Legal register for occupational safety in Germany: structure, duties and updates
Which regulations apply to your business in Germany – and are you complying with them? How to build a legal register, identify relevant regulations, track changes and evaluate compliance under ISO 45001, with checklist.
Last updated on 7 min readAMS Go editorial team
Key points at a glance
- A legal register (Rechtskataster) is a list of the acts, ordinances, accident prevention regulations and other requirements that apply to a business – with the duties derived from them, the people responsible and the evaluation of whether they are met.
- It is not explicitly required by German law, but employers must take and adapt the necessary measures (Section 3 ArbSchG), make the applicable regulations accessible (Section 12 DGUV Regulation 1) and fulfil their supervisory duty (Section 130 OWiG).
- ISO 45001 requires organisations to determine legal requirements (clause 6.1.3) and evaluate compliance (clause 9.1.2); ISO 14001 does the same for environmental protection.
- There is no statutory interval for the evaluation; an annual evaluation of every duty is common, plus an event-driven check when the law changes or new activities, installations or substances are introduced.
What is a legal register?
A legal register is a list of all acts, ordinances, accident prevention regulations and other requirements that apply to a business – together with the duties derived from them, the responsibilities and the evaluation of whether the duties are being met. It answers two questions: which regulations affect us? And are we complying with them?
In occupational safety, the legal register is the working basis for risk assessments (Gefährdungsbeurteilungen), instruction and inspections, and at the same time evidence for the labour inspectorate, the employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft) and auditors. Many companies keep a single register for occupational safety and environmental protection; it is also called a register of legal requirements or compliance register.
Is a legal register mandatory in Germany?
No German law explicitly requires a “legal register”. Several regulations, however, assume that you know the duties that apply to your business – and the legal register is the usual way to organise and prove this:
Section 3 Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG)
What it requiresTake the necessary measures, check their effectiveness, adapt them to changing circumstances and ensure a suitable organisation
Section 2 (2) DGUV Regulation 1 (DGUV Vorschrift 1)
What it requiresDraw primarily on state rules and the rules of the statutory accident insurers when taking measures
Section 12 DGUV Regulation 1
What it requiresMake the applicable regulations and rules accessible to insured persons and provide those responsible with the ones that apply to their area
Section 130 Administrative Offences Act (OWiG)
What it requiresTake the supervisory measures needed to prevent breaches of company duties – including careful selection and monitoring of supervisors
What ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 require
For certified management systems, the topic is clearly regulated. ISO 45001 requires organisations in clause 6.1.3 to determine the legal requirements and other requirements that apply to their hazards and the management system, and to keep this information documented and up to date. Under clause 9.1.2, the organisation defines how often and how it evaluates compliance and retains the results. ISO 14001 does the same for environmental compliance obligations, also in clauses 6.1.3 and 9.1.2. Audits typically check:
- a current, documented overview of the applicable requirements with its status date
- the assignment of duties to areas, processes and owners
- compliance evaluations with date, result and evidence
- actions taken on deviations and their completion
- a procedure for identifying and implementing changes in the law
“Other requirements” are commitments the organisation enters into voluntarily or by contract – such as customers' supplier codes of conduct, group policies or industry standards. They also belong in the register.
Legal register in AMS GoThe planned legal register module (planned for Q4 2026) is set to bring relevant regulations together in one place, make responsibilities visible, send reminders about compliance evaluations and turn deviations into actions with deadlines in the action plan.Structure: what goes into each row
A table with one row per regulation or per duty has proven effective. What matters is the specific requirement for your business – not the title of the law.
Legal area
ContentTopic for structuring and filtering
ExampleWork equipment and installations
Regulation and source
ContentAbbreviation, official title, link
ExampleBetrSichV, gesetze-im-internet.de
Relevant sections
ContentThe sections that affect the business
ExampleSections 3, 4, 12, 14
Requirement for the company
ContentThe derived duty in one sentence
ExampleSet inspection intervals, inspection by qualified persons
Areas affected
ContentWhere the duty applies
ExampleWorkshop, warehouse
Responsible
ContentPerson or role
ExampleHead of maintenance
Implementation / evidence
ContentHow compliance is demonstrated
ExampleInspection register, inspection records
Evaluation
ContentMet: yes, partly, no or not relevant – with date
ExamplePartly, 12/10/2026
Next evaluation
ContentFollow-up date
Example12/10/2027
Identifying the relevant regulations
Which regulations apply depends on what actually happens in the business. Good starting points are the risk assessment, the list of work equipment and installations, and the hazardous substances register (Gefahrstoffverzeichnis).
- 1
Analyse activities
Activities and strain lead to ordinances: noise to the Noise and Vibration Ordinance (LärmVibrationsArbSchV), lifting and carrying to the Load Handling Ordinance (LasthandhabV), screen work to the Workplaces Ordinance (ArbStättV).
- 2
Record work equipment and installations
Work equipment leads to the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV), lifts and pressure equipment to the rules for installations subject to monitoring, forklifts to DGUV Regulation 68, electrical installations to DGUV Regulation 3.
- 3
Check substances
Hazardous substances lead to the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) and the TRGS, biological agents to the Biological Agents Ordinance (BioStoffV).
- 4
Consider groups of persons
Pregnant and breastfeeding women, young persons, temporary agency workers and contractors bring their own duties – from the Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz) to the Youth Employment Protection Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz).
- 5
Include sites and permits
State building law, building permits, fire safety concepts and conditions imposed by authorities apply per site. More demanding building law takes precedence over the Workplaces Ordinance (Section 3a (4) ArbStättV).
- 6
Add industry regulations and other requirements
The accident prevention regulations of your statutory accident insurer, technical rules such as ASR, TRBS and TRGS, and customer and group requirements complete the picture.
Tracking changes: how you find out what is new
A legal register is only as good as its status. Define who checks which sources and how often:
- Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt): since 2023 it has been published only electronically at recht.bund.de – with a newsletter and RSS feed for new issues.
- Technical rules: ASR, TRBS and TRGS are announced in the Joint Ministerial Gazette (Gemeinsames Ministerialblatt); the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) lists the current versions on its website.
- Accident insurance: each statutory accident insurer issues its own accident prevention regulations (Section 15 of Social Code Book VII, SGB VII). The DGUV publications database shows new DGUV rules and information.
- Federal states and authorities: building codes, state ordinances and official conditions apply per site.
- Update services: specialist publishers and associations offer paid legal update services that filter changes by topic.
Every relevant change belongs in a change log: date, source, regulation affected, impact on the business, action, owner and completion.
Evaluating compliance: how often and by whom
There is no statutory interval for the evaluation; ISO 45001 also leaves it to the organisation to define frequency and method. An annual evaluation of every row has proven effective, plus an event-driven evaluation for new or amended regulations, new activities, installations or substances, and after accidents and visits from the labour inspectorate.
The evaluation should be carried out by those responsible for each area – with evidence such as inspection records, records of instruction and findings from safety walks. The occupational safety specialist (Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit) supports the employer in all matters of occupational safety and advises on the assessment of working conditions (Section 6 of the Occupational Safety Act, ASiG); they are therefore well placed to support the register professionally. Responsibility remains with the employer. If there is an occupational safety committee (Arbeitsschutzausschuss), it is worth discussing the status there regularly.
Common mistakes and checklist
- Plain lists of laws without specific duties: a title like “Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health” does not say what needs to be done.
- No owners: duties without a name or role get left undone.
- No evaluation: without a date and result, it remains unclear whether a duty is met.
- Outdated versions: if you do not track changes, you evaluate against old requirements.
- Deviations without action: “partly” or “no” needs an action with a deadline.
- Activities, work equipment, substances, groups of persons and sites analysed
- Acts, ordinances, accident prevention regulations and technical rules recorded
- Permit conditions and other requirements added
- Specific duty for the business formulated for each regulation
- Owners and evidence assigned
- Non-applicable regulations marked with a reason
- Compliance evaluated, deviations given an action and deadline
- Sources, frequency and responsibility for legal changes defined
- Date for the next evaluation set
Free templates for this guide
As PDF and Excel, free – to use in your own company.
Frequently asked questions
Is a legal register mandatory in Germany?
Not by that name. However, employers must take and adapt the necessary safety and health measures (Section 3 ArbSchG) and make the applicable regulations and rules accessible (Section 12 DGUV Regulation 1). For ISO 45001 or ISO 14001 certification, you must determine legal requirements and evaluate compliance – a legal register is the usual tool for this.
How often does a legal register need to be updated?
Continuously, whenever a relevant regulation changes or new activities, installations or substances are introduced. Compliance with all duties should also be evaluated at fixed intervals; there is no statutory interval, an annual evaluation is common.
Who creates the legal register?
The employer is responsible. In practice it is often created by the occupational safety specialist or the EHS department together with managers; the evaluation is carried out by those responsible for each area. With many sites or complex installations, legal update services or specialist consultants can help.
Do technical rules belong in the legal register?
Yes. Technical rules such as ASR, TRBS or TRGS are not laws, but they specify the ordinances: if you comply with them, you can assume that you meet the requirements of the relevant ordinance (e.g. Section 3a (1) ArbStättV, Section 4 (3) BetrSichV). If you deviate, you must achieve the same level of safety by other means. DGUV rules and information explain the accident prevention regulations and are useful as implementation aids.
Terms from the glossary
This guide gives a general overview of German occupational safety law and does not replace legal advice. The regulations in force and the rules of the statutory accident insurance institutions are authoritative.
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