NOM-116-STPS: Mexico's Respirator Standard Explained (2026)

What is NOM-116-STPS, and which respirators are approved in Mexico?

Published August 4, 2026 · Last updated August 4, 2026

Short answer: NOM-116-STPS — in full, NOM-116-STPS-2009 — is Mexico's official standard (Norma Oficial Mexicana) for negative-pressure air-purifying particulate respirators, applying to every such respirator manufactured, marketed, distributed, or imported in Mexican territory. Its classification deliberately mirrors NIOSH 42 CFR 84 — N, R, and P series crossed with 95, 99, and 100 efficiency levels — and in practice the Mexican industrial market runs overwhelmingly on NIOSH-approved models. Workplace selection and employer obligations sit in a separate norm, NOM-017-STPS, Mexico's PPE selection-and-use standard.

This guide is the Mexican leg of our international respirator standards pillar, written for EHS professionals running cross-border US–Mexico operations, buyers supplying Mexican plants, and anyone decoding a Spanish-language respirator label. Of the six systems in the hub, Mexico's is the most tightly coupled to the US one — which makes the details worth knowing precisely, because the coupling is classification-level, not certification-level.

Why this matters.
The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) enforces workplace-safety norms through inspection, and PPE findings are among the most common citations in Mexican manufacturing. For the thousands of US companies operating Mexican plants, respiratory protection is where two regulatory systems meet on one worker's face: the respirator is typically the same NIOSH-approved model used stateside, but the paperwork that makes it compliant — risk analysis under NOM-017, conformity with NOM-116's marking requirements — is Mexican. Programs that copy-paste their US documentation without the Mexican layer fail local inspection with fully compliant hardware.

Part 1 — What NOM-116-STPS-2009 covers

NOM-116-STPS-2009, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación and in force since 2010, replaced the 1994 edition and establishes the specifications and test methods for negative-pressure air-purifying particulate respirators. Its scope is broad by design: manufacture, marketing, distribution, and importation in national territory all fall under it. A 2017 modification (Acuerdo de Modificación, DOF, March 2017) updated the norm's conformity-assessment provisions — the practical route by which products demonstrate compliance.

Like NIOSH's 42 CFR Part 84, NOM-116 is a product standard: it defines what the respirator must do, not when a workplace must issue one. The program half of the system — hazard analysis, selection, training, and supervision — belongs to NOM-017-STPS, covered in Part 3.

Part 2 — The classification: a deliberate NIOSH mirror

NOM-116 classifies particulate respirators exactly the way US buyers already know:

The mapping to US classes is one-to-one: an N95 is an N95 in both systems, and the P100 tier tops both ladders. What the letters and numbers mean in selection terms is decoded in our filter-types guide, and the elastomeric-side cartridge logic in the cartridge label guide — both apply on Mexican shelves, usually with bilingual packaging.

Part 3 — The workplace layer: NOM-017-STPS

NOM-017-STPS is Mexico's PPE selection-and-use norm (the 2008 edition has been the long-operative text; confirm the current edition in the DOF for compliance documentation). It requires employers to run a risk analysis per workstation, select PPE against the identified hazards, provide it at no cost, train workers in its use and limitations, and supervise actual use. For respiratory protection that means the familiar program skeleton: hazard identification, class selection, fit, training, maintenance, and records — the same architecture as OSHA 1910.134 and its written-program requirements, expressed in Mexican regulatory language.

Specific hazards carry their own norms on top — mining, welding, and confined work each have STPS instruments — and the exposure-limit side runs through NOM-010-STPS for chemical agents. Cross-border program owners will recognize the pattern: the when-do-you-need-a-respirator decision is universal; the citations underneath it are national.

Part 4 — Market practice: NIOSH approval as the working currency

Walk a Mexican industrial-supply aisle and the respirators are the ones US buyers know — the 3M 8210 class of disposables, elastomeric half masks like the 3M 6000 series, P100 filters like the 3M 2097 — carrying NIOSH TC approvals alongside bilingual labeling. Because NOM-116's classes mirror NIOSH's, a NIOSH-approved N95 satisfies the class expectations Mexican selection documents express, and major manufacturers certify their Mexican-market products against the norm through the conformity routes the 2017 modification defines.

The buyer's verification habit translates directly: check the TC number and class marking exactly as our 42 CFR 84 guide teaches, and treat unmarked "N95-style" masks as uncertified regardless of language. Counterfeit pressure concentrates in disposables in every market this hub covers.

Safety note: NOM-116 covers only negative-pressure air-purifying particulate respirators — like every system in this hub, it leaves oxygen-deficient atmospheres and IDLH-level exposures to supplied-air and SCBA equipment selected by a qualified professional under the applicable STPS norms.

Part 5 — Running one program across the US and Mexico

The practical playbook for a binational program:

• Standardize hardware on NIOSH-approved models — the same SKUs satisfy both markets' class expectations, simplifying procurement and training.
• Localize the paperwork — US sites document to 1910.134; Mexican sites document risk analysis, selection, and training to NOM-017's requirements, in Spanish.
• Keep fit testing common — Mexican practice imports the same qualitative and quantitative protocols; run the program-wide method from our fit-testing guide and keep records bilingual.
• Train the universal skills — donning and doffing and the user seal check don't change at the border.

Part 6 — Worked example: a sanding line in a Monterrey plant

A furniture manufacturer's sanding line generates wood dust. Applying the Mexican system end to end:

1. Risk analysis per NOM-017. Identify the workstation's dust exposure, duration, and existing controls; document it in the plant's PPE analysis.
2. Select the class. Wood dust at typical concentrations puts the task in the 95-tier: an N95 disposable — the 3M 8210 archetype, with model-level alternatives in our woodworking dust-mask guide — or an elastomeric half mask with P100s for all-day comfort economics, per the half-mask selection guide.
3. Verify markings. NIOSH TC number and N95/P100 class on the device; bilingual packaging consistent with the marking.
4. Fit test and train. Qualitative protocol per wearer, recorded; training on use, limitations, and seal checks in Spanish.
5. Maintain and supervise. Replacement on damage or breathing resistance, storage per the maintenance guide, and supervision that the PPE is actually worn — the NOM-017 obligation inspectors test first.

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Frequently asked questions

What is NOM-116-STPS-2009?

Mexico's official standard for negative-pressure air-purifying particulate respirators — specifications and test methods — applying to manufacture, marketing, distribution, and importation in Mexico. It replaced the 1994 edition and was modified in 2017.

Does Mexico accept NIOSH-approved respirators?

The Mexican market runs overwhelmingly on NIOSH-approved models, and NOM-116's classification mirrors NIOSH's, so the same N95s and P100s serve both systems — with Mexican-market conformity demonstrated through the norm's own assessment routes.

Is an N95 the same class in Mexico as in the US?

Yes — NOM-116 uses the N/R/P series and 95/99/100 levels one-to-one with NIOSH 42 CFR 84, so "N95" reads identically on both sides of the border.

What is NOM-017-STPS?

Mexico's workplace PPE norm: risk analysis per workstation, selection against identified hazards, free provision to workers, training, and supervised use — the program layer that decides when a respirator is required.

Who enforces respirator rules in Mexico?

The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS), through workplace inspection of the norms — PPE documentation and actual use are standard inspection items.

Does Mexico require respirator fit testing?

Mexican practice imports the same fit-testing protocols used under OSHA-style programs, and cross-border employers run a common testing standard across their US and Mexican sites as a matter of course.

What respirator do Mexican silica or mining tasks require?

Class selection follows the exposure analysis, escalating from N95-tier disposables to elastomeric facepieces with P100 filters as exposures climb — with mining and specific-hazard norms adding their own requirements on top.

What does "respirador purificador de aire de presión negativa" mean?

"Negative-pressure air-purifying respirator" — the NOM-116 scope phrase covering filtering facepieces and elastomeric masks that filter ambient air, as opposed to supplied-air equipment.

Are KN95 or FFP2 masks acceptable in Mexican workplaces?

Occupational selection documents are written against the NOM-116/NIOSH class system, so foreign-only certifications occupy the same non-compliant position they hold in the US — covered in our FFP2/P2 acceptance guide.

Was NOM-116-STPS-2009 cancelled?

No — the norm is in force (vigente), with the 2017 Acuerdo de Modificación updating its conformity-assessment provisions. Always confirm current status in the Diario Oficial de la Federación when drafting compliance documents.

Do respirators sold in Mexico need Spanish labeling?

Products sold in Mexico carry Spanish (commonly bilingual) labeling and instructions consistent with the norm's marking requirements — a practical authenticity check when buying.

Can a US respiratory protection program be reused in Mexico?

The hardware and skills transfer; the documentation does not. Mexican sites need NOM-017-style risk analysis, selection records, and training documentation in Spanish, referencing the Mexican norms.

What is the Mexican equivalent of the NIOSH TC number?

The NIOSH TC approval itself is the marking Mexican buyers see on the dominant products, alongside NOM conformity on the packaging — there is no separate Mexican approval-number system to memorize.

Which hub countries pair most easily with Mexico in one program?

The US and Canada — all three markets run on the same NIOSH-classified hardware, so a North American program standardizes SKUs and localizes only the program paperwork.

Where should buyers purchase respirators for Mexican operations?

WC Safety is an independent review and research site — we sell nothing directly. Our product pages link reviewed NIOSH-approved models to Amazon; Mexican plants typically buy through industrial distributors or Amazon's Mexican marketplace, verifying the TC number and class either way.

Further reading on this site

• International respirator standards: the complete guide — the pillar, with the six-system equivalence table.
• NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84 — the certification system Mexico's classes mirror.
• CSA Z94.4: Canada's standard — the other NIOSH-coupled neighbor, for the full North American picture.
• OSHA 1910.134 — the US program architecture NOM-017 parallels.
• Respirator fit testing — the protocols binational programs standardize on.
• Disposable respirators — reviewed N95/P100-tier disposables.
• Half mask respirators — elastomeric options for sustained exposures.