Rules 18-19 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 18 says how many safety officers an employer must employ, and what qualifications they need, in dock work with 500 or more workers and building or other construction work with 250 or more. Rule 19 lists their duties, from advising on injury control to investigating accidents and keeping a record of their own work.
Dock work with 500 or more workers and building or other construction work with 250 or more workers, ordinarily employed, need safety officers on a scale set by rule 18(1). The officer needs an engineering or technology degree with two years' supervisory experience, or one of the other routes in rule 18(2) and (3). Rule 19 lists eleven duties, including a record of work in a bound paged book or retrievable, non-editable electronic form.
Section 22(2) and the rules
Section 22(2) of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (the OSH Code) requires the employer to appoint safety officers, with prescribed qualifications and duties, in a factory with five hundred or more workers, a hazardous-process factory with two hundred fifty or more, a building or other construction work with two hundred fifty or more, and a mine with one hundred or more. Dock work is not listed in section 22(2), but rule 18(1) includes it at five hundred workers. Rules 18 and 19 prescribe the scale, qualifications and duties for dock work and construction work; mines are dealt with in rules 20 and 21. See our section 22 explainer.
The Central Rules apply where the Central Government is the appropriate Government; where the State Government is the appropriate Government, the State's own rules apply and may set a different scale. For sites under construction across several States, a labour law compliance review can sort out which rules apply to which site.
Rule 18(1): where and how many
The threshold is "ordinarily employed" workers: 500 or more in dock work, 250 or more in building or other construction work. The scale is:
| Scale step | Dock work (500+ workers) | Building or other construction work (250+ workers) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 500 workers | not stated (threshold is 500) | 1 safety officer |
| Up to 1,000 workers | 1 | 2 |
| Up to 2,000 workers | 2 | 3 |
| Up to 5,000 workers | 3 | 4 |
| Up to 10,000 workers | 4 | not stated |
| Beyond the last step | 1 more for every additional 5,000 workers or part | 1 more for every additional 2,000 workers or part |
Read the table with the text. For dock work the rule gives: up to 1000 workers, one; up to 2000, two; up to 5000, three; up to 10,000, four; and one more for every additional 5000 workers or part. For building or other construction work: up to 500, one; up to 1000, two; up to 2000, three; up to 5000, four; and one more for every additional 2000 workers or part. A construction site with 250 to 500 workers therefore needs one officer; one with 501 to 1,000 needs two.
Rule 18(2): qualifications
A person is not eligible to be appointed safety officer for dock work or building or other construction work unless the person has:
- (a) a recognised degree in any branch of engineering or technology and not less than two years of practical experience in a supervisory capacity; or
- (b) a recognised degree in physics or chemistry and not less than five years of supervisory experience; or
- (c) a recognised diploma in any branch of engineering or technology and not less than five years of supervisory experience; or
- (d) a degree or diploma in industrial safety recognised by the Central or State Government, or a post-graduate diploma in industrial safety from the Central Labour Institute or Regional Labour Institutes under the Directorate General of Occupational Safety and Health.
Clause (d) has no experience requirement in its text.
Rule 18(3): the alternative route
Notwithstanding sub-rules (1) and (2), a person is eligible if the person has a recognised degree or diploma in engineering or technology and either:
- at least five years' experience in a Central or State Government department that administers legislation on factories, building or other construction work or dock work; or
- at least five years' experience in training, education, consultancy or research in the field of accident prevention in industry or in any institution.
Rule 19: duties
The duties of a Safety Officer "shall be to advise and assist in the fulfilment of statutory obligations, concerning prevention of personal injuries and maintenance of a safe working environment". They include:
| Clause | Duty |
|---|---|
| (a) | Advise departments in planning and organising measures for effective control of personal injuries |
| (b) | Advise on safety aspects in all job studies and carry out detailed job safety studies of selected jobs |
| (c) | Check and evaluate the effectiveness of action taken or proposed to prevent personal injuries |
| (d) | Advise on matters related to carrying out safety inspections |
| (e) | Carry out plant safety inspections; observe physical conditions and work practices; advise on removing unsafe conditions and preventing unsafe actions |
| (f) | Advise on reporting and investigation of accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases |
| (g) | Investigate selected accidents and dangerous occurrences |
| (h) | Investigate cases of notifiable diseases in the Third Schedule to the Code |
| (i) | Organise campaigns, competitions, contests and other activities to develop and maintain workers' interest in safe conditions and procedures |
| (j) | Design and conduct, alone or with the training department, training and education programmes for preventing personal injuries |
| (k) | Maintain, in a bound paged book or in retrievable and non-editable electronic form, a detailed record of the work performed |
The safety officer advises and assists; the statutory duties remain the employer's. Clause (k) creates a record that an Inspector-cum-Facilitator can ask to see. A safety officer who works only in memory, or whose records can be edited after the event, does not meet it.
Linked rules
- Accident and dangerous-occurrence notices that the officer advises on are in our rule 7 explainer.
- Notifiable diseases that the officer investigates are in our rule 8 explainer.
- Under rule 15, the Safety Officer acts as Secretary of the Safety Committee; see our rule 15 explainer.
- For the older framework on construction sites, see our guide to BOCW safety, health and welfare provisions.
Consequences
The rules state no penalty of their own. Contravention is dealt with under the Code's penalty provisions; see our section 94 explainer.
Practical examples
Example 1. A contractor runs a construction project with 820 workers ordinarily employed. Under rule 18(1)(b) the scale for up to 1,000 workers is two safety officers. The contractor appoints two, both with engineering degrees and more than two years' supervisory experience.
Example 2. A dock operator employs 2,300 workers. Under rule 18(1)(a), up to 5,000 workers needs three safety officers. One candidate holds a physics degree and four years' supervisory experience; that falls short of the five years required by clause (b), so the operator looks for another route, such as a recognised industrial safety diploma under clause (d).
Need help with safety officer appointments?
Counting workers, matching the scale and checking qualifications and records can go wrong across multiple sites. Our labour law compliance team can review your safety officer structure against rules 18 and 19 and the Code.
Key takeaways
- Dock work with 500 or more and construction work with 250 or more workers must appoint safety officers on the rule 18(1) scale.
- Qualifications are in rule 18(2); an alternative government or training route is in rule 18(3).
- Rule 19 lists eleven duties, including investigating selected accidents and Third Schedule diseases.
- The officer must keep a bound paged or retrievable, non-editable electronic record of work.
- Mines have separate rules 20 and 21.
- State rules apply where the State is the appropriate Government.
Read next
- Section 22 of the OSH Code: safety committee and safety officers
- Rules 20 and 21: safety officers in mines
- Rule 15: composition of the Safety Committee
- Safety officers: appointment under the Factories Act
Disclaimer: Based on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.