Datalytics
NOM-035-STPS-2018
What NOM-035 is and what it obliges you to do
A practical guide to Mexico's psychosocial risk standard: who it applies to, which questionnaire your workplace has to run, how it is scored, and what you have to be able to show.
What it is
NOM-035-STPS-2018 is the Mexican official standard on psychosocial risk factors at work. It requires workplaces to identify, analyse and prevent them — and to keep evidence that they did.
It does not measure satisfaction or engagement. It measures conditions that can harm the health of the people working: excessive workload, hours that intrude on family life, no control over one's own work, workplace violence, and exposure to severe traumatic events.
That distinction matters when choosing an instrument. An engagement survey, however good, does not satisfy the standard: it requires its own questionnaires, scored against its own tables.
Who it applies to, and what each has to do
It applies to every workplace in the country. What changes with size is how much you have to do.
| Workplace size | What is required | Questionnaire |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 15 workers | A prevention policy, preventive measures, and communicating both. Identifying workers exposed to severe traumatic events. | Guía I |
| 16 to 50 workers | The above, plus identifying and analysing psychosocial risk factors across the whole workforce. | Guía I and Guía II |
| More than 50 workers | The above, using the extended questionnaire, which also evaluates the organizational environment. | Guía I and Guía III |
Confirm the current headcount thresholds and deadlines with the STPS or your legal adviser before planning a rollout — this page explains how the standard works; it does not replace advice.
The three reference guides
Different instruments for different purposes. Two produce a score; one does not.
Guía I
Severe traumatic events
Produces no score. It identifies people who have experienced or witnessed a severe traumatic event — a serious accident, an assault, a death — and counts how many require clinical evaluation under the questionnaire's own rules. The result is a list of people to refer, not a number.
Guía II
Workplaces of up to 50 workers
Evaluates psychosocial risk factors. Each answer is worth 0 to 4 points; points are summed by domain, by category, and in total. Scored against tables 2 and 3 of the standard.
Guía III
Workplaces of more than 50 workers
The same analysis over a broader questionnaire that adds an evaluation of the organizational environment. Scored against tables 5 and 6.
How it is scored
Guías II and III produce three levels of reading, from detail to total.
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01
Dominio
The sum of the items in one domain — workload, say, or lack of control over one's work. The finest level, and the one that says where to intervene.
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02
Categoría
The sum of the domains it contains. It groups the problem: work environment, factors intrinsic to the job, organization of working time, leadership and relationships.
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03
Final score (Cfinal)
The sum of every item. The number that summarises the workplace, and usually the first one asked for — though on its own it does not say where the problem is.
The five risk levels
Every domain, every category and the final score land on one of five levels. The standard's tables define the cut-off points, and they differ between Guía II and Guía III.
- None
- Low
- Medium
- High
- Very high
A high or very high level is not a fine. It is the signal that analysis and action are required — and that those, too, have to be documented.
What you have to be able to show
The standard is verified through records. This is what an inspection looks at.
- The psychosocial risk prevention policy, communicated to staff.
- The results of the identification and analysis, naming the questionnaire used and the date.
- The preventive measures and control actions adopted in response to those results.
- Records of anyone referred for clinical evaluation, where applicable.
- Evidence that the information is retained for the period the standard requires.
Confirm the retention period and the detail required for each record against the current text of the standard.
How Datalytics handles it
Run all three guías from the platform, with a link each person answers without needing an account. Responses are scored automatically against the official tables, and the report comes out with the final score and its breakdown by category and by domain, each with its risk level. It is built from completed questionnaires only, and updates as more come in.
About this page
It explains how the standard works and how Datalytics implements it. It is not legal advice. For the specific obligations of your workplace, current deadlines, and the consequences of non-compliance, consult the official text of NOM-035-STPS-2018 and your adviser.