In Jalisco, industrial, commercial and service businesses must hold at least 3 evacuation drills a year, 120 calendar days apart (Jalisco Civil Protection Law, arts. 45 and 46). NOM-002-STPS-2010 also requires at least 1 fire drill a year for ordinary fire risk and 2 for high risk. Three drills a year, one or two of them fire drills with evacuation, cover both obligations.
1What the Jalisco Civil Protection Law requires
The state law sets the frequency. These are the obligations related to drills:
- An Internal Civil Protection Unit in government offices and in industrial, commercial and service businesses (arts. 45 and 46).
- Three evacuation drills a year, 120 calendar days apart (arts. 45 and 46).
- Annual staff training and registration of the Internal Unit (art. 7).
- Emergency signage in every building except single-family homes (art. 6).
- A Specific Civil Protection Program with a favorable ruling before operating, for medium- or high-risk buildings or those with large crowds (art. 5).
2What NOM-002-STPS-2010 requires
The fire prevention and protection standard applies to every workplace in Mexico:
| Topic | Requirement | Section |
|---|---|---|
| How many | At least 1 fire drill a year for ordinary risk; at least 2 for high risk | 5.7 |
| Where | By area or across the whole workplace | 10.1 |
| Written plan | People in charge, date and time, scope, most critical scenario, sequence of actions and, where applicable, support from local emergency services | 10.2 |
| Record of results | Workplace and address, areas, participants, resources, deviations, recommendations and duration | 10.3 |
| Retention | Evidence kept for at least 3 years | 13.6 |
Ordinary or high risk? It is determined with Table A.1 of the standard. For example, a building with 3,000 m² or more of built area is already classified as high risk.
3How to meet both with one schedule
This sample schedule keeps the 120 days required by state law and covers NOM-002:
- February 10Drill 1 · Fire with evacuationCovers the state law and NOM-002.
- June 10Drill 2 · Earthquake with evacuationIf your fire risk is high, make this one a fire drill too.
- October 8Drill 3 · Another scenario from your risk analysisLeak, spill or threat, depending on your building.
A well-planned and well-recorded fire drill with evacuation serves as evidence for both obligations. Vary the scenarios and rotate shifts so all staff take part.
4What you need on file
- Annual drill schedule within your Internal Civil Protection Program.
- Written plan for each drill (NOM-002, sec. 10.2).
- Record of results with participants, times and deviations (sec. 10.3).
- Attendance list and photographic evidence.
- Improvement actions and updates to the emergency response plan.
- Minutes forming the Internal Unit and current certificates for brigade members.
5What your municipality requires
The frequency of 3 drills a year comes from the state law. Some municipal regulations also require specific documents:
| Municipality | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Guadalajara | For high-risk buildings, the Internal Program includes a drill and training schedule, logbooks and training certificates valid for 1 year (Comprehensive Risk Management Regulation, art. 76). |
| Zapopan | The Internal Program is made up of an operating plan, a continuity plan and a contingency plan; training certificates are valid for 1 year. |
| Tlaquepaque and Tlajomulco | Their regulations do not set their own drill frequency; the state law applies. |
6What happens if drills are not held
The Jalisco Civil Protection Law provides for safety measures and penalties (arts. 80 Bis to 82), including closure and a fine of up to 24,000 times the UMA: MXN $2,815,440 with the 2026 UMA of $117.31 per day. Repeat offenses can double it. The STPS, for its part, reviews drill planning and records during its inspections (NOM-002, sec. 13.2).
More detail in the guide Civil Protection fines in Jalisco.
- Jalisco Civil Protection Law (Ley de Protección Civil del Estado de Jalisco), arts. 5, 6, 7, 45, 46 and 80 Bis to 82.
- NOM-002-STPS-2010, Safety conditions. Fire prevention and protection in workplaces (DOF Dec-09-2010).
- Municipal civil protection regulations of Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and Tlajomulco.
Information current as of October 15, 2026. For filings with the authorities, always confirm the current official text.