Occupational health and safety licence in Colombia: what changes with Resolution 908 of 2025, who needs it and how to apply
The occupational health and safety licence (licencia en seguridad y salud en el trabajo) authorises natural and legal persons to provide OHS services in Colombia only within the fields of practice approved according to their qualifications and the requirements verified: designing, administering or executing the SG-SST, performing occupational medical examinations or applying the psychosocial risk battery, among others. Resolution 908 of 2025, issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, replaced the regime under Resolution 754 of 2021, as amended by Resolution 1151 of 2022; Resolution 4502 of 2012 had already ceased to apply under the previous transition. This guide summarises who needs a licence, what the current rule requires and what companies must verify.
What the OHS licence is and who needs it
The licence is issued by departmental and district health secretariats and certifies suitability to provide occupational health and safety services. It is required for:
- Professionals, specialists, technologists and technicians who design, administer or execute the SG-SST, with a scope depending on their level of training.
- Physicians who perform occupational medical evaluations (licence in occupational medicine or occupational health).
- Psychologists who apply the psychosocial risk battery.
- Legal persons providing OHS services, such as consultancies or occupational health providers (IPS). For work-at-heights training, provision is also governed by the categories in Resolution 4272 of 2021, and an OHS licence is required only where it applies to the provider category or trainer profile.
Where Resolution 0312 of 2019 requires both a licence and a course, the SG-SST officer must hold a valid licence and have completed the initial 50-hour online course; the 20-hour course is an update and does not replace the initial training.
What changes with Resolution 908 of 2025
- Recognises licences for technicians, technologists, university-level OHS professionals and university graduates with a postgraduate OHS qualification, with the fields of practice in Annex 1, without imposing a general experience requirement on natural persons.
- Requires applications, renewals and changes to be processed through the Ministry of Health web application, and sets 45 business days for natural-person applications and 70 business days for legal-person applications.
- Retains a ten-year validity period, renewable for the same term.
- Specifies requirements for legal persons: licensed staff, infrastructure and services offered.
- Subjects the authorised conditions to health-secretariat oversight, without listing a separate suspension or cancellation regime.
- Applications covered by its Article 36 continued under Resolutions 754 of 2021 and 1151 of 2022 until 15 September 2025; earlier licences remain valid until their stated expiry date.
How to apply step by step
- Check the level of training and the field of practice sought.
- Gather the applicable supporting documents: identity document, degree certificate and diploma, recognition of a foreign qualification where applicable, transcript of approved subjects and evidence of the programme’s official registration and, for legal persons, the certificate of incorporation and legal representation. Resolution 908 does not impose a general experience-certificate requirement on natural persons.
- Register or update the data in Mi Seguridad Social and submit the application through the official web application (lsst.sispro.gov.co). A first application is assigned to the health secretariat for the applicant’s domicile; a renewal or change goes to the secretariat that issued the licence.
- Respond to the single request for correction, if any. A decision must be issued within 45 business days for natural persons and 70 business days for legal persons.
- Record the licence in the SG-SST file and schedule renewal before expiry.
What companies must verify
The company is accountable for the suitability of those who manage its SG-SST and for contracts with OHS providers. In a Ministry of Labour inspection or an ARL audit, the following are reviewed:
- A valid licence for the SG-SST officer and for the professionals who sign system documents.
- The licence of the provider performing occupational medical examinations and of the psychologist applying the battery.
- For work-at-heights training, that the provider is registered with the Ministry of Labour, falls within one of the categories in Article 11 of Resolution 4272 of 2021 and uses trainers who meet the applicable profile; an OHS licence is required only where it applies to the provider category or trainer profile.
- Consistency between the licence’s field of practice and the service provided.
How Sabentis helps
Sabentis makes it possible to record the licences, validity periods and fields of practice of internal staff and of OHS contractors and suppliers, with expiry alerts, and to link them to the SG-SST documents they sign, so that the evidence is available for the minimum standards self-assessment and any inspection, through its communication, training and compliance modules.
Frequently asked questions
Can a technologist administer the SG-SST of a large company?
For companies with more than 50 workers in any risk class, and for companies with 50 or fewer workers in risk classes IV or V, the SG-SST must be designed and implemented by an OHS professional or a professional holding a postgraduate OHS qualification, with a valid licence and the 50-hour online course, under Article 16 of Resolution 0312 of 2019. Resolution 908 defines the licence’s field of practice but does not change this threshold.
Do earlier licences remain valid?
Yes. Licences granted before Resolution 908 of 2025 remain valid until their stated expiry date. The transition through 15 September 2025 applied to applications handled under Resolutions 754 of 2021 and 1151 of 2022.
Where can a licence be verified?
The official application allows the status of an application to be checked. Because no nationwide public licence lookup was located, verify the administrative decision and confirm its validity with the issuing health secretariat.
Sources
- Ministry of Health and Social Protection: Resolution 908 of 2025 (Spanish); official licence application: lsst.sispro.gov.co.
- Resolution 754 of 2021, Resolution 1151 of 2022, Resolution 0312 of 2019, Resolution 4272 of 2021 and Decree 1072 of 2015.
