OSHA hazard communication practice questions
20 free practice questions from 29 CFR 1926.59 and 1910.1200. Each answer is explained and linked to the rule it comes from.
OSHA Hazard communication
20 questions across 8 topics. After each answer you see why it is right, with a link to the official source.
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Scope and construction coverage
1. What does 29 CFR 1926.59 say about hazard communication requirements for construction work?
- A. They are identical to those set forth at 29 CFR 1910.1200
- B. They apply only to general contractors with more than ten employees
- C. They replace 1910.1200 with a shorter construction-only list
- D. They apply only to work inside permanent buildings
Show answer
Answer: A. They are identical to those set forth at 29 CFR 1910.1200
The note in 1926.59 states: "The requirements applicable to construction work under this section are identical to those set forth at § 1910.1200 of this chapter."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.59, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
2. To which chemicals does 1910.1200 apply?
- A. Only chemicals stored in quantities over 55 gallons
- B. Only chemicals bought from a distributor
- C. Any chemical known to be present so that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency
- D. Only chemicals the employer produces on site
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Answer: C. Any chemical known to be present so that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency
The section "applies to any chemical which is known to be present in the workplace in such a manner that employees may be exposed under normal conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Key definitions
3. Under the 1910.1200 definition of employer, which businesses are expressly included?
- A. Only chemical manufacturers
- B. A contractor or subcontractor
- C. Only businesses with a written safety program
- D. Only businesses that ship chemicals across state lines
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Answer: B. A contractor or subcontractor
Employer means a person engaged in a business where chemicals are used, distributed or produced for use or distribution, "including a contractor or subcontractor."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
4. Under the 1910.1200 definition, which of these is excluded from being a container?
- A. A drum
- B. A storage tank
- C. A cylinder
- D. A fuel tank in a vehicle
Show answer
Answer: D. A fuel tank in a vehicle
"For purposes of this section, pipes or piping systems, and engines, fuel tanks, or other operating systems in a vehicle, are not considered to be containers."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Written hazard communication program
5. The written hazard communication program must include a list of hazardous chemicals known to be present, identified how?
- A. Using a product identifier that is referenced on the appropriate safety data sheet
- B. By the purchase order number
- C. By the date each chemical arrived
- D. By the supplier's internal stock code only
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Answer: A. Using a product identifier that is referenced on the appropriate safety data sheet
The program includes "A list of the hazardous chemicals known to be present using a product identifier that is referenced on the appropriate safety data sheet".
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
6. On a multi-employer workplace, what must the program of an employer whose chemicals may expose other employers' workers include?
- A. A copy of each other employer's insurance policy
- B. The methods it will use to provide the other employers on-site access to safety data sheets
- C. A signed waiver from each other employer
- D. Monthly air sampling results for the whole site
Show answer
Answer: B. The methods it will use to provide the other employers on-site access to safety data sheets
The program must include "The methods the employer will use to provide the other employer(s) on-site access to safety data sheets" for each hazardous chemical their employees may be exposed to.
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
7. Where employees travel between workplaces during a workshift, where may the written hazard communication program be kept?
- A. Only with the chemical supplier
- B. At OSHA's area office
- C. In each employee's vehicle
- D. At the primary workplace facility
Show answer
Answer: D. At the primary workplace facility
Where employees must travel between workplaces during a workshift, "the written hazard communication program may be kept at the primary workplace facility."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Labels and other forms of warning
8. Under the current text of 1910.1200(f)(3), as revised in 2024, which label elements must be located together on the label, tag, or mark of a shipped container?
- A. The product identifier and the price
- B. The manufacturer's U.S. address and the lot number
- C. The signal word, hazard statement(s) and pictogram(s)
- D. The precautionary statements and the shipping date
Show answer
Answer: C. The signal word, hazard statement(s) and pictogram(s)
The information in paragraphs (f)(1)(ii) through (iv), which are "Signal word", "Hazard statement(s)" and "Pictogram(s)", must be "located together on the label, tag, or mark." This is the current text as revised in 2024; until the applicable compliance date in 1910.1200(j), the version revised as of July 1, 2023 may be followed instead.
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
9. Some of an employer's employees speak languages other than English. What does 1910.1200(f)(10) allow for workplace labels?
- A. Adding the information in their language, as long as it is also presented in English
- B. Replacing the English text with the other language
- C. Using pictograms only, with no words
- D. Leaving off the label if a translated SDS is on file
Show answer
Answer: A. Adding the information in their language, as long as it is also presented in English
"Employers having employees who speak other languages may add the information in their language to the material presented, as long as the information is presented in English as well."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
10. What does 1910.1200(f)(7) allow an employer to use instead of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers?
- A. Verbal reminders at the start of each shift
- B. Nothing, because stationary containers are exempt
- C. Color-coded paint with no written key
- D. Signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or similar written materials that identify the containers and convey the required information
Show answer
Answer: D. Signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or similar written materials that identify the containers and convey the required information
"The employer may use signs, placards, process sheets, batch tickets, operating procedures, or other such written materials in lieu of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers, as long as the alternative method identifies the containers to which it is applicable and conveys the information required by paragraph (f)(6) of this section to be on a label."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
11. When may an employer remove or deface an existing label on an incoming container of a hazardous chemical?
- A. When the label is older than one year
- B. Only if the container is immediately marked with the required information
- C. When the chemical is used up within the shift
- D. Whenever the employer has the SDS on file
Show answer
Answer: B. Only if the container is immediately marked with the required information
"The employer shall not remove or deface existing labels on incoming containers of hazardous chemicals, unless the container is immediately marked with the required information."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
12. A chemical manufacturer ships a substance in a container of 3 ml or less. It can demonstrate that pull-out labels, fold-back labels or tags with the full label information are not feasible, and that any label interferes with the normal use of the container. Under the current text of 1910.1200(f)(12), which manufacturers evaluating substances must follow since their transition period in (j)(4) ended on May 19, 2026, what must the container itself bear, at a minimum?
- A. The full shipped-container label
- B. The signal word and pictograms
- C. The product identifier
- D. Nothing at all
Show answer
Answer: C. The product identifier
For a container of 3 ml or less, "no label is required, but the container must bear, at a minimum, the product identifier." Under (j)(4), the version revised as of July 1, 2023 could be followed instead only until the dates in (j)(2) and (j)(3): for manufacturers evaluating substances, "no later than May 19, 2026" (November 19, 2027 for mixtures).
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Safety data sheets
13. The preparer of a safety data sheet finds no relevant information for a sub-heading within a section. What does 1910.1200(g)(3) require?
- A. Delete the sub-heading
- B. Leave the sub-heading blank
- C. Mark it to indicate that no applicable information was found
- D. Copy the information from a similar chemical's SDS
Show answer
Answer: C. Mark it to indicate that no applicable information was found
If no relevant information is found for any sub-heading, the preparer "shall mark it to indicate that no applicable information was found."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
14. Why does OSHA not enforce the information requirements in SDS Sections 12 through 15?
- A. Because these areas are not under its jurisdiction
- B. Because those sections are optional for construction only
- C. Because they apply only to imported chemicals
- D. Because they were removed in the 2024 revision
Show answer
Answer: A. Because these areas are not under its jurisdiction
Note 2 to paragraph (g)(2): "OSHA will not be enforcing information requirements in sections 12 through 15, as these areas are not under its jurisdiction."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
15. Electronic access to safety data sheets instead of paper copies is permitted on what condition?
- A. The employer files a request with OSHA
- B. Each employee owns a smartphone
- C. Paper copies are kept at the supplier
- D. No barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created
Show answer
Answer: D. No barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created
"Electronic access and other alternatives to maintaining paper copies of the safety data sheets are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access in each workplace are created by such options."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
16. A chemical manufacturer becomes newly aware of significant information about a chemical's hazards, but the chemical is not currently being produced or imported. Under 1910.1200(g)(5), when must the information be added to the safety data sheet?
- A. Only when OSHA asks for an update
- B. Before the chemical is introduced into the workplace again
- C. Never, because the safety data sheet is frozen once production stops
- D. Only at the next five-year review
Show answer
Answer: B. Before the chemical is introduced into the workplace again
"If the chemical is not currently being produced or imported, the chemical manufacturer or importer shall add the information to the safety data sheet before the chemical is introduced into the workplace again." For chemicals still in production the new information goes on the sheet "within three months."
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Employee information and training
17. How does 1910.1200(h)(1) allow hazard communication information and training to be designed?
- A. To cover categories of hazards (such as flammability or carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals
- B. Only chemical by chemical, never by category
- C. Only as a video supplied by the manufacturer
- D. Only as a written test with no instruction
Show answer
Answer: A. To cover categories of hazards (such as flammability or carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals
"Information and training may be designed to cover categories of hazards (e.g., flammability, carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals." Chemical-specific information must always be available through labels and safety data sheets.
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
18. Which topic must employee training include under 1910.1200(h)(3)?
- A. How to calculate the chemical's market price
- B. How to file a workers' compensation claim
- C. Methods and observations that may be used to detect the presence or release of a hazardous chemical in the work area
- D. How to classify a chemical under Appendix A
Show answer
Answer: C. Methods and observations that may be used to detect the presence or release of a hazardous chemical in the work area
Training shall include at least "Methods and observations that may be used to detect the presence or release of a hazardous chemical in the work area".
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
Trade secrets
19. Under the current text of 1910.1200(i)(2), as revised in 2024, in a medical emergency when a treating PLHCP needs a trade secret chemical identity for emergency or first-aid treatment, when must it be disclosed?
- A. Within thirty days of a written request
- B. Only after a confidentiality agreement is signed
- C. Only after OSHA approves the request
- D. Immediately, regardless of a written statement of need or confidentiality agreement
Show answer
Answer: D. Immediately, regardless of a written statement of need or confidentiality agreement
The chemical manufacturer, importer, or employer "shall immediately disclose the specific chemical identity" of a trade secret chemical to the treating PLHCP, "regardless of the existence of a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement." A written statement of need and confidentiality agreement may be required "as soon as circumstances permit." This is the current text as revised in 2024; until the applicable compliance date in 1910.1200(j), the version revised as of July 1, 2023 may be followed instead.
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)
2024 revision dates
20. On what date did the current version of 1910.1200 become effective?
- A. July 1, 2023
- B. July 19, 2024
- C. May 19, 2026
- D. May 19, 2028
Show answer
Answer: B. July 19, 2024
Paragraph (j)(1): "This section shall become effective July 19, 2024." The later dates in (j)(2) and (j)(3) are compliance dates for the modified provisions.
Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard communication (as of Nov 3, 2026)