ISG-KATİP Contract Approval Step by Step

Why is ISG-KATİP approval critical?

ISG-KATİP is the electronic system in which the Ministry of Labour and Social Security records occupational health and safety services, and it is used with e-Devlet (the government's online services portal) at isgkatip.csgb.gov.tr. Appointments of the workplace physician, OHS specialist and other health personnel, and OSGB (joint health and safety unit) service contracts, run through this system.

The rule is clear: the contract is prepared in line with the sample on ISG-KATİP and both parties approve it in the system within 5 days at the latest. No one may start work under an unapproved appointment. In other words, even if you have a wet-signed contract, without approval in the system no specialist or physician appears as appointed at your workplace in the Ministry's records.

The cost of this is heavy. The 2026 base fine for not appointing a specialist or physician is 111,263 TL for each person not appointed and is reapplied every month the breach continues. In newly established businesses in Bursa, or in firms changing OSGB, the most common problem is this gap between "we signed the contract" and "it was approved in the system".

Preparation before approval

Spotting an error on the approval screen is much easier than trying to correct it after approval. Before you start, clarify the following:

• SGK workplace registration number: If you have more than one workplace, check which registration the contract was made for.
• Hazard class and NACE code: The class shown in the system must match your main activity. If you are not sure, read our hazard class guide.
• Number of employees: The time calculation is based on it; apprentices and interns with student status are not included in the time calculation.
• Monthly hours: Verify with the OHS obligation calculator that the minutes in the quote meet the minimum time.
• The person who will approve: The employer or employer's representative must be able to log in to the system with e-Devlet and be defined as authorised for that workplace.
• The persons to be appointed: The specialist's certificate class must match your hazard class: A in very hazardous, at least B in hazardous and at least C in less hazardous workplaces.

Gathering this information on a single page and sharing it with the OSGB before the contract largely prevents incorrect information being entered into the system. When you reach the approval screen, keep the same page beside you and compare each field on screen with it. For businesses with more than one branch, preparing a separate page for each registration prevents records from being mixed up.

Step by step: approving an OSGB contract

As screen and menu names in the system may change over time, we describe the process in general terms. The logic is always the same: one party creates the record, and the other checks and approves it.

1. Agree on a written contract. Put the start date, contract term, monthly minutes for each appointee and the scope of service in writing. The contract must comply with the sample on ISG-KATİP.
2. The OSGB enters the record into the system. The OSGB enters the contract and the specialist and physician it will appoint, and also DSP in very hazardous workplaces with 10 or more employees, into ISG-KATİP under your workplace's registration.
3. The employer side checks the record. The employer or employer's representative logs in to ISG-KATİP with e-Devlet and opens the record pending approval. The registration number, hazard class, number of employees, monthly hours and names of appointees are checked one by one.
4. Approve if correct; do not approve if wrong. Do not approve an incorrect record on the basis of "we'll fix it later"; ask the OSGB to correct the record and resend it.
5. Track the deadline. Approval must be completed within 5 days at the latest. Note the day the record was created in your calendar.
6. Service starts when approval is complete. On the first visit, getting to know the workplace, reviewing existing documents and writing the first findings in the approved logbook are expected.

What happens after approval?

Approval is not the end of the process but the beginning. After the appointment is completed in the system, expect the following steps in the first weeks:

Getting to know the workplace. The specialist and physician get to know the workplace by seeing all departments and shifts. The existing risk assessment, emergency plan, training records and health files are reviewed.

Written findings. Under Art. 8/2 of Law No. 6331, the specialist and physician notify the employer in writing of the deficiencies and shortcomings they find and their measures and recommendations. In practice, these notifications are written in the approved logbook. The employer is responsible for remedying the reported deficiencies; so put each finding on a tracking list with an owner and a date.

Setting up the calendar. Renewal dates for training, periodic examinations, periodic inspections of work equipment, drills and the risk assessment are gathered in a single calendar. You can also draw up these dates with the OHS calendar tool.

Keeping records in order. Visit dates, training given and measures taken are kept in writing. In an inspection, these records show that the appointment in the system is actually being carried out on site.

If you appoint your own staff

If you employ the specialist or physician in-house, full-time or part-time, the appointment is still made through ISG-KATİP, and the appointment must be approved by the parties in the system. The same 5-day period and the rule "no one may start work without approval" also apply to this model.

There are three points to watch in this model: whether the appointed specialist's certificate class matches the hazard class, whether the monthly hours are sufficient for the number of employees, and whether the appointment is ended on time and a replacement appointed when the person leaves. In the OSGB model, the organisation you use does part of this tracking; with your own staff, it is entirely up to you.

If the employer takes on the service: the declaration

In less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, the employer or employer's representative may provide OHS services themselves if they complete the training announced by the Ministry (Law No. 6331, Art. 6/1-a). In this case, a declaration is drawn up on ISG-KATİP.

What you need to know before choosing this route:

• The training is delivered by institutions with a protocol with the Ministry; a training completion certificate is issued to those who complete it. The amendment of 5 March 2025 removed the requirement to pass an exam.
• Pre-employment and periodic examinations and tests are outside this scope. These workplaces may obtain medical reports from the workplace physician or from a ÇASMER, a family doctor or other public health service providers.
• If you have more than one workplace, the workplaces must be within the same province and in the less hazardous class, and the total number of employees must be fewer than 50. An employer's representative may take on the service only for the single workplace where they work full-time.

Source: the regulation amendment in the Official Gazette of 05.03.2025. For details and the effect of the Constitutional Court decision, see our guide for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Termination, changes and legal deadlines

Notifying termination in the system does not replace the termination conditions in your contract. First comply with the notice period and termination provisions in the contract, then make sure the termination is entered in the system on time.

Whichever party the termination comes from, the result is the same: the appointment ends from the termination date, and your workplace remains without appointees until a new appointment is made. So do not decide on termination without clarifying when the new service will start. If the OSGB will end the contract itself, have it written into the contract that it must notify you in writing a reasonable time in advance; this way you can prepare the new contract and have it approved in time.

A change of hazard class also creates a kind of "change of appointment". If your class rises, the specialist's certificate class, the monthly hours and, if required, the DSP appointment must be updated for the new class within 90 days; these updates are also subject to approval again in the system.

Common problems and solutions

• The record pending approval does not appear. Most often the person logging in is not defined as authorised for that workplace, or the record was made under a different registration. Check the authority definition and the registration number.
• The hazard class looks wrong. Stop before approving. If the code does not reflect your main activity, the record must be corrected first; an appointment made with the wrong class may mean insufficient hours or an unsuitable specialist class.
• The specialist class does not match. A class B specialist cannot be appointed to a very hazardous workplace. Ask the OSGB for a specialist of the appropriate class.
• The hours are insufficient. If the number of employees has increased but the minutes in the contract have stayed the same, the appointment is insufficient. Update the time; for the calculation, see our article on working hours.
• The 5-day period was missed. The service does not start with a record that was not approved on time. Check the status of the record with your OSGB; in most cases the contract needs to be redefined and approved within the period.
• The old OSGB's termination was not processed. Confusion arises in the new appointment. Make sure the termination was notified within 5 working days.
• The appointee changed and nobody noticed. Remember that the new appointment must also be approved; check records pending approval at regular intervals.

As a Ministry-authorised OSGB, Bursa Sistemer provides OHS specialist and workplace physician services in Bursa and neighbouring provinces. Asking to see the class, hours and appointee details in writing before the contract makes the check on the approval screen easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my accountant give the approval?

Approval is given by the employer or employer's representative defined in the system as authorised for that workplace, using their own e-Devlet login. Do not share your e-Devlet password with the OSGB or anyone else; if another person needs to give approval, make sure the authority is defined properly.

What happens if the approval period expires?

The service does not start with a contract or appointment that was not approved on time. In such a case, check the status of the record with your OSGB; in practice the contract generally needs to be redefined and approved within 5 days. In the meantime, your workplace may appear in the system without appointees.

I have approved the contract; when does the specialist start?

When approval is complete, the appointment becomes valid and the specialist can start work from the start date in the contract. On the first visit, getting to know the workplace, reviewing existing documents and writing the first findings in the approved logbook are expected.

Our number of employees has increased; do we need to renew the contract?

As the minimum time is calculated according to the number of employees, the required minutes also increase when the number rises. Update the appointment hours in the contract and in the system for the new number. In very hazardous workplaces, the thresholds of 10, 50 and 250 employees also change the DSP requirement and hours.

Our specialist has left; how soon must a new one come?

Departing staff are replaced within 30 days. If you use an OSGB, make sure the new appointment is made within this period and approved in the system.