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Legal register template (Excel) for occupational safety in Germany

Excel legal register (Rechtskataster) with 28 pre-filled entries from the Occupational Safety and Health Act to DGUV regulations and technical rules – with source, core duty, owner, compliance evaluation, next review date and change log.

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German law does not require a legal register (Rechtskataster) by that name. However, employers must take the necessary safety and health measures, adapt them to changing circumstances and set up a suitable organisation (Section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, ArbSchG); they must also make the regulations and rules that apply to the company accessible to employees (Section 12 DGUV Regulation 1). Companies certified to ISO 45001 must additionally determine their legal requirements and evaluate compliance.

This Excel template gives you a head start: 28 pre-filled entries covering 22 typical acts, ordinances, accident prevention regulations and technical rules – each with official title, link to the source, relevant sections and the core duty in one sentence. You add owners and evidence, evaluate compliance and record changes in the change log.

What the template contains

  • Excel sheet “Legal register” with 28 pre-filled entries from the Occupational Safety and Health Act to the Works Constitution Act
  • For each entry: official title, link to gesetze-im-internet.de, publikationen.dguv.de or baua.de, relevant sections and core duty
  • Drop-down lists for legal area, type of regulation and compliance status (Yes, Partly, No, Not relevant)
  • Automatically calculated date for the next evaluation twelve months after the last one
  • Sheets “Changes” for the change log and “Information sources” for regular legal monitoring

How to use the template

  1. 1

    Tailor it to your company

    Go through the pre-filled entries and mark anything that does not apply as “Not relevant” – with a short reason in the comment. Add industry-, site- and installation-specific regulations, such as further accident prevention regulations of your employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft), state law, permit conditions or customer requirements.

  2. 2

    Assign and evaluate duties

    Enter the person responsible and the evidence for each duty, such as a risk assessment, inspection record or record of instruction. Then evaluate whether the duty is met, and define an action with a deadline for “Partly” and “No”.

  3. 3

    Keep it up to date

    Check the sources in the “Information sources” sheet regularly and record every relevant change in the “Changes” sheet. Evaluate compliance by the date in the “Next evaluation” column at the latest – and straight away when regulations, activities or installations change.

Legal register in AMS GoThe planned legal register module (planned for Q4 2026) is set to manage regulations and duties with owners in one place, send reminders about due evaluations and turn unmet duties into actions in the action plan.

Legal basis

  • Section 3 Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG): basic duties, adapting to changing circumstances and suitable organisation
  • Sections 2 and 12 DGUV Regulation 1: draw on state rules and those of the accident insurers and make them accessible to employees
  • Section 130 Administrative Offences Act (OWiG): breach of supervisory duty in businesses and companies
  • ISO 45001, clauses 6.1.3 and 9.1.2: determine legal requirements and evaluate compliance (for certified management systems)

Frequently asked questions

Is a legal register required by law in Germany?

Not by that name. However, employers need to know the regulations that apply to them in order to take and adapt the necessary measures (Section 3 ArbSchG), and must make them accessible to employees (Section 12 DGUV Regulation 1). If the owner fails to provide the necessary supervision and a violation occurs as a result, the owner also commits an administrative offence (Section 130 of the Administrative Offences Act, OWiG). For ISO 45001 or ISO 14001 certification, you must determine your legal requirements in documented form and evaluate compliance.

Which regulations belong in the legal register?

All those that follow from your activities, work equipment, substances, groups of persons and sites: acts and ordinances, the accident prevention regulations of your statutory accident insurer, technical rules such as ASR, TRBS and TRGS, permit conditions and other requirements such as customer or group specifications. The template contains a selection of typical occupational safety regulations – you add environmental law and industry-specific regulations yourself.

How often must compliance be evaluated?

There is no statutory interval, and ISO 45001 also leaves it to the organisation to define frequency and method. An annual evaluation has proven effective – which is why the template calculates the next date twelve months ahead – plus an additional check whenever a regulation changes or new activities, installations or substances are introduced.

You may use and adapt the template freely in your own company and for your own clients. It reflects the regulations named as they stand.

Never search a spreadsheet for a deadline again

The matching module is in development at AMS Go. You can already organise risk assessments, safety briefings, inspection deadlines and actions in one system today – and help shape the new module as a pilot customer.

Book a consultationSee the module

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