A contractor who employed 50 or more contract labour on any day of the preceding 12 months needs a contract labour licence, now issued under the OSH Code, 2020 rather than the repealed CLRA, and the principal employer must register its establishment. Under the old CLRA rules the application needed a Form V from the principal employer; the application under the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 (Form XXI) does not ask for one.
The CLRA has been replaced by Chapter XI of the OSH Code, 2020, in force since 21 November 2025. A manpower supply contractor needs a licence if it employed 50 or more contract labour on any day of the preceding 12 months (sections 45 and 47); the old CLRA figure was 20, so also check your state's notified rules.
Under the old CLRA rules the principal employer issued a Form V certificate for your licence application. The application under the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 (Form XXI) instead lists the establishments and worksites where you will deploy contract labour, so keep each principal employer's details and work order ready, and check whether your state's rules still ask for a certificate.
Apply electronically (OSH Code section 48) with the prescribed fee and security deposit: under the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 the application is Form XXI on the Shram Suvidha portal, replacing the old CLRA Form IV, and states use their own labour portals and forms.
Once licensed, maintain the register of workmen, wage register, muster roll and issue wage slips, and display the required abstracts at the workplace.
The licence is issued for a period and must be renewed before it expires. Deploying without a valid licence, or beyond the sanctioned strength, is an offence.
The contractor obtains the licence where the threshold is met (under the old CLRA rules, one for each principal employer); the principal employer registers its establishment. Both have duties under the OSH Code, 2020, which replaced the Act.
A register of workmen, a wage register and a muster roll, and the contractor must issue wage slips and display the prescribed notices.
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