What Safety Certification Do I Need? Find Out in 2 Minutes (2026)

Most people don’t need five certifications. You probably need one or two. The trick is picking the right ones for your actual job, not the ones some training company is trying to sell you.

This page works like a decision tree. Find your industry, find your role, and you’ll get a straight answer on what cards and certs you actually need in 2026.

Quick Reference Table

If you already know your situation, start here.

If your situation isn’t on this table, keep reading. The decision tree below covers more specific paths.

Step 1: What Industry Do You Work In?

Pick the one that best fits your day-to-day work. If you cross between two, check both sections.

• Construction (residential, commercial, civil, demolition, renovation)
• Manufacturing and Warehousing (factories, distribution centers, assembly lines, shipping)
• Hazardous Materials and Environmental (hazmat response, remediation, waste handling, brownfield cleanup)
• Healthcare and General Office (hospitals, clinics, office buildings, retail)
• Multiple Industries or Not Sure (temp workers, consultants, safety pros who move between sites)

Construction

Construction is OSHA’s most regulated industry by volume of citations. If you set foot on a job site, you need some level of OSHA training. The question is how much.

Entry-Level Construction Worker

You need the OSHA 10-Hour Construction card. Period.

Seven states mandate it by law for construction workers: New York (NYC specifically), Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. But even in states without a mandate, most general contractors won’t let you past the gate without it.

OSHA 10 covers the “big four” construction hazards: falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, and electrocution. These account for over 60% of construction fatalities every year according to OSHA data. The course takes 10 hours online or about two days in person, and you’ll get a DOL wallet card when you’re done.

Cost: $25-$89 online. $150-$300 in person.

If you also work at heights, add Fall Protection Training. OSHA’s fall protection standard (29 CFR 1926.501) requires training for anyone exposed to fall hazards of 6 feet or more. Your employer should provide this, but having it already makes you more hirable.

Construction Supervisor, Foreman, or Superintendent

You need the OSHA 30-Hour Construction card. Not sure if you need the 10 or 30? Check our OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30 comparison.

The 30-hour goes deeper into employer responsibilities, hazard analysis, and OSHA standards. If you direct other workers, run crews, or sign off on job site safety plans, this is the standard expectation.

Many GCs and owners require OSHA 30 for anyone in a supervisory role. And if you’re building toward a safety manager position, the 30-hour card is the bare minimum on your resume.

Specialized Construction Roles

Some jobs need more than just an OSHA card.

Forklift or telehandler operators on construction sites need Forklift Certification under 29 CFR 1910.178. Your employer must provide this training and evaluate you. But the rule applies to construction sites too, not just warehouses.

Workers entering tanks, manholes, excavations deeper than 4 feet, or other confined spaces need Confined Space Training. OSHA added confined space rules for construction (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA) in 2015, and enforcement is active.

Roofers, ironworkers, and anyone on scaffolding or leading edges should have Fall Protection Training on top of their OSHA 10. Fall protection has been OSHA’s #1 most cited violation for over a decade straight.

Manufacturing and Warehousing

Manufacturing and warehousing fall under OSHA’s General Industry standards (29 CFR 1910), not the construction standards. The training options overlap with construction, but the course content is different.

Entry-Level Warehouse or Factory Worker

You need the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry card.

General Industry OSHA 10 covers machine guarding, hazard communication (chemical labels and SDS), lockout/tagout, electrical safety, and ergonomics. Different focus from the construction version. Pick the one that matches where you actually work.

If you operate a forklift, reach truck, or pallet jack, you also need Forklift Certification. OSHA is specific here. Under 29 CFR 1910.178, every powered industrial truck operator must be trained and evaluated by their employer. Driving a forklift without this training is one of OSHA’s top 10 most cited violations. Your employer is supposed to provide it, but plenty of workers get certified independently to improve their job prospects.

Manufacturing or Warehouse Supervisor

You need the OSHA 30-Hour General Industry card.

Same logic as construction. Supervisors need deeper knowledge of OSHA standards, recordkeeping requirements (300 logs), and how to conduct incident investigations. The 30-hour general industry course covers all of it.

Specialized Manufacturing Roles

Forklift operators in any setting need Forklift Certification. Three-year renewal required.

Workers doing lockout/tagout on machinery need training under 29 CFR 1910.147. This is usually employer-provided, not a standalone cert. But if you’re looking to stand out, the OSHA 30-Hour General Industry card covers LOTO in depth.

Workers who enter confined spaces (silos, tanks, boilers, process vessels) need Confined Space Training under 29 CFR 1910.146. This is one of the most dangerous activities in general industry. Don’t skip it.

Hazardous Materials and Environmental

This is where training requirements get specific and strict. OSHA’s HAZWOPER standard (29 CFR 1910.120) spells out exactly who needs what, and the penalties for non-compliance are steep.

Cleanup Workers and Hazmat Responders

You need the HAZWOPER 40-Hour certification.

If you work on hazardous waste cleanup sites, at treatment/storage/disposal facilities, or as a hazmat emergency responder at the specialist level, the 40-hour is required. No exceptions, no shorter alternative. OSHA doesn’t give flexibility on this one.

After your initial 40-hour training, you’ll need an 8-hour refresher every year to keep your certification current.

Workers With Occasional Hazmat Exposure

You need the HAZWOPER 24-Hour certification.

The 24-hour version covers workers on hazmat sites who aren’t directly handling the waste. Think about it this way: if you’re on the perimeter of a cleanup site doing support work, but you won’t be touching contaminated materials, the 24-hour course is the right fit.

Still need the annual 8-hour refresher. And if your role changes to include direct handling, you’ll need to upgrade to the 40-hour.

Emergency Response Teams

Your cert level depends on your response role. OSHA breaks it into five tiers under 29 CFR 1910.120(q):

1. First responder awareness level: enough training to recognize a hazmat release and call for help
2. First responder operations level: defensive actions, no direct contact
3. Hazmat technician: offensive response, direct contact with hazards
4. Hazmat specialist: advanced technical knowledge
5. On-scene incident commander: manages the overall response

Levels 3 and above typically need the full HAZWOPER 40-Hour. Your fire department or employer will specify the exact training requirements for your tier.

Healthcare and General Office

Office and healthcare workers don’t usually need OSHA outreach cards. But that doesn’t mean zero safety training applies.

Healthcare Workers

Hospitals and clinics fall under General Industry standards. Most safety training is employer-provided and role-specific: bloodborne pathogens (29 CFR 1910.1030), hazard communication for pharmaceutical chemicals, and emergency action plans.

If you’re moving into a safety or compliance role within healthcare, the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry card is a good starting point. The OSHA 30-Hour General Industry makes more sense if you’re managing safety programs for an entire facility.

Office and Retail Workers

You likely don’t need an OSHA card. Employers must provide workplace-specific training (fire evacuation, active shooter response, ergonomics), but there’s no OSHA outreach card requirement for typical office or retail environments.

The exception: if you work in a retail store with a warehouse attached, or if you operate equipment like pallet jacks or forklifts during restocking, you do need the relevant training for those tasks.

Multiple Industries or Not Sure

Some workers don’t fit neatly into one category. Temp workers, traveling safety consultants, and multi-trade workers often need certs from more than one column.

Temp or Staffing Agency Workers

Get the OSHA 10-Hour Construction if you’re being placed on construction sites. Get the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry if you’re going to factories or warehouses. If the agency sends you to both, get both. They’re different courses covering different hazards. One doesn’t substitute for the other.

Safety Professionals and Consultants

If you’re building a career in safety, the certification stack looks different. Start with the OSHA 30-Hour Construction or OSHA 30-Hour General Industry depending on your industry focus. Both versions are common on job postings for safety manager roles.

From there, the professional certifications that employers value most are the ASP (Associate Safety Professional) and CSP (Certified Safety Professional) from the BCSP. These aren’t OSHA courses. They’re professional designations that require education, experience, and passing an exam. But the OSHA 30 is where almost everyone starts.

Workers Who Cross Industries

Ask yourself two questions. First, where do you spend most of your working hours? That’s your primary cert. Second, do you do any specialized tasks (forklift, confined space, hazmat) even occasionally? Add those certs to your list.

A maintenance worker at a food processing plant, for example, might need the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry, Forklift Certification if they move pallets, and Confined Space Training if they clean out silos or tanks. Three certs, each one tied to a specific task.

One More Thing: State Requirements

Some states have stricter rules than federal OSHA. California, Washington, Oregon, and about 20 other states run their own OSHA-approved state plans. These state plans can add requirements beyond what federal OSHA mandates.

Check your state’s specific requirements before assuming the federal minimums are all you need. New York City, for example, requires OSHA 10 for all construction workers and a Site Safety Training (SST) card for certain projects. That’s a city-level rule on top of the federal standard.