DUERP Explained: 7 Things US, UK and International Businesses Must Know

If your business employs anyone in France, there is one document you cannot do without: the DUERP. Short for Document Unique d'Évaluation des Risques Professionnels, it is the single mandatory record of occupational risk that French law requires of every employer. For US, UK and international businesses expanding into France, it is one of the first compliance obligations you will meet, and one of the easiest to underestimate.

The good news is that the DUERP is not mysterious. It is France's version of something you already understand: a documented assessment of the risks your work creates and what you are doing about them. The challenge is in the specifics, because the French rules have their own requirements, timelines and consequences that differ from the UK, the US and elsewhere. US employers in particular should note that there is no single federal equivalent. OSHA requires written programs for specific hazards, and some states such as California require a broader injury and illness prevention program, but France's demand for one consolidated risk document, applicable from the first employee, often catches American businesses off guard. Here are the seven things every employer needs to know, and how to get them right wherever your business is based.

1. It is mandatory from your very first employee

There is no small-business exemption. Under the French Code du travail, every employer must produce and maintain a DUERP from the moment they take on their first employee. The official French public service guidance is unambiguous on this point.

This catches many international businesses by surprise, particularly US employers used to OSHA's hazard-specific written programs rather than a single consolidated document. A single hire in France creates the obligation, so the DUERP should be on your checklist before you open the doors, not after. Our dedicated DUERP support exists precisely because this first step trips up so many incoming employers.

2. It must cover every risk, in every work unit

The DUERP is not a generic statement. It must assess all the occupational risks your employees face, broken down by work unit, meaning each distinct area or type of activity in your business. The French national institute for risk prevention, INRS, sets out what the assessment must retain.

Crucially, that scope includes psychosocial risks such as stress and workload, not just physical hazards. A DUERP that only lists slips and trips while ignoring the pressures on your people is incomplete. Thorough, honest health and safety audits are the foundation of a DUERP that genuinely reflects your workplace.

3. It must be written down and made available

The DUERP must be documented and kept accessible to a defined list of parties: your employees, the social and economic committee where one exists, the occupational health service and the labour inspectorate. It is not a private internal note. It is a record others have the right to see.

France is also moving these records onto digital filing, so keeping the DUERP current and properly stored is increasingly a formal, traceable obligation rather than an informal one. This is where pairing expert advice with software helps, keeping the document live, version-controlled and ready to produce on demand.

4. It must be kept up to date

A DUERP is a living document, not a one-off. The law requires it to be updated at least once a year for businesses with 20 or more employees, and, for businesses of any size, whenever there is a significant change to working conditions or when new information about a risk comes to light.

The annual review is the minimum, not the goal. Any new equipment, process, location or incident should prompt a fresh look. Treating the DUERP as something you revisit only once a year is exactly how it drifts out of step with reality, which is the most common compliance failure we see.

5. It must be retained for 40 years

This is the requirement that surprises people most. Following France's 2021 occupational health reform, successive versions of the DUERP must be kept for at least 40 years. The reason is to track employees' exposure to risks over the long term, particularly hazards whose health effects appear only decades later.

Forty years of version history is a serious record-keeping commitment, and it is not something a folder on one person's computer can reliably deliver. A structured system for storing and retrieving every version is no longer optional, it is part of compliance.

6. It drives a prevention action plan

The DUERP is not an end in itself. It must lead to action. For businesses with 50 or more employees, French law requires a formal annual prevention programme known as the PAPRIPACT, which translates the risks identified in the DUERP into concrete prevention measures. For smaller businesses, the obligation is to record a list of prevention actions.

In other words, identifying a risk creates a duty to address it. Our guidance on the PAPRIPACT explains how this plan works and how it connects to the DUERP, so that assessment and action stay joined up rather than sitting in separate silos.

7. Non-compliance carries real consequences

Failing to produce or maintain a DUERP is an offence in itself, carrying financial penalties. But the larger risk comes later. If an employee is injured and you cannot show a current, adequate DUERP, your exposure to liability rises sharply, because you will struggle to demonstrate that you assessed and managed the risk.

The DUERP is therefore not just a box to tick. It is the evidence that protects both your people and your business if something goes wrong. Getting it right is far cheaper than getting it wrong, in every sense that matters.

The DUERP compliance checklist

Run these questions against your French operations. Each no answer is a gap to close.

• Do you have a DUERP in place for every site that employs people in France? Yes / No
• Does it cover all risks, by work unit, including psychosocial risks? Yes / No
• Is it documented and accessible to employees, the CSE and the authorities? Yes / No
• Is it updated annually and after any significant change? Yes / No
• Are all versions retained securely for the required 40 years? Yes / No
• Does it feed a prevention action plan or PAPRIPACT where required? Yes / No
• For multi-country operations, is your French DUERP consistent with your wider standard? Yes / No

If you cannot answer yes with confidence, the gap is one a French labour inspector, or an injured employee's claim, could expose.

Where Arinite fits

Arinite has spent 15+ years helping US, UK and international businesses meet local health and safety obligations without getting lost in unfamiliar rules. We support 1,500+ businesses across 50+ countries and have helped protect 100,000+ employees, with a 95% client retention rate. We combine practical guidance from qualified consultants with software that keeps documents like the DUERP current, version-controlled and ready to produce.

As international health and safety consultants, we help businesses hold one high standard across borders while meeting each country's specific requirements, from the DUERP in France to OSHA requirements in the United States and the equivalents elsewhere, often anchored to a recognised framework such as ISO 45001. Our France coverage and wider global support are built for exactly this, and the French Ministry of Labour sets out the underlying duty in full.

The fastest way to know where you stand is a free gap analysis. Our specialists review your current arrangements and tell you plainly what is compliant and what is not. Book your free gap analysis and make sure your French operations are protected from day one.