{"id":18774,"date":"2026-10-03T15:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T20:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nexo.legal\/fixed-term-contract-colombia-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T15:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T20:37:54","slug":"fixed-term-contract-colombia-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nexo.legal\/es\/fixed-term-contract-colombia-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Contrato a T\u00e9rmino Fijo en Colombia: El L\u00edmite de 4 A\u00f1os que Cambia Todo (Ley 2466 de 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reviewed by Santiago Arroyave, Legal and Commercial Counsel at Nexo Legal.<\/em><\/p>\n

Quick answer:<\/strong> since Law 2466 of 2025, no fixed-term contract in Colombia \u2014 the initial contract plus all of its renewals \u2014 can last more than 4 years<\/strong>. Once it reaches that cap, it automatically becomes an indefinite-term contract by operation of law. If your company already had fixed-term contracts in force before the reform, the 4-year count for those contracts does not start from the original signing date: it starts on June 25, 2025<\/strong>, the date the law took effect. Those contracts can remain fixed-term, at the latest, until June 25, 2029<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

Table of Contents<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. What Changed: The New Article 46 of the Labor Code<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The 4-Year Cap for a Fixed-Term Contract in Colombia, Explained<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. The Date Nobody Is Giving You: June 25, 2029<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Renewals and Notice: What Changed in Practice<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Example: A Foreign Company with a Team in Colombia<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. What Your Company Should Review Now<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    What Changed: The New Article 46 of the Labor Code<\/h2>\n

    Law 2466 of 2025 amended Article 46 of Colombia’s Labor Code (C\u00f3digo Sustantivo del Trabajo), the rule that governs the fixed-term contract in Colombia. Before the reform, the law set no maximum total duration: a fixed-term contract could keep being renewed as long as the parties agreed in writing. The reform closes that door. Ministry of Labor Concept 6157 of February 18, 2026<\/strong>, which officially interprets the new Article 46, confirms the purpose of the rule: to limit the extended, open-ended use of fixed-term contracts and reinforce the indefinite-term contract as the general rule in Colombia, not the exception.<\/p>\n

    For a foreign company with employees in Colombia, this matters more than usual: employment contract templates from headquarters \u2014 or even the ones you were already using in Colombia a year ago \u2014 may be out of date under this rule if you haven’t reviewed them since mid-2025.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \"fixed-term<\/p>\n

    A fixed-term contract in Colombia can no longer be renewed past the 4-year cap.<\/em><\/p>\n

    The 4-Year Cap for a Fixed-Term Contract in Colombia, Explained<\/h2>\n

    The rule: a fixed-term contract, adding the initial term plus all of its renewals (agreed or automatic), cannot exceed 4 years<\/strong>. When it reaches that limit, the contract is deemed to be an indefinite-term contract from that point on, by direct operation of law \u2014 without the employer having to acknowledge it, without a new written agreement, and without settling the fixed-term contract first.<\/p>\n

    It doesn’t depend on how many renewals there were. An initial 1-year contract with three 1-year renewals reaches the cap at the same point \u2014 4 years \u2014 as an initial 4-year contract with no renewals at all.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \"employer<\/p>\n

    Missing the 30-day notice renews the contract automatically.<\/em><\/p>\n

    The Date Nobody Is Giving You: June 25, 2029<\/h2>\n

    This is what most generic guides to the labor reform don’t explain precisely: from when are the 4 years counted for a contract that was already in force when the law took effect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    According to Ministry of Labor Concept 6157 of 2026: for fixed-term contracts that were already running when Law 2466 of 2025 took effect, the 4-year count is not calculated from the original signing date \u2014 it is calculated from June 25, 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    In practice: if your company had an employee on a fixed-term contract signed in 2022, that contract did not hit its legal limit in 2026 because of accumulated seniority. The 4-year clock started over on June 25, 2025 for every fixed-term contract running on that day. That means that, unless it ends earlier, it can keep its fixed-term nature until June 25, 2029<\/strong> \u2014 not before. After that date, if the employment relationship continues, it is deemed indefinite by law, with no additional procedure.<\/p>\n

    This date decides whether your company has to act now or has three more years to plan the transition of a role to an indefinite-term contract. None of the generic summaries of the 2026 labor reform circulating on accounting or payroll-software blogs gives this date this clearly.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Renewals and Notice: What Changed in Practice<\/h2>\n

    When the initial contract is for a term of less than 1 year<\/strong>, the parties can renew it as many times as they agree, but after the fourth renewal<\/strong>, any further renewal cannot be agreed for a period shorter than 1 year \u2014 which ends the practice of chaining very short contracts indefinitely. All renewals, agreed or automatic, still count within the same 4-year total cap.<\/p>\n

    A key operational detail: if neither party gives written notice at least 30 days before<\/strong> the term (or its renewal) expires, the law treats the contract as automatically renewed for a term equal to the one agreed or to its last renewal \u2014 without exceeding the 4-year cap. For an HR team managing contracts from outside Colombia, this turns silence into a decision with automatic legal effect: failing to send the notice on time doesn’t leave the contract “on hold,” it renews it and moves it one step closer to the conversion limit.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \"foreign<\/p>\n

    Contracts already in force before the reform can stay fixed-term until June 25, 2029.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Example: A Foreign Company with a Team in Colombia<\/h2>\n

    A foreign company with a presence in Colombia hired a local operations manager on a 1-year fixed-term contract signed in March 2024.<\/p>\n