{"id":3005,"date":"2026-09-05T08:43:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hepacom.org\/estrato-del-sisben\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T08:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:43:39","slug":"estrato-del-sisben","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hepacom.org\/en\/estrato-del-sisben\/","title":{"rendered":"Sisb\u00e9n stratum: why this data doesn't exist and what they actually assign you"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman from Itag\u00fc\u00ed wrote to us convinced that her Sisb\u00e9n (social welfare system) status had been lowered because her electricity bill was still arriving as if she were in stratum 3. It hadn't been lowered at all. Sisb\u00e9n stratum<\/strong> This information doesn't exist: the Sisb\u00e9n system doesn't assign socioeconomic strata, and the mayor's office doesn't assign groups. They are two distinct classifications, created by different entities, about different things, and confusing them is the number one reason why a family believes they lost assistance that, in reality, never depended on that number.<\/p>\n

Does the Sisb\u00e9n stratum exist, or are they two different things?<\/h2>\n

They are two different things and neither comes from the other.<\/strong> The mayor assigns the socioeconomic stratum and classifies your home with a number from 1 to 6. The National Planning Department determines the Sisb\u00e9n group and classifies your home with a letter: A, B, C, or D. You can live in a property in stratum 2 and be in group C, or vice versa, without any error.<\/p>\n

The confusion has a concrete explanation, and it's the part that almost no one talks about. The Sisb\u00e9n survey does ask about your house and your public services: that is, literally, the first of its five dimensions. Because the surveyor enters the home and notes the type of floor, the roof, and what services are available, the family gets the idea that this is how their socioeconomic stratum is determined. It isn't. That information is just one more piece of data used to estimate something completely different.<\/p>\n

Who assigns the stratum and on what basis does it assign it?<\/h2>\n

The mayor assigns it, and it's not optional. Law 142 of 1994 states it explicitly: it is the mayor's "non-delegable duty to carry out the respective stratification." The mayor adopts the results by decree and notifies the Superintendency of Residential Public Services.<\/p>\n

What's being classified isn't the family. DANE, the agency that designs and provides the methodologies to municipalities, defines it this way: stratification is "a classification into strata of residential properties that must receive public services," and the unit of stratification is "the residential property (house or apartment)." The neighborhood, the facade material, the sidewalk, the surroundings are all considered. The income of the person living inside is not taken into account.<\/p>\n

That's why the socioeconomic stratum remains attached to the house when the family moves, and why two households with very different incomes can share the same number if they live in the same building. There are a maximum of six strata: 1 (low-low), 2 (low), 3 (lower-middle), 4 (middle), 5 (upper-middle), and 6 (high). There is also a ceiling that's important to know: no urban residential area that doesn't have at least two basic public services can be classified above stratum 4.<\/p>\n

Who assigns the Sisb\u00e9n group A, B, C or D?<\/h2>\n

The National Planning Department (DNP) determines your socioeconomic group using information from the survey conducted by your municipality. The DNP explains that the Sisb\u00e9n system "classifies households and individuals into groups (A, B, C, and D) based on an estimated ability to generate income," according to their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The letter increases as the household's living conditions improve: A represents the greatest vulnerability, and D the least.<\/p>\n

The survey covers five dimensions: housing and public services, health and fertility, education, occupation and income, and demographic background. Your home is one of these five, not the only one, and the result is not a socioeconomic stratum but an estimate of your household's income capacity. If you'd like a detailed explanation of what each letter means, we've broken it down in Sisb\u00e9n score<\/a>, and which group requests each program is in Sisb\u00e9n groups for subsidies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why can your house be in stratum 2 and your home in group C?<\/h2>\n

Because they measure things that don't necessarily coincide. The socioeconomic stratum describes the physical environment of a property; the group describes people's economic capacity. A household with two adults in formal employment can rent a house in stratum 2 and still be classified in group C. A family without a stable income can inherit an apartment in stratum 4 and still be classified in group A.<\/p>\n

Neither case is an inconsistency that needs fixing. It's the design working. The costly error occurs when someone tries to force the group by providing false data in the survey to make it fit the stratum, something we explain separately in How to move up a group in the Sisb\u00e9n system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is the purpose of each person when you ask for help?<\/h2>\n

The socioeconomic stratum determines the cost of your utility bill. Subsidies on that bill go to strata 1, 2, and 3, while higher strata contribute a fee that, by law, cannot exceed 20% of the service cost. That's what you see reflected in... the public utility subsidy<\/a> and in the gas subsidy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sisb\u00e9n group dictates the targeting of social programs: transfers, quotas, tuition. And here's a warning published by the DNP itself, which prevents many misguided complaints: having a Sisb\u00e9n survey "does not, in itself, grant access to social programs." Being classified is the entry requirement, not the outcome. Each program defines its own selection criteria, and that's why we're writing. Why was my grant application rejected?<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How does each one correct itself if it went wrong?<\/h2>\n

They are two separate procedures, at two different windows, and sending them to the wrong place is what causes months to be lost.<\/p>\n

If the problem lies with the assigned socioeconomic stratum, Law 142 allows "any person or group of persons" to request a review of their assigned stratum, and the first point of contact is the mayor's office. Each municipality also has a Permanent Stratification Committee, created by Law 732 of 2002, which oversees these claims. This is not a procedure to be carried out with the energy company or the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).<\/p>\n

If the group does not reflect your reality, you need to update the survey at the Sisb\u00e9n office in your municipality, following the step-by-step instructions we provided in How to update the Sisb\u00e9n survey<\/a>. If you're not yet registered, start by How to register in Sisb\u00e9n<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
What is being compared<\/th>\nSocioeconomic stratum<\/th>\nSisb\u00e9n group<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
What classifies<\/td>\nThe residential property (house or apartment)<\/td>\nThe home and the people who make it up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Who defines it<\/td>\nThe mayor, using DANE methodology<\/td>\nThe National Planning Department<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How it is expressed<\/td>\nNumbers from 1 to 6<\/td>\nLetters A, B, C and D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where does the data come from?<\/td>\nStudy of the environment and land base of the municipality<\/td>\nHousehold survey, with five dimensions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What is it used for?<\/td>\nPublic utility subsidies and contributions<\/td>\nTargeting of social programs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where to file a complaint<\/td>\nMayor's office, review of the socioeconomic stratum<\/td>\nSisb\u00e9n office of the municipality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Prepared by Hepacom using Law 142 of 1994 (articles 89, 101, 102 and 104), the DANE socioeconomic stratification form and the Sisb\u00e9n page of the National Planning Department. Accessed on September 5, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

Common mistakes that cost families money<\/h3>\n