- RECIT = one registration per individual employment contract (every employer, from the first worker).
- RERIT = one registration of the Internal Work Rules document (mandatory at 10+ workers).
- Employers with 10+ workers must comply with both in parallel.
Summary: RECIT and RERIT are two different MINTRAB registries that are easy to confuse. RECIT registers each individual employment contract (one per worker, within 15 business days of signing). RERIT registers the company’s Internal Work Rules (one document, mandatory if you employ 10+ workers). Both are free, both are 100% online, but they run on different portals and are administered by different MINTRAB departments. If your business has 10 or more permanent workers, you must comply with both — they are not substitutes.
What RECIT and RERIT actually are
They sound alike, both live inside MINTRAB, and both were created by 2019 ministerial agreements — so the confusion is understandable. But they register completely different things.
RECIT — Electronic Registry of Individual Employment Contracts
RECIT is the online system where employers upload each individual employment contract signed with each worker. It was created by Ministerial Agreement 324-2019 to digitize the obligation under Article 28 of the Labor Code (Decree 1441): send a copy of every written contract to the labour authority within the fifteen days after it is signed, modified or novated — 15 business days, because Article 45 d) of the Judicial Branch Law leaves non-business days out of the count.
- Administered by the General Directorate of Labor (DGT).
- Portal: recit.mintrabajo.gob.gt.
- Applies from your first worker — no minimum headcount.
- Output: a registration constancia for each contract, carrying a QR code (Ministerial Agreement 324-2019, Art. 4).
Full walkthrough in the RECIT MINTRAB: Employment Contract Registration guide.
RERIT — Electronic Registry of Internal Work Rules
RERIT is the online system where the employer submits the company’s Internal Work Rules (RIT) for the General Labor Inspectorate to approve. It was created by Ministerial Agreement 540-2019 (reformed by Agreements 02-2020 and 333-2020) to digitize the obligation under Article 58 of the Labor Code — Article 57 defines what the rulebook is; Article 58 is the one that requires it from ten permanent workers up.
- Administered by the General Labor Inspectorate (IGT).
- Portal: rerit.mintrabajo.gob.gt.
- Applies only if you employ 10 or more permanent workers (optional below that threshold).
- Output: an approval from the IGT. The approved rulebook must be made known to workers 15 days before it takes effect and kept posted in at least two of the most visible places at work, or handed out as a printed booklet (Labor Code Art. 59).
Full walkthrough in the RERIT MINTRAB: Internal Work Rules Registration guide.
Side-by-side comparison: RECIT vs RERIT
| Feature | RECIT | RERIT |
|---|---|---|
| What it registers | Each individual employment contract | The Internal Work Rules (one company-wide document) |
| How many documents | One per worker hired | One per employer (plus any reforms) |
| Who is required | Every employer, from the first worker | Employers with 10+ permanent workers |
| When it applies | Within 15 business days of signing, modifying or novating each contract | Before enforcing internal rules or when reaching 10 workers |
| Official cost | Free (Q0) | Free (Q0) |
| Processing time | 3 business days | 30 business days |
| Official portal | recit.mintrabajo.gob.gt | rerit.mintrabajo.gob.gt |
| MINTRAB department | General Directorate of Labor (DGT) | General Labor Inspectorate (IGT) |
| Statutory basis | Labor Code Art. 28 | Labor Code Art. 57-62 |
| Regulatory basis | Ministerial Agreement 324-2019 | Ministerial Agreement 540-2019 |
| Penalty for non-compliance | 2 to 9 monthly minimum wages for the determined offence; no per-contract multiplier (Art. 272 lit. g, Art. 271) | 2 to 9 monthly minimum wages (Art. 272 lit. g) |
| Typical frequency | Continuous: every new contract | Once + reforms when rules change |
| Output | Registration constancia with QR code | IGT approval |
Which one do you need? Decision flow
Use this flow to identify your obligation in under a minute:
Are you hiring or do you already employ workers in Guatemala?
|
| Yes
v
Register each contract in RECIT
(within 15 business days of signing)
|
v
Does your business employ 10 or more permanent workers?
/ \
Yes No
| |
v v
Register Internal Work RERIT optional
Rules in RERIT (recommended so you can
(mandatory under Art. 58) enforce valid sanctions)
|
v
You comply with BOTH systems in parallel:
- RECIT continuously (every new contract)
- RERIT once + reforms
Concrete scenarios
Scenario 1 — 3 employees at a marketing agency. Obligation: RECIT only (3 registrations, one per contract). RERIT does not apply yet, but it is smart to have a draft ready so you can file the moment you reach 10 workers.
Scenario 2 — 8 employees at a restaurant. Obligation: RECIT only (8 registrations). RERIT is not required. But beware: dismissal for breaking the internal rules is a just cause only if the rulebook is duly approved and the worker was first warned once in writing (Labor Code Art. 77 h). If an employer cannot prove a just cause in labour court, it owes the severance plus, as damages, the wages lost from dismissal to payment — up to 12 months — and court costs (Art. 78).
Scenario 3 — 12 employees at a construction company. Obligation: RECIT (12 registrations) + RERIT (1 registration). Both, in parallel. If you skip RERIT, the IGT can fine you even though every RECIT is in order.
Scenario 4 — 50 employees, planning to reform the rulebook. Obligation: RECIT continuously (every new hire) + a RERIT reform filing (same portal). You cannot enforce the new rules until the IGT approves the reform. Watch the cost: if the reform touches work shifts, bonus payments or rights workers have already acquired, MINTRAB’s own template requires a notarial acta of sworn declaration signed also by the workers or their union representatives, with a Q10 notarial stamp and a Q0.50 fiscal stamp plus notary fees. Detail in the RERIT guide.
Scenario 5 — Sole proprietor with 1 domestic worker. Obligation: a domestic-service contract may be verbal (Labor Code Art. 27 b); in that case the employer must give the worker a card or record showing the start date and agreed salary, and the Art. 28 copy-to-MINTRAB rule — the one RECIT digitises — covers written contracts. If you sign a written contract, register it in RECIT. RERIT does not apply. Also keep your IGSS employer registration current.
When each one applies
RECIT — trigger events
- Every time you sign a new contract. The clock in Labor Code Art. 28 runs from the signing (or modification or novation) of the contract and counts business days only (Judicial Branch Law Art. 45 d).
- Every time you substantively reform a contract (material salary change, schedule change, conversion from fixed-term to indefinite). You upload an addendum or a new contract.
- Every time you settle and re-hire the same worker (e.g., end of project + new project).
RERIT — trigger events
- The first time you reach 10 permanent workers. From that point you have a legal obligation.
- Every time you reform the rulebook. Schedule changes, new disciplinary sanctions, remote-work policies, safety updates — all go through IGT approval.
- Before enforcing any disciplinary sanction. Unpaid suspension can only be imposed in cases the rulebook expressly provides, for no more than eight days and only after hearing the worker (Art. 60); dismissal for breaking the rules requires a duly approved rulebook (Art. 77 h).
Recommended order for growing companies
If you are starting a new business in Guatemala, the suggested sequence is:
- IGSS employer registration before your first worker.
- RECIT from the first contract onwards.
- Draft the Internal Work Rules (with a labor attorney) when you project crossing 10 workers within 3-6 months.
- RERIT filed when you reach 10 permanent workers (or earlier, voluntarily).
- Electronic Salary Book, mandatory at 10+ workers.
Penalties for non-compliance
Fines are set by Article 272 of the Labor Code (Decree 1441), replaced in full by Decreto 7-2017, and apply separately to each system. Neither contract registration nor the Internal Work Rules are tariffed in literals a) through f), so both fall under the catch-all literal g).
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to register a contract in RECIT (Art. 272 lit. g) | 2 to 9 monthly minimum wages for the determined offence; the number of affected workers weighs in the grading (Art. 271), no per-contract multiplier |
| False data in a registered contract | 2 to 9 monthly minimum wages (lit. g); 8 to 18 (lit. a) if it conceals unpaid wages |
| No RERIT filing with 10+ workers (Art. 272 lit. g) | 2 to 9 monthly minimum wages |
| Dismissal for breaking internal rules without an approved RIT | Not a just cause under Art. 77 h; if no just cause is proven, severance + up to 12 months of lost wages + court costs (Art. 78) |
| Repeat offense (either system) | A 50% increment on the fine incurred (Art. 271 as reformed); no recurrence once a year has passed |
At the 2026 minimum wage (Q4,002.28 per month for non-agricultural activities, Zone 1; Acuerdo Gubernativo 256-2025), an employer with 30 workers and nothing registered faces, where literal g) applies:
- RECIT: 2 to 9 minimum wages (Q8,005 to Q36,021) for the offence the Inspectorate determines; Article 271 weighs the 30 affected workers in the grading, but the Code has no automatic per-contract multiplier.
- RERIT: Q8,005 to Q36,021 additional.
About the multiplier: Article 272 reasons in monthly minimum wages for non-agricultural activities — Q4,002.28 in Zone 1 (Acuerdo Gubernativo 256-2025). The Q250 incentive bonus (Decreto 78-89) is paid on top and is not salary, so it does not enter the multiplier. See the 2026 minimum wage table.
Article 272 as reformed exonerates 50% of the fine if, when paying, the employer states the breach has been corrected and MINTRAB verifies it.
The real cost is not the fine. It is losing labor lawsuits. If the employer does not produce the written contract when labour authorities ask for it, the terms the worker states are presumed true unless proven otherwise (Labor Code Art. 30). Without an approved RIT, breaking internal rules is not a just cause for dismissal (Art. 77 h), and an unproven dismissal costs severance plus up to 12 months of lost wages and court costs (Art. 78).
Common mistakes and clarifications
I thought registering the contract in RECIT covered everything — why also RERIT?
RECIT is the evidence of the individual relationship between you and each worker. RERIT is the evidence of the rule framework governing the company: schedules, pay, sanctions, safety. Without an approved RIT, unpaid suspension is not available (Art. 60) and breaking internal rules is not a just cause for dismissal (Art. 77 h) — even if every contract is perfectly registered.
My company has 10 workers but some are temporary — do I count all of them for RERIT?
Article 58 refers to employers who permanently employ ten or more workers. If you are near the threshold, you can file voluntarily.
Does anything change if I am a foreign owner (US company with a Guatemala subsidiary)?
No. The obligation is tied to the workplace in Guatemala, not the employer’s nationality. If your branch or Guatemalan entity employs workers in Guatemala, RECIT applies from the first worker and RERIT from the tenth. For a company, the government trámite catalogue lists the notarial act appointing its legal representative and the company’s RTU as RECIT requirements.
I already have an HR handbook — does it count as my RIT for RERIT?
Only if it covers the mandatory content of Article 60 of the Labor Code: technical and administrative rules, hygiene and safety rules (including first aid), entry and exit times with meal and rest periods, where and when shifts start and end, pay types and job categories, place, day and time of payment, disciplinary provisions and how they are applied, the people to whom requests and complaints are addressed, and special rules by type of work. A Guatemalan labor attorney localizes the content.
I use a single contract template for everyone — do I register each one in RECIT or just the template?
Each individual contract, one by one. A single template speeds up signing but does not exempt you from individual registration: each worker is a separate relationship.
Related tramites
- RECIT MINTRAB — full guide
- RERIT MINTRAB — full guide
- MINTRAB Guatemala hub — every labor and social welfare tramite
- MINTRAB Electronic Labor Solvency
- Electronic Salary Book — mandatory at 10+ workers
- IGSS Employer Registration — before your first worker
- Labor Severance Calculation — when terminating contracts
- Work Permit for Foreigners — if you hire non-Guatemalan workers
- SAT RTU — Tax Registry — must be current