Worker wearing protective equipment at an SME
Guide for employers

ART: who must carry it,
how it is priced and paid

ART (Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo) is the insurance that covers your employees against workplace accidents and occupational illness. It is mandatory for every employer, whether an SME, a self-employed monotributista with staff, or a household that employs a domestic worker. Here is every answer with its legal source, and a quote from an insurance broker working since 1922.

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  • Mandatory from 1 employee up
  • Monotributista with staff: also applies
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In summary: ART in 6 facts

Who must carry it
Every employer with at least one employee (Law 24,557, art. 3).
Monotributista with no staff
Not covered by the system for themselves. The market alternative is a personal accident policy.
How the premium is set
A variable rate on total payroll plus a fixed amount per worker (Law 26,773, art. 10). There is no public rate table.
How it is paid
Together with the rest of payroll contributions, in the monthly Form 931 filed with ARCA (formerly AFIP).
If there is debt with the ART
It must still pay benefits; it then collects the debt from the employer (Law 24,557, art. 28).
Deadline to accept or reject a claim
10 days from the report; if the ART does not answer, the claim is deemed accepted (Decree 717/96).

What is ART and who must carry it?

ART (Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo) is the insurance that covers employees against workplace accidents and occupational illness. Every employer with even a single employee must carry it, whether an SME, a monotributista with staff, or a household employing a domestic worker: Law 24,557 (art. 3) requires joining an ART unless the employer qualifies and is authorized to self-insure.

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Can a self-employed monotributista with no staff get ART?

No: the Law 24,557 system covers employees, and a monotributista who works alone is not covered as a worker under that system, even if they wanted to pay for it. The market alternative to cover yourself against an accident is a personal accident policy: a different product, not an ART.

This applies to a monotributista working alone. If you have staff, the obligation is different: see the next question.

Does a monotributista with employees have to pay for ART?

Yes. As soon as a monotributista takes on even one employee, they are bound by the same obligation as any company: they must enroll that worker with an ART (Law 24,557, art. 3). The employer's tax category does not change this obligation; what triggers it is the employment relationship.

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How is the ART paid for a domestic worker?

The employer chooses an ART and declares and pays that contribution every month on the same "Servicio Doméstico" ARCA (formerly AFIP) portal used for the worker's other contributions, with one difference: the ART premium is paid for the current month, while the rest is paid in arrears.

How is the cost of ART calculated for an SME?

The premium has two parts: a variable rate, a percentage of total payroll, and a fixed amount per worker that funds the Fondo Fiduciario de Enfermedades Profesionales (Law 26,773, art. 10). Each ART sets its percentage within the indicators that the national insurance regulator (SSN) and the SRT jointly establish: your industry's risk level, your actual and presumed claims history, and whether you comply with health and safety rules.

We don't publish a reference percentage: the SRT does not publish a general rate table by industry, it only lets you check, with Clave Fiscal, the rate you already contracted. Get a quote with your industry and payroll for the real number.

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How and where is the ART premium paid?

It is declared and paid together with the rest of social security contributions, in the monthly sworn Form 931 filed with ARCA (formerly AFIP) (Law 24,557, art. 23). The system computes the ART amount within that same filing.

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What does ART cover?

It covers workplace accidents — including the commute between home and work, known as an in itinere accident — and the occupational illnesses listed by the Executive Branch. It provides in-kind benefits and cash benefits that compensate disability (Law 24,557, arts. 6 and 20).

In-kind benefits

An in itinere accident is covered as long as the worker did not interrupt or alter the commute between home and work for reasons unrelated to work.

What does ART NOT cover?

It excludes accidents or illness caused by the worker's willful misconduct or by force majeure unrelated to work, pre-existing disabilities already recorded in the pre-employment medical exam, and illnesses not on the official occupational illness list, unless the Comisión Médica Central recognizes that a specific case was directly caused by work (Law 24,557, art. 6).

What happens if the company has debt with the ART?

The ART must still give the worker every benefit if they suffer an accident: the debt does not leave them uncovered. What the ART does is later collect that debt from the employer through a collection action (Law 24,557, art. 28(4)).

Keeping payments current avoids that claim (with interest) and avoids a record of arrears that makes renewing the policy on good terms harder.

What happens if the employer has no ART?

An employer who never enrolled answers directly, with their own assets, for every benefit an ART would have owed (Law 24,557, art. 28(1)), and must deposit the omitted premiums into the Fondo de Garantía (art. 28(3)). Only if a court declares that employer unable to pay does the SRT fund the benefits through the Fondo de Garantía of the workers' compensation law (arts. 29 and 33).

The law offers no shortcut: until your insolvency is judicially declared, you answer for it yourself, with no insurer behind you.

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What deadline does the ART have to accept or reject a claim?

The employer must report the accident or illness to the ART within 48 hours of learning about it (SRT Resolution 525/2015). Once it receives the report, the ART has 10 days to reject it in writing; if it does not, its silence counts as acceptance. That deadline can be extended by 10 more days if objective reasons keep it from fully understanding the case (Decree 717/96, art. 6).

If there is a rejection or a medical disagreement, the mandatory first step before going to court is a jurisdictional medical board (Law 27,348).

Can you switch ART providers?

Yes. The process starts with a Certificado de No Objeción (CNO, no-objection certificate) that you request from your current ART: you can request it for the first time 6 months after enrolling, and after that with a minimum yearly frequency. Your current ART can only deny the certificate if you have registered debt with it.

What basic duties does an employer have toward the ART?

Besides paying the premium, you must display a visible poster at each workplace with your ART's details — it must give it to you at no cost, and since 2026 there is also a digital format the SRT enabled — and file, within 30 days of enrolling, a Relevamiento General de Riesgos Laborales (general workplace risk survey) for each establishment.

If you do not file the survey, the ART can add up to an extra 50% to your rate.

Which ART providers does Ayling Seguros work with?

We quote your ART with Federación Patronal, Provincia ART, Reconquista ART, La Holando, Mercantil Andina, Experta ART, Victoria ART and Swiss Medical ART, among others.

Federación Patronal ART
Provincia ART
Reconquista ART
La Holando ART
Mercantil Andina ART
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More frequently asked questions

What is the SRT?

It's the Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo, the government body that regulates and supervises ARTs and employers on occupational risk matters.

Is ARCA the same as AFIP?

Yes: ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero) is the current name of the agency previously called AFIP, and it is where you now declare and pay the ART premium.

What is an in itinere accident?

It's one that happens on the commute between the worker's home and their workplace. The ART covers it the same as an accident at work, as long as the worker did not interrupt or alter that commute for reasons unrelated to work.

What is a jurisdictional medical board?

It's the administrative step you must go through first, mandatorily, to dispute whether an accident or illness is work-related or to dispute the disability rating, before you can sue in court (Law 27,348).

Did the Bases Law (27,742) change anything about ART?

It did not change the general rules of Law 24,557: mandatory coverage, benefits, deadlines and art. 28 remain the same. It did create a separate category, the monotributista with up to 3 "colaboradores" with no employment relationship, for whom the unified monthly contribution includes a personal accident coverage scheme instead of ART enrollment (Decree 847/2024). It also allowed, only during 2024 and for a limited time, condoning up to 100% of ART debt for employers who formalized previously unregistered workers; that program has since closed.

ART guides

Deeper reading, with cases and examples.

Does a self-employed monotributista need ART? What the law says in 2026

If you are a self-employed monotributista working alone in Argentina, Law 24,557 does not cover you as a worker under the ART system. Here is why, what the real alternative is, and what changes once you hire your first employee.

Read the article

How much ART costs for an SME and how the premium is calculated

The ART premium combines a variable rate on payroll and a fixed amount per worker. Here is what moves that percentage, why there is no public price table, and what happens if you fall behind on payments.

Read the article

ART Lawsuits in Consortiums: What Every Employer Needs to Know in 2026

Argentina closed 2025 with 134,000 ART lawsuits, a historic record. If your consortium employs staff, these numbers directly affect you. What to do to protect yourself.

Read the article

Legal sources

General information, verified against official sources on September 25, 2026. It does not replace your policy or legal or accounting advice for your specific case.

  1. Law 24,557 on Occupational Risks (updated text, Infoleg)

    Mandatory coverage and self-insurance: arts. 2 and 3. Coverage and exclusions: art. 6. In-kind benefits: art. 20. Premium payment: art. 23. Liability for omissions: art. 28. Fondo de Garantía: arts. 29 and 33.

  2. Law 26,773: premium structure (variable rate plus fixed amount)

    Art. 10: indicators the SSN and SRT jointly set for each ART's rate schedule.

  3. Decree 717/96 (as worded by Decree 1475/2015): ART's deadline to accept or reject a claim

    10 business days from the report, silence counts as acceptance, extendable by 10 more days.

  4. Law 27,348: jurisdictional medical boards as a mandatory prior step

    Art. 1. Constitutionality upheld by the Supreme Court in "Pogonza" (Fallos 344:2307, 9/2/2021).

  5. SRT Resolution 525/2015: 48-hour deadline to report a claim
  6. SRT Resolution 70/1997 and SRT Disposition (Gerencia de Prevención) 1/2026: mandatory poster, digital option since 2026
  7. SRT Resolution 463/2009: Relevamiento General de Riesgos Laborales
  8. SRT: current requirements and deadlines to switch ART (Certificado de No Objeción)
  9. SRT: employer rate lookup tool (confirms there is no public rate table)
  10. AFIP/ARCA: contributions and ART for domestic workers (Servicio Doméstico portal)
  11. AFIP, Guide No. 51: how ART is computed in Form 931
  12. Decree 847/2024: monotributista's "colaboradores" and the extraordinary 2024 ART debt condonation (Law 27,742)

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