Sixty business days after a workplace in Mexico starts operations, its training plan should already exist on paper. That deadline sits in article 9 of the training agreement that the STPS, Mexico's federal labor ministry, published in the DOF (Mexico's official gazette) on June 14, 2013. The same agreement defines the STPS DC forms that Mexico uses to document workplace training, numbered DC-1 through DC-5. If you are ramping up a plant in San Luis Potosí for a parent company abroad, these five forms are what your HR and EHS team will be asked about, and two of them changed in the last eighteen months.
What are the STPS DC forms in Mexico?
Each form documents one training obligation that the Federal Labor Law (Ley Federal del Trabajo, or LFT) places on the employer:
- DC-1: report on the setup of the joint training committee.
- DC-2: the training plan and programs.
- DC-3: the certificate each worker receives after passing a course.
- DC-4: the yearly list of certificates issued.
- DC-5: the application an outside training provider used to request its STPS registration.
They are handled in different ways. DC-1 and DC-2 stay in your files until the authority asks for them. DC-3 goes to each worker. DC-4 became an online notice, and DC-5 is no longer required.
For the DC-3, article 24 of the agreement accepts the printed form, a certificate generated by the STPS system, or your own document with the minimum data. What matters to an auditor is the content and the signatures, more than which template you used.
A new plant's first 60 business days
The DC-2 is titled "Elaboración del plan y programas de capacitación, adiestramiento y productividad", the training, skills and productivity plan. The agreement sets three rules for it:
- It is prepared within 60 business days after the workplace starts operations (art. 9).
- It covers periods of no more than two years (art. 10, section IV).
- It is kept available for the STPS (art. 12).
Corporate training matrices usually run on the parent company's calendar. The Mexican plan has its own clock, and the plan year matters later: the annual SIRCE notice is due within 60 business days after each plan year closes (art. 26). Set a clear start and end date in the DC-2, because the annual filing deadline is counted from it.
The plan is also where Mexican standards show up. A plant with forklifts and confined spaces needs a refresher at least every two years under NOM-006-STPS-2023 (section 10.4) and at least once a year under NOM-033-STPS-2015 (section 11.6). A NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) is a mandatory federal standard.
When headcount passes 50: the joint committee and DC-1
Companies with more than 50 workers must set up a joint training committee, the Comisión Mixta de Capacitación, Adiestramiento y Productividad, with equal numbers of worker and employer representatives (LFT art. 153-E). DC-1 is the report on its setup. Under article 8 of the agreement, the company keeps it in its internal records and presents it when the STPS requires it.
For a growing plant, the committee has a practical role: it authenticates every DC-3. It may also agree unanimously to use digitized signatures, as long as it keeps those agreements on file for the STPS. Once your plant passes 50 workers, DC-3 certificates need the joint committee behind them. With 50 or fewer, the employer or its legal representative authenticates them.
Who issues the DC-3, and how fast?
The DC-3 is the "constancia de competencias o de habilidades laborales", the certificate of job skills defined in LFT article 153-V. Each worker who passes a course must receive it within 20 business days after the course ends (art. 24). A registered external training agent issues it, or your company does when the instructor is in-house. The joint committee authenticates it in companies with more than 50 workers, and the employer does in smaller ones.
SIRCE (Sistema de Registro de la Capacitación Empresarial) is the STPS online training registry. According to the STPS guide to SIRCE, it accepts certificates only from external agents whose registration shows as "Active". Check a provider's registration status before the course, since an inactive registration keeps its certificates out of SIRCE.
The required data fields, and who issues the certificate when training comes from abroad or from an equipment vendor, are covered in our guide to the DC-3 certificate in Mexico for foreign plant managers.
DC-4 and DC-5: forms Mexico retired in 2025 and 2026
DC-4 was the "Lista de constancias de competencias o de habilidades laborales", the list of certificates a company issued, filed within 60 business days after each plan year closed (art. 26). A simplification agreement published in the DOF on April 4, 2025 eliminated the paper form. The obligation stayed: it is now an online compliance notice in SIRCE, within the same 60 business days.
DC-5 was the "Solicitud de registro de agente capacitador externo", the provider's application to register as an external training agent. An agreement published in the DOF on May 27, 2026 removed it as a requirement for that procedure (STPS-04-003). It was never your plant's form to file.
If a global audit checklist or a supplier questionnaire still asks for a DC-4 or a DC-5, it is out of date. Ask your provider for its registration number and confirm it is active, instead of asking for a form that no longer exists.
STPS DC forms at a glance: 2026 status table
| Form | What it is | Who prepares it | Where it goes / deadline | Current in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC-1 | Report on the setup of the joint training committee | The company and its joint committee (required above 50 workers) | Internal records; presented when the STPS requires it (art. 8) | Yes |
| DC-2 | Training, skills and productivity plan and programs | The company | Within 60 business days after starting operations; periods of up to 2 years; kept available for the STPS (arts. 9, 10 and 12) | Yes |
| DC-3 | Certificate of job skills | The registered external training agent, or the company with an in-house instructor | To each worker who passes, within 20 business days (art. 24) | Yes |
| DC-4 | List of certificates issued | The company | 60 business days after each plan year closes (art. 26) | Replaced by a SIRCE notice |
| DC-5 | External training agent registration application | The training provider | Procedure STPS-04-003 | No longer required |
Source: STPS training agreement (DOF June 14, 2013) and DOF agreements of April 4, 2025 and May 27, 2026.
What happens if an inspector finds gaps?
STPS inspectors review the DC-3 certificates and the SIRCE notice. Failing to train workers carries 250 to 5,000 UMA under LFT article 994, section IV, and the fine applies per affected worker (art. 992). The UMA is Mexico's daily unit of measure for fines, MXN 117.31 in 2026, so the range is MXN 29,327.50 to 586,550 per worker. A repeat violation of the same provision within two years doubles the previous fine.
Because the count is per worker, one missing certificate across a whole crew multiplies the exposure. Refusing the inspection has its own article, 1004-A: 250 to 5,000 UMA, and the authority presumes the requested information does not exist. Our guide to STPS fines in Mexico and how they multiply works through the full table of provisions.
How SIISA handles the DC cycle for plants
SIISA Consultores supports the whole cycle. It helps set up the joint training committee and its DC-1 record, and it prepares the DC-2 plan and programs with the refreshers each applicable standard requires.
On training days, SIISA delivers the DC-3 the same day to each participant who passes; the agreement allows up to 20 business days. With it comes a SIISA skills ID card with the worker's photo, an expiry date and a QR code that opens the participant's training documents. The card is a SIISA document and does not replace the DC-3, but it lets a supervisor check on the floor who took a course and until when. SIISA's DC-3s are issued under its lead instructor's external training agent registration with the STPS.
After the course, SIISA captures and uploads the certificates and the annual notice in your company's SIRCE account, on your behalf and with the access your company provides. Without that access, the filing stays with your team. Our DC-3 safety training for plants in San Luis Potosí runs on site or as open courses.
Frequently asked questions
Does a company in Mexico still have to file the DC-4 form?
Not on paper: the simplification agreement published in the DOF on April 4, 2025 voided the DC-4 form. The obligation to report the certificates issued continues as an online compliance notice in SIRCE, filed within 60 business days after each year of the training plan closes.
Which companies need a joint training committee and a DC-1?
Companies with more than 50 workers must set up the Comisión Mixta de Capacitación, Adiestramiento y Productividad, with equal numbers of worker and employer representatives (LFT art. 153-E). The DC-1 reports its setup, and the company keeps it on file and presents it when the STPS asks.
How long does a provider have to deliver a DC-3?
The STPS training agreement allows up to 20 business days after the course ends to deliver the DC-3 to each worker who passed (art. 24). SIISA Consultores delivers it the same day as the course.
What is SIRCE?
SIRCE is the STPS online training registry, the Sistema de Registro de la Capacitación Empresarial. Companies file the annual notice that replaced the DC-4 there, and it accepts certificates only from external training agents whose registration shows as active.
