Skip to main content
    QHSEtech
    All templatesCompliance · 3 pages · Updated 19 October 2026

    Legal Register Template

    Three-page landscape A4 register of the laws and other requirements that apply to one site or activity: a header block (organisation, site or activity, register owner, version and date, jurisdictions covered and where changes are looked for), a register of 30 lines, one filled in as an example (the requirement and its source, jurisdiction, what it applies to, what it requires in one sentence, owner, how compliance is shown, last and next review, status and a note), a change log of the register itself and a review sign-off. "Legal register" is a working name for the list: no source we found uses that phrase. The register lists requirements; it does not interpret them, give legal advice or show that you comply.

    What's inside

    Page 1 (landscape A4): the register details and the first lines

    1. Register details: organisation, the site or activity covered and what is left out, the register owner, the version and date, and the jurisdictions covered with where changes to them are looked for
    2. Register of requirements: one line per requirement, with a Ref column and ten more: the requirement and its source (title, section or condition, and the version or date of the text read), the jurisdiction, what it applies to, what it requires in one sentence, the owner, how compliance is shown and where that evidence is kept, the date last reviewed, the next review, a one-letter status and a note. One example line is filled in; the table has 29 empty lines and its heading row repeats on each page

    Status codes (ours, to change): A applies and evidence is in place, G applies and a gap is open, C change pending, N checked and does not apply, X withdrawn or replaced. The status says what you found at the last review and is not a score

    Pages 2 and 3: the register continues

    Page 3: the register's own history and sign-off

    1. Change log of the register: version, date, what changed and why, which lines, who changed it, who approved it and who was told, with one example line
    2. Review sign-off: review date, scope, reviewer, lines added, changed or closed, actions raised and the next review; signatures for the register owner, a competent person who checked the wording (if one is used) and the manager; reasons to review sooner than planned; where the register is kept and who can see it

    "Legal register" is a working name: no source we found uses that exact phrase. The columns and the status codes are ours, to change.

    What requires or shapes this record

    No source opened for this page uses the exact phrase "legal register": it is a working name for the list, and the project's glossary page says the same. The sources call the idea identifying the applicable laws and other requirements (ILO-OSH 2001), identifying compliance obligations (US EPA) or tracing legislation (HSE). None of them gives a register layout, a column list or a status scale, and none of those opened says that a register of this kind is required in a particular place. What they do say is useful for building one: the list covers laws and voluntary requirements, it is made at the start and kept up to date, it is used to check compliance, and it depends on where you work, since in Canada, for example, each of fourteen jurisdictions has its own legislation and a company follows the laws of the place of each workplace. ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 deal with the same idea in their own wording; those paid texts were not read for this page, ISO text is not reproduced, and nothing here states what they require. This page is general information, not legal advice, and a completed register does not show that you comply with anything.

    • ILO-OSH 2001, Guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems, clauses 3.5.2, 3.5.3, 3.7.2, 3.7.3, 3.10.2.1, 3.10.4.1, 3.11.6 and 3.16.1 (international; PDF opened 19 October 2026)

      The ILO's voluntary guidelines say they are not legally binding, are not intended to replace national laws, regulations or accepted standards, and do not require certification. Clause 3.7.2 says the initial review should be carried out by competent persons, in consultation with workers or their representatives as appropriate, and should identify the current applicable national laws and regulations, national guidelines, tailored guidelines, voluntary programmes and other requirements to which the organization subscribes. Clause 3.7.3 says the result should be documented, become the basis for decisions and give a baseline for measuring continual improvement. Clause 3.10.2.1 says the impact of external changes, for example amendments of national laws and regulations, should be evaluated and appropriate preventive steps taken before the change is introduced. Clause 3.10.4.1(b) asks for national laws and the organization's own requirements to be identified before goods and services are procured. Clause 3.11.6(e) puts compliance with applicable laws, collective agreements and other commitments inside active monitoring, and 3.16.1(g) lists changes in laws, voluntary programmes and collective agreements among the inputs to continual improvement. Clause 3.5.2(b) says system documentation should be periodically reviewed, revised as necessary, communicated and readily accessible, and 3.5.3 says records should be identifiable and traceable with retention times specified. The text sets no register layout and does not use the phrase "legal register". Check clause numbers against the edition you use.

    • HSE, How to trace legislation (hse.gov.uk, page dated 7 May 2026) and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242), regulation 5 (legislation.gov.uk); Great Britain

      HSE's page says that to find out which legislation relates to your industry you can use its industry and topic sites, the alphabetical lists of Acts and Statutory Instruments, or the search engine, that amendments to existing regulations go through a consultation process, and that there are many free and priced external sources for tracing Acts and regulations. It names legislation.gov.uk as online access to UK legislation, with full texts of Acts from 1988 and Statutory Instruments from 1987, drafts and Northern Ireland legislation, and says Statutory Instruments from 1948 onwards are being uploaded where still in force. That is why the form asks for the version or date of the text you read and for where changes are looked for. Separately, regulation 5 of the 1999 Regulations (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/regulation/5, marked as applying in England, Wales and Scotland) says every employer shall make and give effect to arrangements, appropriate to the nature of the activities and the size of the undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures, and shall record them where five or more employees are employed. The form's example line uses it. The legislation.gov.uk page notes that revised legislation carried on the site may not be fully up to date, which is another reason to write the date you read it. Neither page asks for a register.

    • US EPA, Environmental management systems: Step 7 (identify compliance obligations) and Step 20 (evaluate compliance); US guidance (planning page last updated 13 March 2026, opened 19 October 2026)

      EPA's planning page says an organization must identify the compliance obligations that apply to its activities, products and services, for example whether it needs an air quality permit or makes a product that generates regulated wastes. It says obligations may be mandatory, such as laws and regulations, or voluntary, such as industry standards, agreements with community groups or contracts, that reviewing the expectations of interested parties may reveal more, and that the system should include processes to ensure conformance with all of them. EPA's checking page (https://www.epa.gov/ems/check-evaluating-parts-ems, last updated 7 May 2026) says in Step 20 that organizations must periodically examine whether they meet all their compliance obligations, mandatory and voluntary, during an audit or at a separate time; that how often should reflect the importance of the requirements, whether they have changed recently and the organization's track record; and that nonconformances are to be corrected in a timely way. Its Step 19 asks the team to consider changes to compliance obligations when scoping an internal audit. The pages describe how to build an environmental management system and give no register layout.

    • CCOHS, Health and Safety Legislation in Canada: Introduction (OSH Answers, fact sheet last revised 28 February 2022); Canada

      The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says Canada has fourteen jurisdictions, one federal, ten provincial and three territorial, each with its own occupational health and safety legislation. An Act and its related regulations set out the general rights and responsibilities of employer, supervisor and worker, and the regulations define how the Act applies and is enforced. Separate right-to-know laws for hazardous products (WHMIS) are a series of federal, provincial and territorial laws and regulations. Federal law (the Canada Labour Code Part II) covers federal departments, Crown corporations and employees of listed sectors, about 6 percent of the workforce; the remaining 94 percent fall under the province or territory where they work. If the same company has workplaces in several jurisdictions, the laws of each jurisdiction must be followed for each location. That is why every line of the register records its jurisdiction and one register can cover several places. The page explains who is covered and does not ask for a register.

    Each source checked on 19 October 2026. Not legal advice; check the text in force for your site.

    Field by field

    The form has one block of details and one register. The block says what the register covers and who looks after it; each register line holds one requirement and is complete when a reader can see where it comes from, what it asks, who answers for it and when someone last looked. The column set and the status codes are ours and can be changed; keep them the same from one review to the next so that versions can be compared. One register can cover one site, one activity or a group of sites, but a register that tries to cover everything is rarely kept up to date.

    Organisation
    Why: Says whose obligations these are. The same text can apply to a legal entity, a site or a contract, and a register copied between sites needs to show which one it belongs to.
    Common mistake: Naming the group when the permits and duties belong to one operating company.
    Site or activity covered
    Why: ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.7.2 and EPA's Step 7 both tie the list to what the organization does, so the register should say what it covers and, as important, what it leaves out.
    Common mistake: A register for "the company" that silently leaves out a leased warehouse, a contractor's work or a new activity.
    Register owner
    Why: One named person keeps the register current. ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.5.2(b) says documentation should be periodically reviewed, revised as necessary, communicated and readily accessible, and someone has to do that.
    Common mistake: Owner is a team or a department, so nobody does the review when it falls due.
    Version and date
    Why: Shows which edition of the register you are reading. ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.5.3 asks for records to be identifiable and traceable, and an audit or a dispute may ask what you knew on a given day.
    Common mistake: Overwriting the register in place, so the version in use last March cannot be shown.
    Jurisdictions covered
    Why: CCOHS says the laws of each Canadian jurisdiction apply to each location, and HSE points UK users to legislation.gov.uk. The place where changes are looked for (an official site, a regulator, an adviser) is as important as the list, because a register goes out of date when nobody watches the source.
    Common mistake: Listing national law only and missing a regional rule, a local permit or a rule of the country where a contractor works.
    Requirement and source
    Why: A line should name the text (title, section or permit condition) and the version or date you read, so that anyone can find it and check. HSE's trace page and legislation.gov.uk exist for finding the full text, and legislation.gov.uk itself says revised texts may not be fully up to date. Voluntary requirements the organization subscribes to, such as contracts and codes, count as well (ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.7.2, EPA Step 7).
    Common mistake: Writing "fire law" or "environmental rules" with no section, so nobody can tell what was meant.
    Jurisdiction
    Why: Records which legal system the text belongs to: a country, a province, a regional authority, or "contract" for a requirement that is not law. The jurisdiction decides whether a text applies to a site at all.
    Common mistake: Recording the head office's country for every line, including sites elsewhere.
    Applies to
    Why: States which activity, area, equipment or people the text applies to. EPA's Step 7 asks which obligations apply to the organization's activities, products and services; a line with no scope cannot be checked or ruled out.
    Common mistake: "All operations" on every line, so the owner of a particular line cannot tell what to look at.
    What it requires
    Why: One sentence in your own words makes the register readable by people who are not lawyers and shows what the line is for. It is not a copy of the text, and a competent person should check anything uncertain.
    Common mistake: Pasting the whole section, or a loose paraphrase that changes the meaning; either way the text itself needs to be read.
    Owner (by name or role)
    Why: The person who answers for meeting the requirement and for telling the register owner when something changes. It is usually the line's operational manager, not the register owner.
    Common mistake: Putting the register owner as the owner of every line, so operational managers never see the requirements they are responsible for.
    How compliance is shown
    Why: Names the evidence (a record, a certificate, a test result, an inspection) and where it is kept. ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.11.6(e) puts monitoring of compliance inside active monitoring, and EPA's Step 20 asks organizations to examine periodically whether they meet each obligation.
    Common mistake: Writing "compliant" with no record behind it, or a record that nobody has opened since it was filed.
    Last reviewed
    Why: The date someone last read the text and the evidence for this line. It tells a reader how old the check is, which is not the same as the date of the text.
    Common mistake: Updating the date for the whole register when only a few lines were actually looked at.
    Next review
    Why: EPA's Step 20 says how often to examine compliance should reflect the importance of the requirement, whether it changed recently and the organization's track record, and ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.10.2.1 asks for the effect of changed laws to be evaluated before the change is introduced. The next date can therefore differ line by line, and be brought forward by an event.
    Common mistake: The same interval for every line, or a date that nobody is reminded of.
    Status
    Why: A one-letter finding at the last review (our example codes: A applies and evidence is in place, G gap open, C change pending, N does not apply, X withdrawn or replaced). It lets a reader see which lines need work. It is not a score and not a ranking.
    Common mistake: Reading a count of A lines as a measure of compliance, or deleting N and X lines so the next reviewer asks the same question again.
    Note
    Why: Holds the action, the date a change takes effect, the reason a line does not apply, or what replaced it. It keeps the status and the evidence short.
    Common mistake: A long note that is really a second register, or a note with an action and no owner or due date.
    Change log of the register
    Why: Records each version: what was added, changed or closed, why (new text, amended text, new activity, review), who made the change, who approved it and who was told. ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.16.1(g) lists changes in laws among the inputs to improvement, and a log shows how the register followed them.
    Common mistake: Updating the lines and not logging them, so nobody can tell when a requirement entered the register.
    Review sign-off
    Why: Shows who reviewed, what the review covered, what actions came out of it and when the whole register is next reviewed, with reasons to review sooner (a new activity, a changed text, an incident). ILO-OSH 2001 clause 3.7.3 asks for the initial review to be documented.
    Common mistake: Signing the register without saying which lines were checked, or never setting the next review.

    Worked example

    IllustrativeSix lines from the register of an invented packaging plant, reviewed on 2026-09-14 (invented company, permits, contract and amending rules)

    Requirement and sourceJurisdictionApplies toWhat it requiresOwnerHow compliance is shownLast reviewedNext reviewStatusNote
    Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 5 (text on legislation.gov.uk read 2026-09-14)Great BritainWhole site, all 46 employeesMake and give effect to arrangements for planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of protective measures, and record them where five or more employees are employedOperations managerHealth and safety arrangements, version 4, in the EHS folder2026-09-142027-03-14A46 employees, so the arrangements are recorded
    Environmental permit EP-0001 (invented), condition 3.2EnglandSolvent storeKeep solvent drums in the bunded store and check the bund every weekSite managerWeekly bund check sheet; two sheets are missing from August2026-09-142027-03-14GAction 12 open: put the check on the Monday start-up list
    Customer contract clause 9.4 (invented)Contract, not a lawPallet line for this customer's ordersTell the customer within 24 hours of a product safety incident on the lineQuality managerIncident log with the date the customer was told; two incidents, both told the same day2026-08-302027-02-28AA requirement the company has agreed to, kept on the register like a law
    Amending regulations to the lifting equipment rules (invented), in force 2027-04-01EnglandTwo overhead cranesShorten the inspection interval for overhead cranes from 12 months to 6 months (invented change)Maintenance leadNot yet due; the inspection schedule is to be changed before the date2026-09-142026-12-01CNext review set earlier because the change takes effect on 2027-04-01
    Environmental permit EP-0007 (invented), surrendered 2026-06-30EnglandFormer paint shop, closedPermit surrendered with the closure of the paint shop; its conditions no longer applySite managerSurrender confirmation filed 2026-07-082026-09-142027-09-14XKept for one year, then removed; the solvent store is covered by EP-0001
    Rules on ionising radiation sources (read the current text where they might apply)Great BritainNone: no sealed sources or X-ray sets on siteNot assessed here: the rules were checked and found not to apply to this siteEHS coordinatorWalk-round record of 2026-09-14 listing the equipment on site2026-09-142027-09-14NLine kept so that the next reviewer knows the question was asked

    The six lines hold two A, one G, one C, one X and one N. The status describes what was found on 2026-09-14 and is not a score: the C line was given an earlier review date because of a pending change. Dates are written in full and the next review is six or twelve months after the last, except for the pending change. Only regulation 5 is a real text in this example, and its description was checked against legislation.gov.uk; the plant, permits, contract, amending rules and figures are invented to show the method, and a register in practice needs the real texts read by a competent person.

    When a spreadsheet stops being enough

    A spreadsheet or a printed register works for one site, a short list and one person who reads the sources. It stops working when there are several sites or jurisdictions, when texts change and someone has to notice and decide which lines are affected, when owners must be reminded of reviews and evidence, and when you need to show an auditor what the register said on a given date.

    A software record keeps each requirement as a line with its source, jurisdiction, scope, owner, evidence and review date, can link a change in a text to the lines it touches, sends review reminders and keeps a version history. Some products also supply a library of legal texts or a change-alert service; ask which jurisdictions, topics and site permits are covered by your subscription, because a provider's library is not proof that every local rule or permit condition is in it. The list below applies the rule used by the legal register software guide. Nothing in it shows that a product covers your jurisdictions, so test one with your own lines.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Compliance Management”, “Compliance”, “Compliance Tracking”, “Risk & Compliance”, “EHS Management”, “ISO Management” or “Environmental Management”, with a sourced legal register, obligation or regulatory change capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Ordered by how closely our sources document this process, not by quality. Sponsored placements are labelled. How lists are ordered

    All 11 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.