. The judge decides what to do with it

Section 5702 gives the judge three choices: issue findings and an award based on the stipulation, set a hearing and take testimony, or investigate further. Rule 10700(b) says the board must examine the adequacy of every stipulation and may set a hearing before deciding. Rule 10700(c) adds that an agreement paying less than the full compensation due and releasing all future liability is approved only when there is reasonable doubt about the parties’ rights or approval is in their best interests.

4. The award is paid and enforced

PD under an award is generally paid every two weeks: Labor Code §4650(c) says disability payments after the first are made “as due every two weeks.” The WCAB can convert payments to a lump sum (“commutation”) under Labor Code §5100, for example when that is necessary to protect you or is in your best interest given your overall finances.

Exceptions and limits

• Future medical. If future medical treatment is awarded, DWC’s settlement guidelines say language limiting that treatment is “ordinarily unacceptable.”
• Only workers’ comp rights. The same guidelines note the WCAB lacks jurisdiction to approve settlement of rights that don’t arise under the workers’ comp law. A discrimination or wrongful termination case needs its own resolution.
• No automatic approval. A stipulation the judge finds inadequate can be sent to hearing instead of becoming an award.
• Employment findings stick. Under Labor Code §5804, once an award finding employment becomes final, the board can’t later reopen the case to find there was no employment.

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Remedies: reopening, reconsideration and enforcement

A stipulated award is an award of the WCAB, so the board’s ordinary powers over awards apply:

• New and further disability. Labor Code §5410 lets you start proceedings for new and further disability within five years from the date of injury. See our Labor Code §5410 explainer.
• Continuing jurisdiction. Under Labor Code §5803, the board can rescind, alter or amend its awards for good cause, including when a disability has recurred, increased, diminished or ended. Section 5804 bars changes after five years from the date of injury unless a petition was filed within that time.
• Reconsideration. A party can petition for reconsideration within 20 days after service of the award, on the grounds listed in Labor Code §5903. See petitions for reconsideration.
• Attorney’s fees. Under Labor Code §4906, an attorney can’t demand or accept a fee from you until the appeals board approves or sets it.

Key fact

Deadlines

Step	Deadline	Source
First PD payment (before an award)	Within 14 days after the last temporary disability payment, with exceptions	Labor Code §4650(b)
Later PD payments	Every two weeks	Labor Code §4650(c)
Petition for reconsideration	20 days after service of the award	Labor Code §5903
Petition for new and further disability, or to change the award	Within 5 years from the date of injury	Labor Code §§5410, 5804

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Related sections

Section	How it connects
Labor Code §§5000–5005	The other way to settle: a compromise and release, usually a lump sum that closes future medical
Labor Code §4658	How many weeks of PD a rating is worth
Labor Code §4650	When PD payments start and how often they are made
Labor Code §5100	Converting periodic payments to a lump sum
Labor Code §§5410, 5803, 5804	Reopening and changing an award within five years
Labor Code §5903	Reconsideration of an award

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Luis, a hypothetical delivery driver, hurts his knee at work in 2026. He earns $1,200 a week. His knee is rated at 10% permanent disability, and he and the insurer agree to that rating in a stipulation. For a 2026 injury, PD is two-thirds of average weekly earnings, capped at $290 a week; two-thirds of $1,200 is $800, so Luis gets the $290 maximum. A 10% rating is worth 30.25 weeks under Labor Code §4658(e), so his total PD is 30.25 × $290 = $8,772.50. The insurer already paid 10 weeks of advances ($2,900), leaving $5,872.50, paid at $580 every two weeks, before any attorney’s fee the judge approves. The stipulation says he needs future medical care for the knee, so that stays open. If the knee gets worse, he has until five years from the 2026 injury date to petition for new and further disability.

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What to do

1. Check the PD percentage and weekly rate against the medical report and your earnings. Our workers’ comp calculator and PDRS guide can help.
2. Make sure the future medical box says you need further treatment if your doctor says you do.
3. Confirm every body part and date of injury is listed.
4. Calendar five years from your date of injury. That is the outside date to reopen for a worsening condition.
5. Keep a copy of the award. If payments stop or future treatment is refused, the award is what you enforce.

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Frequently asked questions

What does “stipulations with request for award” mean?

It means both sides agree on the facts of your injury and benefits and ask a workers’ comp judge to turn that agreement into an award. Once the judge signs it, it is enforceable like any other WCAB award.

Does a stipulated award keep my future medical open?

It can. The form asks whether you need further medical treatment. If the award provides future medical care, limiting language is ordinarily not accepted.

Can I get a lump sum with a stipulated award?

PD is normally paid every two weeks. The WCAB can order a lump sum through commutation under Labor Code §5100 in limited situations, such as when it is necessary to protect you or is in your best interest.

Can a stipulated award be reopened?

Yes, within limits. You can petition for new and further disability within five years from the date of injury, and the board keeps continuing jurisdiction to change its awards for good cause within that period.

Is a stipulated award the same as a compromise and release?

No. A compromise and release usually pays one lump sum and closes future medical for the settled injuries. A stipulated award pays PD over time and can keep medical care and reopening rights.

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Sources

• Labor Code §5702
• Labor Code §4650, §4658, §4906, §5100
• Labor Code §5410, §5803, §5804, §5903
• Labor Code §4453(b) (PD weekly earnings limits)
• Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, §10700 (WCAB Rule: Approval of Settlements)
• Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, §10205.2 (required settlement forms)
• Form 10214(a), Stipulations with Request for Award (printed as DWC-WCAB form 10214(a), Rev. 5/2020)
• DWC, Information Guidelines for Submission of Settlement Documents

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