"This Official Mexican Standard is not equivalent to any international standard." Section 15 of NOM-036-1-STPS-2018 says it in one line, and it is the first thing a plant manager arriving from the United States, Europe or Asia should know about manual handling weight limits in Mexico. Your corporate ergonomics program may already score lifts with a recognized method, but a Mexican plant also answers to fixed legal caps by age and sex, a written risk analysis with a named preparer, and medical records kept for at least five years. The analysis belongs in the NOM-030-STPS-2009 safety diagnosis, the document our STPS compliance consulting team prepares for plants in San Luis Potosí.
What does NOM-036-1-STPS-2018 cover?
NOMs (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas) are mandatory federal technical standards, and the STPS, Mexico's federal labor ministry, issues the ones on workplace safety and health. This one, Part 1 of the ergonomic risk standard, applies nationwide wherever workers handle loads "on a daily basis (more than once a day)" (section 2), and it excludes loads under 3 kg, about 6.6 lb (2.1). Handling means lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying or stacking, with or without hand trucks, carts or pallet jacks (4.6 and 4.14).
It took effect on January 2, 2020. Its second transitory article delayed the risk analysis (chapter 7 and section 5.1), Table 1 and the ergonomics program (8.4 and 8.5) until January 4, 2023. The Ministry of Economy's standards catalog lists it as in force, confirmed in its latest systematic review on January 16, 2025. Every part of the standard has been enforceable since January 2023.
What is the maximum weight a worker can lift in Mexico?
Table 1, in section 8.3, sets the most a worker may lift or lower by sex and age. The pound figures are our conversions; the standard is written in kilograms.
| Worker | Age | Legal cap |
|---|---|---|
| Man | 18 to 45 | 25 kg (55 lb) |
| Woman | 18 to 45 | 20 kg (44 lb) |
| Woman | Over 45 | 15 kg (33 lb), after a medical evaluation |
| Man | Over 45 | Set by a physician; the published table has no figure |
| Man or woman | Under 18 | 7 kg (15 lb) |
For workers over 45, a footnote requires a physician to evaluate physical fitness first; if the physician approves, they may lift up to the limit for workers aged 18 to 45. As published in the DOF, the row for men over 45 leaves the kilogram column blank. For workers over 45, plan on a physician's sign-off rather than a number from the table.
Section 8.3 also bars pregnant workers, and women during the first 10 weeks after giving birth, from manual handling of loads over 10 kg (22 lb) and from tasks with forced postures or prolonged repetitive movements that strain the abdomen or legs.
Manual handling weight limits in Mexico vs. NIOSH
If your corporate program uses the revised NIOSH lifting equation, from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, its starting point is a load constant of 23 kg (51 lb): the maximum recommended weight for a lift under optimal conditions, which multipliers for the lift's geometry, frequency and grip then reduce (Waters et al., Ergonomics, 1993). It is a design recommendation.
Table 1 works the other way. Its figures are legal caps, split by sex and age, and each worker's limit must be set from them, weighing frequency, distance, load position, grip and cumulative mass, among other factors, without ever exceeding them (8.3). The two tools meet in section 4.9, which names the NIOSH equation, along with ISO 11228-2 for pushing and pulling, among the methods for a specific risk evaluation. A NIOSH study can feed the Mexican file, but it does not replace the Table 1 caps.
How do distance, frequency and team lifts change the limit?
Cumulative mass has hard numbers. Manual carrying may not exceed 10,000 kg (about 22,000 lb) per 8-hour shift over distances under 10 m (33 ft), or 6,000 kg (about 13,200 lb) over distances up to 20 m (66 ft). A worker carrying 25 kg cases less than 10 m hits the cap at 400 cases per shift.
When a load exceeds the limit, or is too long to carry safely, the standard offers three routes: a team lift, hand trucks or machinery, or splitting the load into smaller packages. Team capacity is discounted. Two people get two thirds of their combined individual capacities and three people get half, so a man and a woman aged 18 to 45 can share 30 kg (66 lb). Adding people to a lift adds less capacity than the headcount suggests. If the answer is a forklift, our guide to Mexico's forklift regulation, NOM-006-STPS-2023, covers the operator side.
Who signs the risk analysis, and what goes in it?
Chapter 7 sets three steps. The plant identifies each handling task with its description, exposed workers, frequency and duration (7.2), then estimates the risk with Appendix I for lifting, lowering and carrying or Appendix II for pushing and pulling (7.3). A specific evaluation follows when the estimate is inconclusive or a hazard remains after corrections, and a plant may go straight to it (7.1). Appendix I scores load weight and frequency, hand distance from the lower back, lifting height, torso twisting, grip, floor and environment, and rates the task low, medium, high or very high risk.
The written report (7.4) lists the site, the tasks analyzed, results, conclusions and recommendations, and the preparer's full name and cédula profesional, Mexico's professional license number. If a specific evaluation was done, the report also needs proof of the preparer's training: the conformity assessment procedure in chapter 12 accepts course certificates in ergonomic evaluation methods from universities, professional colleges or associations, or a professional license related to ergonomics. The signature on the analysis has to come from someone with a Mexican professional license.
The analysis must be available to workers who handle loads (7.5) and is updated when task conditions change or an exposed worker shows a health effect or musculoskeletal disorder (7.6). Control measures go into an ergonomics program with positions, measures, a responsible person and deadlines no longer than one year (8.4 and 8.5).
Where the analysis lives: the NOM-030 diagnosis
Section 7.7 requires the analysis to be integrated into the safety and health diagnosis under NOM-030-STPS-2009, Mexico's standard on preventive safety and health services. The same diagnosis has carried the standing-work assessment of Mexico's chair law in manufacturing since July 2025, so one walk of the line can capture both: who lifts, how much and how often, and who stands for more than three continuous hours. Our guide to the safety officer role under NOM-030 explains who coordinates that diagnosis.
Medical surveillance and training records to keep
Workers who handle loads need physical fitness certified by a physician or a social security or private institution (8.1). The surveillance program covers an initial exam for the occupational medical history and annual clinical follow-up, or sooner if symptoms of a musculoskeletal disorder appear (9.2). A physician with knowledge of occupational medicine runs it (9.3) and decides fitness for manual handling and any recovery period (9.5). The clinical file is kept at least five years (9.4).
Training combines theory, practice and an evaluation (10.1), comes before a new worker starts handling loads (10.2) and is refreshed at least every two years (10.3). The record lists each worker's name and position, the date, topics and the instructor (10.4).
San Luis Potosí gives the surveillance a local reason. IMSS, the Mexican Social Security Institute, recorded 683 occupational diseases in the state in 2025, and 480 of them, 70%, were shoulder injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and tenosynovitis (Memoria Estadística 2025, table VII.27). The table does not say which task caused each case, and the same injuries can come from repetitive work or postures that Part 1 of the standard, which covers loads, does not assess. Only a task-by-task analysis can show which of those cases trace back to lifting. Our overview of workplace accidents in San Luis Potosí has the full state data.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum weight a worker can lift in Mexico?
Under Table 1 of NOM-036-1-STPS-2018 (section 8.3), 25 kg (55 lb) for men and 20 kg (44 lb) for women aged 18 to 45, 15 kg (33 lb) for women over 45 and 7 kg (15 lb) for anyone under 18. For workers over 45, a physician sets the limit after a fitness evaluation, and each task's limit is adjusted further for frequency, distance, load position, grip and cumulative mass.
Is the NIOSH lifting equation accepted in Mexico?
NOM-036-1-STPS-2018 names the NIOSH equation among the methods for a specific risk evaluation (section 4.9), so a NIOSH study can support the Mexican analysis. It does not replace the standard's Table 1 caps or the report contents required by section 7.4.
Who can sign a NOM-036-1 risk analysis?
The report must include the preparer's full name and cédula profesional, Mexico's professional license number (section 7.4). When a specific evaluation is performed, it also needs proof of training in ergonomic evaluation methods, such as course certificates from universities, professional colleges or associations, or a professional license related to ergonomics.
How long must manual handling medical records be kept in Mexico?
At least five years (NOM-036-1-STPS-2018, section 9.4). The file holds the medical exams, their records and the preventive and corrective actions, and the surveillance must be run by a physician with knowledge of occupational medicine (9.3).
