OSHA Citations: How to Find and Read Them
An OSHA citation is the written notice OSHA sends an employer after an inspection finds a violation. Each citation lists the standard that was broken, the violation type, the proposed penalty, and the date the hazard must be fixed. Citations are public, and you can look them up by company name for free.
A citation has one or more items. Each item names the standard cited (for example 29 CFR 1926.501, fall protection in construction), the classification (serious, other-than-serious, willful, repeat, or failure to abate), the proposed penalty, and an abatement date by which the hazard must be corrected.
One inspection can produce several citations with many items. In OSHA's records every item is tied to the inspection's activity number, so the inspection is what you search for first.
On osha.gov, open Establishment Search, type the company name in the Establishment box, choose a state, and set the inspection date range. Select an inspection by its activity number. If citations were issued, they appear under Violation Items, and each Citation ID opens the details for that item.
Use % as a wildcard when a name can be written several ways, and check the site address before you rely on a result. OSHA itself warns that different companies may have similar names.
For a faster view, the free OSHAlert company lookup groups every inspection, citation, and penalty for a company on one page.
The employer has 15 working days after receiving the citation to contest it in writing. In that window it can also ask for an informal conference with the OSHA area office, which often ends in a settlement that changes items or penalties.
The citation must be posted at or near the place of each violation for 3 working days or until the hazard is fixed, whichever is longer.
Because items can be amended, settled, or decided in a contest, a record shows both an initial penalty and a current penalty. The current one is the amount that stands today.
Each year OSHA publishes a Top 10 of the standards federal OSHA cites most. Its preliminary list for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026) is led by fall protection in construction (29 CFR 1926.501), then hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200) and lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147).
The table below is counted live from OSHAlert's copy of the public enforcement data: citation items under the federal general industry (1910) and construction (1926) standards issued in the last 12 months, by federal OSHA and by state plans that cite those standards.
A cited employer has a deadline to fix hazards and often needs written programs, training, equipment, or help preparing for the informal conference. That makes a recent citation one of the clearest moments to offer safety consulting or training.
Insurance brokers watch citations too, because severity and repeat findings say a lot about how a company manages risk.
Citation items under 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, counted from public OSHA enforcement records.
| Standard | Count |
|---|---|
| Hazard Communication29 CFR 1910.1200 | 6,719 |
| Duty to Have Fall Protection29 CFR 1926.501 | 6,075 |
| Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)29 CFR 1910.147 | 4,190 |
| Respiratory Protection29 CFR 1910.134 | 3,946 |
| Ladders29 CFR 1926.1053 | 2,695 |
| Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)29 CFR 1910.178 | 2,672 |
| Scaffolds – General Requirements29 CFR 1926.451 | 2,670 |
| Electrical – General29 CFR 1910.303 | 2,419 |
| Fall Protection Training29 CFR 1926.503 | 2,378 |
| Electrical – Wiring Methods & Components29 CFR 1910.305 | 2,210 |
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. Inspection and citation records are public. You can search them on osha.gov with Establishment Search, download them from the Department of Labor's open data portal, or look up a company in OSHAlert.
The violation is the finding that a standard was not met. The citation is the document OSHA issues that lists those violations with their classification, penalty, and abatement date.
15 working days from the day the employer receives it. The notice of contest must be in writing and sent to the OSHA area office that issued the citation.
Penalties often change through an informal settlement, an amended citation, or a contest decision. The current penalty is the amount after those changes.