Workplace safety data
OSHA’s Most Frequently Cited Standards in FY 2025
OSHA’s annual Top 10 list shows where inspectors most often found safety and health failures during federal workplace inspections. The standards cover familiar hazards, but their continued appearance is a useful reminder that compliance requires more than a written policy or a one-time course: it requires practical controls, worker involvement, supervision, and regular review.
Final FY 2025 data
The 10 Standards OSHA Cited Most Often
Fall Protection – General Requirements remained the most frequently cited standard for the fifteenth consecutive fiscal year. The same core hazards continue to affect construction, warehousing, manufacturing, maintenance, and general-industry workplaces.
| Rank | Standard | Reference | Final citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fall Protection – General Requirements | 1926.501 | 6,992 |
| 2 | Hazard Communication | 1910.1200 | 3,010 |
| 3 | Ladders | 1926.1053 | 2,842 |
| 4 | Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) | 1910.147 | 2,562 |
| 5 | Respiratory Protection | 1910.134 | 2,294 |
| 6 | Scaffolding | 1926.451 | 2,286 |
| 7 | Fall Protection – Training Requirements | 1926.503 | 2,216 |
| 8 | Powered Industrial Trucks | 1910.178 | 2,150 |
| 9 | Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection | 1926.102 | 1,965 |
| 10 | Machine Guarding | 1910.212 | 1,498 |
Sources: OSHA’s FY 2025 Top 10 cited standards and final FY 2025 citation data.
What the list tells employers
Use the Top 10 as a Starting Point for Your Own Safety Review
Citation data cannot identify every risk at an individual workplace, but it can help safety leaders prioritize areas that deserve active review. A strong compliance program connects written procedures to the actual equipment, work practices, workers, and conditions found on site.
Construction Access and Falls
Review exposed edges, roof work, ladders, scaffolds, access routes, anchor points, rescue planning, and whether workers understand the fall-protection systems available to them.
Programs and Records
Confirm that Hazard Communication, lockout/tagout, respiratory protection, and equipment programs are current, accessible, and matched to the hazards employees actually encounter.
Equipment and Daily Controls
Check machine guards, forklift inspections, operator evaluations, PPE availability, housekeeping, maintenance records, and the process employees use to report unsafe conditions.
Practical next step
A Short Compliance Review Checklist
Use this list during a supervisor walk-through, safety committee meeting, pre-task planning session, or annual program review. It is not a substitute for a site-specific hazard assessment or professional compliance advice.
- Are fall hazards identified before work begins, with appropriate protection and rescue planning?
- Are Safety Data Sheets, labels, chemical inventories, and worker training current?
- Do lockout/tagout procedures match the machinery and energy sources actually in use?
- Are respirator users medically cleared, fit tested, and included in a written program where required?
- Are forklift operators practically trained, workplace evaluated, and periodically reassessed?
- Are inspections, corrective actions, and refresher training documented and followed through?
Training is one part of prevention
Awareness Training Must Be Matched With Site-Specific Controls
OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour training can help workers recognize common hazards and understand their rights and responsibilities. However, a course alone does not make a workplace compliant. Employers remain responsible for hazard assessments, equipment-specific instruction, competent-person duties, supervision, emergency planning, and the controls required by the standards that apply to the work.
Build a Stronger Safety Foundation for Your Workforce
Stay Certified provides curriculum-aligned online OSHA safety training for construction and general-industry teams. Use broader training alongside the task-specific instruction, practical evaluation, and jobsite controls your workforce needs.
