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OSHA construction safety rules

Practice questions, study guides and tools on the OSHA rules behind the OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour construction course topics: the construction standards in 29 CFR Part 1926, plus OSHA inspections, recordkeeping and hazard communication.

Fact-checked against official sources · Last checked

What these pages cover, and what they don't

The real test or credential

OSHA Outreach 10-hour and 30-hour construction classes are taught by OSHA-authorized trainers, who issue the course completion cards. OSHA says none of the Outreach courses is a certification, and the program is voluntary.

Our pages

These pages cover selected OSHA construction standards (29 CFR 1926). OSHA says Outreach training emphasizes hazard identification, avoidance, control and prevention rather than the standards, and does not fulfill the training requirements in OSHA standards.

Checked against these official pages on November 6, 2026. Practice here does not replace the official training or test.

About OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 cards

OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour cards come only from authorized trainers in OSHA's Outreach Training Program. goraedu is not an OSHA Outreach Training Program provider and does not issue OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 cards. Our practice questions do not count toward training hours. Not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor. Use these pages to learn and review the rules.

What the construction course covers

Under OSHA's Outreach Training Program Construction Industry Procedures (revised July 1, 2024), the 10-hour construction course must include Introduction to OSHA, the OSHA Focus Four hazards (falls, electrocution, struck-by and caught-in or between), personal protective equipment, and health hazards in construction. The 30-hour course adds Managing Safety and Health and Stairways and Ladders, among other topics. Our pages follow the construction standards behind those topics.

Key rules, in OSHA's words

  • Workers on a walking or working surface with an unprotected side or edge 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected from falling.

    “Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.”
    29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1)

  • Employers must teach each worker to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions on the job.

    “The employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.”
    29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2)

  • Safety programs must include frequent and regular inspections by competent persons the employer designates.

    “Such programs shall provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons designated by the employers.”
    29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2)

  • Workers in an excavation must be protected from cave-ins, with narrow exceptions for stable rock and some shallow trenches.

    “Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system designed in accordance with paragraph (b) or (c) of this section except when:”
    29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1)

  • A portable ladder used to reach an upper landing must extend at least 3 feet above it, unless that is not possible because of the ladder's length.

    “When portable ladders are used for access to an upper landing surface, the ladder side rails shall extend at least 3 feet (.9 m) above the upper landing surface to which the ladder is used to gain access;”
    29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(1)

Sources

goraedu is not an OSHA Outreach Training Program provider and does not issue OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 cards. Our practice questions do not count toward training hours. Not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor. Found an error? See our contact page.