NR-31: Brazil's rural work standard in quick reference

0Every figure of NR-31 on one page

If you only take one sheet to the inspection, take this one

1How NR-31 fits in

Why it carries different weight from ABNT standards

A technical standard and a legal standard carry different weight. An ABNT NBR standard is a technical reference: it applies when someone adopts it — a contract, a certification scheme, a design. NR-31 is a legal standard, with the force of law, enforced by the Labour Inspector. Failing one of its items is not failing a customer requirement: it is breaching a legal obligation, exposed to penalties and, in serious cases, to shutdown.

NR-31 is public and free, unlike ABNT standards, which are licensed. The consolidated text is on the Ministry of Labour and Employment website and can be opened on the spot, in front of whoever asks.

NR-31 stands on its own — with seven exceptions

Item 31.2.1.1 establishes that only NR-31 applies to rural activities, except in the following cases:

• a) where NR-31 itself expressly refers to another Regulatory Standard;
• b) NR-3 — embargo and shutdown;
• c) NR-13 — boilers, pressure vessels, piping and metal storage tanks;
• d) NR-15 — unhealthy activities and operations;
• e) NR-16 — hazardous activities and operations;
• f) NR-20 — flammables and fuels;
• g) NR-28 — enforcement and penalties.

Only three requirements scale with the number of employees

Everything else in the standard applies the same with two employees or with two hundred. What varies is not size: it is whether the activity exists on the property. Silos, confined spaces, work at height and worker transport only apply to those who have them — and then they apply in full, on a property of any size.

2Training and certificates

Item 31.2.6 — the document that gets audited

The seven mandatory elements of the certificate (31.2.6.1.1)

• the worker's name;
• the course content;
• the number of hours;
• the date and place of the training;
• the name and qualifications of the instructors;
• the signature of the technical officer;
• the worker's signature, on an attendance list or on the certificate itself.

If any of the seven is missing, the certificate does not prove the training. Checking takes less than a minute per document — and it is the most productive check in the whole inspection, because it does not depend on technical debate: either the element is on the paper or it is not.

The training hours set by the standard

When the training has to happen

• Initial training, before the worker starts their duties (31.2.6.2).
• Periodic training, at the frequency set in the specific item of the standard or, failing that, at the interval set in the risk management programme (31.2.6.2.1).

Distance learning is allowed — the practical content is not

Training may be in person, blended or at a distance, in line with Annex II of NR-1. But the practical content must be in person (31.2.6.9.1). A fully online 24 h certificate for a self-propelled machinery operator does not meet the standard.

Two points that work in the farmer's favour

• Time spent in training counts as working time (31.2.6.4).
• Content from previous training by the same employer may be credited, recorded on the certificate — and in that case validity runs from the date of the oldest training credited (31.2.6.6).

3Pesticides

Item 31.7 — the part with the most objective prohibitions

The thirteen prohibitions of item 31.7.3, in full

The following are prohibited:

• a) handling any pesticide, additive, adjuvant or related product that is not registered and authorised by the competent government bodies;
• b) handling by people under 18, by people over 60 and by pregnant or nursing women;
• c) handling in the workplace contrary to the prescription and to the label and package leaflet;
• d) working in recently treated areas before the end of the re-entry interval on the label, unless the recommended protective equipment is used;
• e) the entry and presence of any person in the area to be treated during aerial spraying;
• f) the entry and presence of any person in the area to be treated during application in protected crops, except the applicator;
• g) the use of personal clothing when applying pesticides;
• h) the reuse, for any purpose, of empty containers, including their caps;
• i) storing empty or full containers contrary to the manufacturer's package leaflet;
• j) transport in the same compartment as food, feed, forage, personal or household utensils;
• k) using a tank used to transport pesticides, even after cleaning, to transport drinking water or any product intended for human or animal consumption;
• l) washing vehicles that transport pesticides in bodies of water;
• m) transporting workers and pesticides at the same time in vehicles without sealed compartments designed for that purpose.

Item 31.7.2 adds that pregnant or nursing workers must be removed from activities with direct and indirect exposure, including storage areas.

Direct and indirect exposure — the definition matters

Hygiene: what the employer has to provide (31.7.6)

• water, soap and towels at the work fronts, for personal hygiene;
• a suitable place to shower, with an individual locker for personal clothing;
• decontamination of clothing at the end of each shift, at the employer's expense;
• no contaminated clothing leaves the workplace.

For anyone taking part in preparation or application, a shower at the end of the activity is mandatory, following the procedure described in the risk management programme (31.7.6.1).

The eight pieces of information owed to all workers (31.7.7)

• the treated area and the type of application;
• the trade name of the product;
• its toxicological classification;
• the date and time of application;
• the re-entry interval;
• the safety interval or pre-harvest interval;
• the protection measures for direct and indirect exposure;
• what to do in case of poisoning.

The employer must also sign the treated areas stating the re-entry period (31.7.8). And a worker with symptoms of poisoning is removed and taken for medical care, carrying the product label and package leaflet (31.7.9) — a detail that saves lives and is almost never written into the property's emergency procedure.

Storage: the six requirements for the building (31.7.14)

Buildings used for storage must:

• a) have resistant walls and roof;
• b) have access restricted to workers properly trained to handle the products;
• c) have ventilation opening exclusively to the outside and fitted with protection that keeps animals out;
• d) display signs or posters with hazard symbols;
• e) allow cleaning and decontamination;
• f) be located more than 15 metres from dwellings and from places where food, medicine or other materials are kept or consumed.

Stacking (31.7.15)

• a) containers on pallets, not touching the floor, in stable stacks away from walls and ceiling — or in the cabinets of item 31.7.16;
• b) flammable products in a ventilated place protected against sparks and other ignition sources.

The cabinet, up to 100 L or 100 kg (31.7.16)

For exclusive use, locked, shaded from the sun, made of resistant material that does not spread flames, away from dwellings, welfare and administrative areas. The standard adds three requirements:

• a) it must not be located in a passageway for people or vehicles;
• b) incompatible chemicals must not be kept together in the same cabinet;
• c) it must be fixed to a wall or floor to prevent it from tipping over.

The limit of 100 L or 100 kg is the same as item 4.2.9 of ABNT NBR 9843-3: the two standards coincide, and NR-31 adds the three requirements above.

Transport (31.7.17)

Containers labelled, resistant and hermetically sealed. Vehicles used to transport pesticides must be cleaned and decontaminated whenever they are used for other purposes (31.7.17.1).

4PPE and personal protection devices

Item 31.6 — supplied free of charge and mandatory

Beyond the PPE listed in Annex I of NR-6, NR-31 creates a category of its own: the personal protection device, which is protective equipment not listed in that Annex (31.6.2.2). It therefore has no Certificate of Approval — and the absence of that certificate is no reason to refuse leg guards or a legionnaire cap.

The seven devices in item 31.6.2

• a) a hat or legionnaire-style cap, for protection against solar radiation;
• b) a face shield, or safety goggles, against splashes of aggressive liquids;
• c) leg guards, against snake and other venomous animal bites;
• d) a reflective vest or strips, for visibility;
• e) full-body clothing, for protection against biological agents;
• f) smooth-soled boots, for riding animals;
• g) special clothing for specific activities.

Sunscreen is included where indicated in the risk management programme or where there is sun exposure with no other protection — and its use is at the worker's discretion (31.6.2.1).

The standard sets three distinct duties — and inspections check only two

5Occupational health

Items 31.3.7 to 31.3.12 — examinations, medical certificates and emergencies

What the medical certificate must contain (31.3.8)

• the worker's full name and tax number;
• the role performed;
• the hazards identified in the risk management programme;
• the examinations carried out;
• the conclusion: fit or unfit for the role;
• date, signature and medical registration number of the doctor.

First aid and evacuation — required on every property

• Every rural establishment must have first aid supplies in the care of a person trained for that purpose (31.3.9).
• At a work front with 10 or more workers, that trained person must be on site (31.3.9.1).
• The employer must ensure the evacuation of an injured worker in an emergency, at no cost to the worker (31.3.10).
• Accident with a venomous animal: immediate referral to the nearest health unit or to the place indicated in the risk management programme (31.3.10.1).

6Risk management programme (PGRTR)

Item 31.3 — the document that organises everything else

The Rural Work Risk Management Programme is mandatory for every rural establishment, with no exception for size. It replaced the former rural risk programme and adopted the logic of NR-1: an inventory plus an action plan.

The six minimum stages of the programme (31.3.3)

• preliminary survey of hazards and their elimination where possible;
• assessment of the risks that could not be eliminated;
• definition of measures with priorities and a schedule;
• implementation in order of priority;
• follow-up on risk control;
• investigation and analysis of accidents and occupational diseases.

The six specific measures of item 31.3.5

Beyond the general requirements, the programme must set measures for:

• work with animals: immunisation, contact with secretions, restraint and zoonoses;
• extreme weather conditions, including stopping work;
• work organisation and work on uneven terrain;
• movement of people and vehicles on internal roads, with signage;
• disposal of waste from production processes;
• work within power distribution line corridors.

Timing and size

• Review every 3 years, or sooner if there is a change in technology, process or work organisation (31.3.4).
• Up to 50 employees, it may be structured with the simplified government tool (31.3.1.1) — which does not release the farmer from any other requirement of the standard (31.3.1.2).
• The parameters for assessing physical, chemical and biological agents come from the Annexes of NR-9 (31.3.3.1).

7Facilities, tools and machinery

Items 31.10 to 31.12 — what to check while walking the property

Electrical installations and hand tools

Machinery, equipment and implements

Four prohibitions in item 31.12 that you see in the field

• Carrying people on self-propelled machinery and implements, except in a position designed by the manufacturer (31.12.7).
• Cleaning, lubricating, refuelling and adjusting with the machine running (31.12.49).
• Inflating tyres outside a safety cage (31.12.54).
• Maintenance outside the conditions of the item: it must be done with the machine stopped, by a qualified or trained worker (31.12.47).

8Water, toilets, meals and worker housing

Items 31.16 and 31.17 — the ratios in the standard

The sanitary ratios

Three rules that decide borderline cases

• Separation by sex is mandatory (31.17.3.3, point b). But an administrative area with up to 10 workers may have a single shared individual facility, and an establishment with up to 5 workers using the farmhouse toilet is exempt from separation, provided hygiene and privacy are ensured.
• A welfare area requires housing, a kitchen and a laundry only where workers are housed on site (31.17.1.1).
• Itinerant activity is exempt from fixed facilities if the worker is guaranteed access, by any means of transport, to sanitary facilities and a place to eat (31.17.5.5). The exemption does not apply to a work front (31.17.5.5.1).

Drinking water

• The employer must provide fresh drinking water, in sufficient quantity, at the workplaces (31.17.8.1).
• In hygienic conditions, with shared cups prohibited (31.17.8.2) — the communal cup hanging on the filter is a direct non-conformity.

Fixed place for meals (31.17.4.1)

• hygienic and comfortable conditions;
• capacity to serve the workers, with enough seats, taking account of break rotas;
• clean water for washing;
• tables with smooth surfaces or covers, washable or disposable;
• drinking water in hygienic conditions, with shared cups prohibited;
• waste bins with lids.

At work fronts on waterlogged terrain, the sanitary facilities and eating areas must be on dry ground, outside the flooded area, with access guaranteed (31.17.5.6).

Worker housing: the figures and what the dormitory requires

• Three or more beds stacked vertically are prohibited.
• Mattress certified by the national standards body.
• Upper bunk with side protection and a fixed ladder.
• Individual locker.
• Doors and windows that seal and lock.
• Separation by sex.
• Bed linen provided by the employer.
• Stoves and cookers inside the dormitory are prohibited. Gas cylinders stay in a ventilated outdoor area (31.17.6.8).

Family housing (31.17.7)

• Sized for one family, and one family per dwelling.
• Walls of masonry, wood or equivalent material.
• Resistant, washable floor.
• Well or water tank protected against contamination.
• Sanitary facility connected to a sewer, septic tank or equivalent — with the tank away from the house and the well, free from flooding and downstream of the well.
• At least 30 m from hay and manure stores, corrals, stables, pigsties and breeding pens.

Rural buildings (31.16)

• floors free of defects;
• openings in floors and walls properly protected;
• non-slip material where there is a risk of slipping;
• fall protection on floors above ground level.

9Responsibilities and the right to refuse work

Item 31.2 — what to use in the interview with the worker

The right to refuse work, redrawn by MTE Ordinance 342/2024

The assessment is “as they see it, on reasonable grounds” — no prior expert report is needed. The protection against retaliation in 31.2.5.3 was added in 2024 and is new to much of the sector.

10Field questioning script

From the worker's answer to the item in the standard

Much of what NR-31 requires cannot be seen by walking the property: it is seen by asking the people who do the work. These eleven questions cover the heaviest items in the standard. The rule for conducting them: open with the open question, let the person describe, and only then close on the points left undefined.

11Ready answers for the farmer

What to say, with the item at hand