What are the ASR? Technical Rules for Workplaces

What are the ASR?

The Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR) specify the Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV). The Ordinance formulates protection goals: workplaces must be set up and operated in such a way that hazards to safety and health are avoided as far as possible and remaining hazards are kept as low as possible. The ASR fill the gap between this goal and its implementation: for individual requirements of the Ordinance, they describe the state of the art in technology, occupational medicine, and hygiene. On September 4, 2026, the BAuA overview listed 22 ASR in force; one further rule (ASR A3.4/7) has been repealed and is only listed for historical purposes.

Who draws up and publishes the ASR

Behind the ASR is the Committee on Workplaces (ASTA). It is formed at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; employers, trade unions, state authorities, statutory accident insurance, and other competent persons are to be represented on it (Section 7 ArbStättV). The committee determines the rules, and the ministry can publish them in the Joint Ministerial Gazette (GMBl). The committee's business is managed by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), which also publishes the full texts. Appointments are, as a rule, made for four years — this is not stated in the Ordinance but in the committee's rules of procedure, which have applied since April 23, 2026.

What the ASR achieve legally

The ASR are not legal provisions: they are not enacted as a law or ordinance but are determined by the committee and published by the ministry. The Ordinance does not provide for an obligation to apply them. Their effect is called the presumption of conformity: "If the published rules are complied with, it is to be assumed that the requirements set out in this Ordinance are met in this respect" (Section 3a (1) sentence 3 ArbStättV). Anyone who applies an ASR can therefore assume that they comply with the Ordinance in this respect. The following sentence expressly keeps the alternative route open: if the employer does not apply the rules, it must "achieve the same level of safety and the same protection of the health of employees through other measures". The Ordinance remains binding.

How the ASR are numbered

The numbers reflect the structure of the ArbStättV. ASR with a V in their designation specify a section of the Ordinance: ASR V3 „Gefährdungsbeurteilung“ belongs to Section 3 ArbStättV, ASR V3a.2 „Barrierefreie Gestaltung von Arbeitsstätten“ to Section 3a (2). ASR with an A are named after a number of the Annex: ASR A2.2 „Maßnahmen gegen Brände“ bears the title of Annex no. 2.2, ASR A6 „Bildschirmarbeit“ belongs to Annex 6. However, the number only indicates where a rule has its focus — most ASR also specify individual sections of the Ordinance; ASR A6, for example, additionally Section 3a (1) and Section 6 (1). Moreover, the series is not complete — for many Annex numbers, there is simply no ASR. Nothing can therefore be inferred from a missing number. The BAuA keeps the authoritative inventory in a continuously maintained overview; the most recent rule is ASR A5.1 with the August 2025 edition (GMBl 2025, p. 498).

Where the ASR come up in the company

The ASR become practical in two places. First, in the risk assessment: ASR V3 describes how the workplace-related assessment under Section 3 ArbStättV is structured. Second, in the instruction required by Section 6 ArbStättV and Section 12 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) — the ASR provide the content-related starting points for this, for example on escape routes or organizational fire protection. Official statistics show how large the field is: for the reporting year 2024, the BAuA reports 810,399 reportable occupational accidents and an accident rate of 18.0 per 1,000 full-time workers — according to the BAuA, a historic low. Occupational health and safety in the workplace places these obligations in the overall system; the resulting instruction topics are covered in the occupational health and safety and fire protection training courses.

ASR is not always ASR

Anyone reading older documents will come across ASR with completely different numbers — „ASR 5 Lüftung“ or „ASR 7/3 Künstliche Beleuchtung“. These were the workplace guidelines (Arbeitsstätten-Richtlinien) for the Workplace Ordinance of 1975. Under the transitional provision in force at the time, they applied until December 31, 2012, at the latest; today, the BAuA expressly lists them as superseded and no longer valid. Similar-sounding abbreviations belong to other sets of rules: TRBS to the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV), TRGS to the GefStoffV. And the ASA under Section 11 ASiG is not a set of rules but the company's occupational safety committee.

Are the ASR binding?

What is binding is the Workplace Ordinance, not the ASR. Anyone who complies with an ASR may, under Section 3a (1) sentence 3 ArbStättV, assume that they fulfill the corresponding requirement of the Ordinance. Anyone who deviates must achieve the same level of safety and the same health protection through other measures and document these measures in the risk assessment (Section 3 (3) ArbStättV).

Who draws up the ASR?

The Committee on Workplaces (ASTA) determines the rules. It is formed at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; employers, trade unions, state authorities, statutory accident insurance, and other competent persons, in particular from academia, are to be represented on it. The rules are published in the Joint Ministerial Gazette; the business is managed by the BAuA.

What does the A or V in the ASR number mean?

The number shows which part of the Workplace Ordinance a rule specifies. A V stands for a section — ASR V3 belongs to Section 3 ArbStättV. An A stands for a number of the Annex — ASR A2.2 corresponds to Annex no. 2.2. Not every Annex number has an ASR.

Do the old workplace guidelines still apply?

No. The workplace guidelines for the Workplace Ordinance of 1975 — recognizable by numbers such as ASR 5 or ASR 7/3 — applied, under the transitional provision in force at the time, until December 31, 2012, at the latest. Since then, the BAuA has listed them as superseded. Only the current ASR overview is authoritative.

• Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) – complete edition with Annex (version of 27 Mar 2024)
• Section 3a ArbStättV – Setting up and operating workplaces, subsection 1, sentences 3 and 4 (as of 27 Mar 2024)
• Section 7 ArbStättV – Committee on Workplaces (as of 27 Mar 2024)
• Section 3 ArbStättV – Risk assessment (as of 27 Mar 2024)
• Section 6 ArbStättV – Instruction of employees (as of 27 Mar 2024)
• Section 12 Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) – Instruction (version of 22 Dec 2025)
• BAuA – Technical Rules for Workplaces, complete overview (count as of 4 Sep 2026)
• BAuA – Committee on Workplaces (ASTA), rules of procedure, Section 2 (3) (in force since 23 Apr 2026)
• BAuA press release 49/25 – Number of occupational accidents lower than ever (10 Dec 2025, reference year 2024)
• Section 8 (2) ArbStättV in the version in force until 2016 – continued validity of the workplace guidelines (page as of 25 Jun 2013)
• Section 21 Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV) – Committee on Operational Safety (version of 18 Dec 2025)
• Section 20 GefStoffV – Committee on Hazardous Substances (version of 17 Dec 2025)
• Section 11 ASiG – Occupational safety committee (version of 20 Apr 2013)

All sources retrieved on 4 Sep 2026 unless otherwise stated in the entry. The article image is AI-generated and carries the notice "Created with AI" as an overlay.