Federal OSHA Citation Explorer — FY2025 Most-Cited Standards by Industry

This free explorer loads federal OSHA’s FY2025 enforcement record — fiscal year October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 — for 22 two-digit industry code groups: citation counts, the number of inspections in which each standard was cited, and current penalty dollars as recorded by OSHA on August 13, 2026. The figures are reproduced from OSHA’s Frequently Cited Standards tool, retrieved 2026-08-13. It is a screening and research aid, not a compliance determination.

How this tool works

OSHA publishes, for each NAICS industry code and fiscal year, the standards it cited most, the number of citations, the number of inspections in which each standard was cited, and the penalty dollars currently assessed. We pulled that data for 22 two-digit industry code groups for FY2025 and embedded it in this page unchanged. (Official NAICS defines 20 sectors; the combined sectors 31–33 Manufacturing, 44–45 Retail Trade and 48–49 Transportation/Warehousing are displayed here as separate two-digit groups. Sector 55, Management of Companies, returned no FY2025 citations, and sector 92, Public Administration, is not included.) Citation, inspection and current-penalty figures reproduce OSHA’s published FY2025 federal query results; WC Safety derives rankings, average assessed amounts, category flags, top-standard shares, remaining-citation counts and cross-sector comparisons from those source figures, and supplies human-readable descriptions for records where the source provides none. Definitions for every source measure are on OSHA’s definitions page. PPE-related standards (29 CFR 1910.132–.138, 1910.95, 1926.95–.106, 1926.501–.503 and 1926.1153) are flagged with an accent bar and a category chip — PPE, Fall protection, Fall-protection systems/training, Respiratory protection, Silica/respiratory or Hearing conservation — the same highlight family as our PPE violation report.

Two scope notes matter. First, this is federal OSHA data only: twenty-two State Plans (21 states plus Puerto Rico) covering private-sector and government workers run their own OSHA-approved state plans and issue citations under state law that do not appear in this dataset; seven further State Plans (Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin Islands) cover state and local government workers only. Federal OSHA can retain jurisdiction over certain workplaces inside State Plan states — the exclusion here is of State Plan-issued citations, not of whole states. Second, each sector’s “total” row counts all standards cited in that sector — the table shows only the top 15, and the note under the table says how many citations fall outside them. For a deeper breakdown by 3- to 6-digit NAICS code, use OSHA’s own query tool directly.

Source	What it provides	Date
OSHA query definitions	Official definitions of #Cited, #Insp, sector totals and current penalties — the measures this page reproduces	retrieved 2026-08-14
OSHA Frequently Cited Standards tool	Citations, inspections and current penalties by NAICS sector and standard, FY2025 (Oct 1, 2024 – Sep 30, 2025), federal OSHA only	Retrieved 2026-08-13
OSHA Top 10 cited standards	National FY2025 top-10 ranking (ranks only; that page publishes no counts)	Retrieved 2026-08-13
OSHA State Plans directory	Which states enforce under their own OSHA-approved programs (excluded from this dataset)	Accessed 2026-08-13

Find one standard across every industry group

Type a standard number or a keyword from its title — 1910.134, silica, powered industrial trucks — to see where it lands in each group’s most-cited list. Coverage note: this search reads the top-15 tables embedded in this page, so a standard cited below a group’s top 15 will not appear for that group; for a complete profile of any single standard use OSHA’s industry-profile tool.

How the 22 sectors compare (FY2025)

Ranked by federal citation count. Penalties are current dollars as recorded by OSHA on August 13, 2026.

OSHA’s national Top 10 for FY2025

OSHA publishes a national top-10 list of most-frequently-cited standards each year (ranks only — that page publishes no counts). For FY2025:

1. Fall protection — general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.501)
2. Hazard communication (29 CFR 1910.1200)
3. Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)
4. Control of hazardous energy — lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147)
5. Respiratory protection (29 CFR 1910.134)
6. Scaffolding — general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)
7. Fall protection — training requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.503)
8. Powered industrial trucks (29 CFR 1910.178)
9. Eye and face protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.102)
10. Machine guarding — general requirements (29 CFR 1910.212)

Story angles in this data

For journalists and researchers — every claim below is computed directly from the embedded FY2025 dataset; the source figures and WC Safety’s disclosed classifications can be reproduced from the CSV export (which contains the displayed top standards plus sector totals, not every cited standard):

• Construction out-cites the other 21 displayed industry groups combined. 26,559 federal citations vs 24,235 for everyone else; $108,975,539 in current penalties vs $93,872,100 for the other 21 sectors together.
• One standard, $44.9M. Construction fall protection (1926.501) drew 6,772 citations and $44,891,816 in current penalties — more penalty dollars than any other entire sector’s FY2025 total.
• Lockout/tagout leads every manufacturing sector. 29 CFR 1910.147 is the #1 cited standard in all three manufacturing sectors (820, 757 and 412 citations) — and in Administrative, Support & Waste Services as well.
• Forklifts rule the supply chain. Powered industrial trucks (1910.178) is the #1 standard in five sectors: wholesale trade, both retail sectors, transportation, and warehousing & couriers.
• Hazard communication is everywhere. 1910.1200 is the #1 standard in five sectors and appears in the top 15 of all 22 — the only standard that does.
• Each sector has a signature. Bloodborne pathogens leads health care (152 of 489 citations), formaldehyde leads educational services, logging leads agriculture — and mining is the only sector where the General Duty Clause is the single most-cited provision. Utilities’ average penalty per citation ($9,865) is the highest of any sector, 2.4× construction’s $4,103.

Worked example

Pick Sector 23 — Construction (the default). The dataset reports 26,559 citations, 10,793 inspections and $108,975,539 in current penalties. The average-penalty tile computes:

$108,975,539 ÷ 26,559 citations = $4,103 per citation

Now add up the PPE-flagged rows in the top-15 table: fall protection duty 1926.501 (6,772) + fall protection training 1926.503 (2,171) + eye and face 1926.102 (1,926) + head protection 1926.100 (852) + fall protection systems 1926.502 (665) + silica 1926.1153 (632) + respiratory protection 1910.134 (356) = 13,374 citations. That is 13,374 ÷ 26,559 = 50.4% of every federal construction citation in FY2025 sitting in PPE- and fall-protection-related standards from the top 15 alone — the case for getting a PPE hazard assessment right.

What the numbers mean

Citation. A violation of a specific standard alleged by OSHA after an inspection. One inspection can produce many citations, and the same standard can be cited multiple times in a single inspection.

Raw counts, not rates. Sector totals are raw enforcement counts — not rates per employer, worker, establishment or inspection. Differences reflect sector size and OSHA inspection activity as well as compliance conditions; construction having the most citations does not establish that each construction employer faces the greatest citation probability. The citations per cited inspection tile (total citations ÷ inspections with at least one citation) is one size-adjusted complement, but its denominator counts only inspections that produced citations. Standard-level inspection counts must not be summed — one inspection can cite several standards; the sector inspection total is a distinct count supplied by OSHA (see OSHA’s definitions).

Sector grouping ≠ applicability. Standards appear under the NAICS classification of the establishments OSHA cited — appearance in a sector does not establish that a standard applies to every employer in that industry. Some results involve construction activity, specialized operations, or federal agencies inside a broader sector (Finance & Insurance, for example, includes 29 CFR Part 1960 federal-agency program standards).

$0 current penalties. A $0 current amount does not mean the cited condition was compliant or that the standard carries no penalty — current amounts may reflect grouping, deletion, adjustment, settlement or other case-specific outcomes as of the retrieval date. The average shown is an arithmetic summary of current assessed amounts — not a forecast, statutory maximum, or expected penalty for a future violation.

Dated snapshot. All penalty figures are the current amounts recorded by OSHA on August 13, 2026 — a fixed snapshot; amounts at the source continue to change as cases resolve. Ranks use competition ranking: standards tied on citations share a rank and appear in OSHA source order.

Inspection (count). The number of distinct inspections in which that standard was cited at least once — always ≤ the citation count.

Current penalty. The penalty dollars currently assessed, i.e. after settlements and contest outcomes to date — not OSHA’s initial proposed amounts. These figures continue to shift as cases resolve.

Average penalty per citation. Computed by this page: current penalties ÷ citations. A screening yardstick, not an OSHA-published figure.

Standard number. The 29 CFR provision cited — 1910.x is general industry, 1926.x is construction, 1904.x is injury and illness recordkeeping, 1928.x is agriculture. Examples on this site: respiratory protection 1910.134, silica 1926.1153, fall protection 1926.501.

General Duty Clause (5(a)(1), shown as 5A0001). Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act — the requirement to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. OSHA uses it where no specific standard fits; see the OSH Act text.

NAICS sector. The 2-digit North American Industry Classification System code OSHA groups establishments under. Sectors 31–33 (manufacturing), 44–45 (retail) and 48–49 (transportation/warehousing) are related pairs OSHA reports separately.

Fiscal year (FY2025). October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 — OSHA reports enforcement by fiscal year, not calendar year.

PPE-related flag. Our tag for standards in 29 CFR 1910.132–.138, 1910.95 (noise), 1926.95–.106, 1926.501–.503 and 1926.1153 — the same set used in our PPE violation report.

Limitations

• Federal OSHA only. Citations issued by the ~21 state-plan states and Puerto Rico under their own laws are not in this dataset — a low count here does not mean low enforcement in California, Washington, Michigan or other state-plan states.
• Penalties are current, not initial. Amounts reflect settlements and contest outcomes to date and will keep moving as cases resolve; a fresh pull from OSHA’s tool may differ from these 2026-08-13 figures.
• Citations are not injuries. Citation counts track enforcement activity and inspection targeting, not injury rates — benchmark injury experience with our TRIR & DART calculator instead.
• Multiple citations per inspection. A single inspection can cite the same standard several times, so citation counts exceed inspection counts.
• Top 15 only per sector. Sector totals cover all standards cited; the table shows the top 15 and states how many citations fall outside them.
• Broad sectors. Two-digit NAICS is coarse — query your exact industry code in OSHA’s tool.
• FY2026 is not here yet. The current fiscal year’s data is not final until after September 30, 2026.

Educational screening and research aid only. This page reports federal OSHA enforcement statistics; it does not predict your inspection risk, establish compliance or non-compliance with any standard, or constitute legal advice. Citation and penalty data: OSHA Frequently Cited Standards tool, FY2025, retrieved 2026-08-13.

Cite or link to this data

Journalists, researchers and safety trainers are welcome to cite this page — a link is all we ask. Suggested citation:

Link to this tool: https://wcsafety.com/pages/osha-citation-explorer — we refresh the dataset when OSHA finalizes each fiscal year, so links stay current.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t my state appear in these numbers?

twenty-two State Plans (21 states plus Puerto Rico) covering private-sector and government workers run their own OSHA-approved state plans and issue citations under state law. Those citations are not in federal OSHA’s Frequently Cited Standards dataset, so employers in state-plan states are under-represented here — not un-inspected.

Are these penalty amounts final?

No. The dataset reports current penalties — initial proposed amounts minus whatever settlements and contest outcomes have already shaved off. Cases still in litigation will keep moving the totals, which is why a fresh pull from OSHA’s tool can differ from this page’s 2026-08-13 snapshot.

What is “5A0001” — the General Duty Clause?

It is OSHA’s database code for Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act: every employer must keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA cites it when a serious hazard has no specific standard. In FY2025 it was the single most-cited provision in mining, quarrying and oil & gas.

How do I look up my exact industry, not just the 2-digit sector?

Use OSHA’s Frequently Cited Standards tool directly — it accepts NAICS codes down to six digits, so you can pull the citation profile for, say, roofing contractors specifically rather than all of construction.

Does a high citation count mean an industry is the most dangerous?

Not by itself. Citations measure enforcement — where OSHA inspects and what it finds — not injuries. OSHA targets its inspections, and one inspection can generate many citations. For injury experience, compare your recordable rates against BLS industry averages with our TRIR & DART benchmark calculator.

When will FY2026 data be available?

Federal fiscal year 2026 ends September 30, 2026, and OSHA’s cited-standards data firms up in the months after close. We refresh this page annually once the year is final — bookmark it and check back.

Built and reviewed by Steven Eaton, WC Safety. We curate and review industrial PPE against ANSI, NIOSH and OSHA standards. Figures on this page reproduce OSHA’s published FY2025 federal enforcement data and are provided for educational use.