DC-3 Certificate in Mexico: What Your Safety Team Should Ask for When Renting Heavy Equipment with an Operator (2026)
Updated: 8 hours ago
If your company runs a plant or a construction project in Mexico, sooner or later your safety team will ask a supplier for the operators' "DC-3". This guide explains what the DC-3 is, why it matters when you rent heavy equipment with an operator, and what to check before the machine reaches your site.
What is the DC-3?
The DC-3 is the Constancia de Competencias o de Habilidades Laborales, the official record format of Mexico's Ministry of Labor (STPS) that documents that a worker completed training in a specific skill, for example operating an excavator, a backhoe or a telehandler. It is based on the training obligations of the Federal Labor Law (Ley Federal del Trabajo, article 153 and related articles).
Important: the DC-3 is a training record, not a driver's license. It is issued by the training agent (an external trainer registered with the STPS, or the employer's internal trainer for its own staff) and includes the employer's tax ID (RFC).
Why it matters when you rent equipment with an operator
Site access: most industrial plants and parks in Nuevo León ask for the operator's DC-3, IMSS social security and safety gear before the first shift.
Liability: if there is an incident, your EHS team will need proof that the operator was trained for that type of machine.
Audits: corporate and customer audits usually check contractor training records.
What to check on the document
The operator's full name and CURP (Mexican personal ID code).
The specific equipment or skill (e.g. excavator operation, telehandler operation). A generic course is not the same.
The training agent's name and STPS registration (for external trainers).
The employer's name and RFC: it should be the company that employs the operator.
Date and duration of the course.
Related Mexican safety standards (NOM)
NOM-004-STPS: safety devices and protection systems for machinery and equipment.
NOM-006-STPS: handling and storage of materials with machinery (relevant for telehandlers and forklifts).
NOM-031-STPS: safety on construction sites.
Your own corporate rules (lockout/tagout, spotters, daily inspections) still apply on top of these standards.
Checklist for your contractor or equipment supplier
DC-3 for each operator, for the right type of machine.
Proof of IMSS social security registration.
Basic PPE: hard hat, safety boots, high-visibility vest, safety glasses.
Daily equipment inspection and a signed hour log.
A contact person who answers on the same day if an operator must be replaced.
How MPM handles it
All MPM operators have DC-3 records, insurance and daily hour logs. We rent heavy equipment with operators within about one hour of Monterrey (Apodaca, Escobedo, Pesquería, Salinas Victoria, García, Santa Catarina and the rest of the metro area) and share the operator's DC-3 with your safety team on request. Read also our nearshoring earthwork guide.
Equipment pages: bulldozer, 20 and 30 t excavators, motor grader, vibratory roller, dump trucks and the full catalog.
Get a quote on WhatsApp: +52 81 2429 9969. Send the site location (a Google Maps pin), the scope of work, approximate volume and start date, and we send a formal quote the same day. MPM Maquinaria Pesada Monterrey.
Registering MPM as a supplier? See the supplier registration checklist for new plants (also in Chinese and Korean).
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