OSHA TOP 10 MOST CITED 2026

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2026, at the 2026 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.  The preliminary data are based on OSHA inspections conducted during fiscal year 2026 and help employers identify persistent workplace hazards, prioritize improvements and strengthen safety programs.

“Year after year, the OSHA Top 10 reminds us how pervasive preventable workplace hazards remain,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “Every citation represents an opportunity to identify gaps and strengthen safety practices before a worker is injured. Employers should use these findings to evaluate their workplaces, install critical safeguards, and implement proven solutions that help protect workers and save lives.”

The 10 categories on last year’s list all appear on the list again this year—the violations haven’t changed; only their relative position on the Top 10 list. All 10 categories had fewer violations this year than in the previous year

The Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for FY 2026 are:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 4,041 violations
   Ranked at # 1 in 2025; 1,873 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

2. Hazard Communication (1926.1200): 1,961 violations.
   Ranked at # 2 in 2025; 585 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

3. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 1,863 violations.
   Ranked at # 4 in 2025; 314 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

4. Scaffolding (1926.451): 1,725 violations.
   Ranked at # 7 in 2025; 180 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

5. Ladders (1926.1053): 1,659 violations.
   Ranked at # 3 in 2025; 746 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

6. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 1,608 violations.
   Ranked at # 5 in 2025; 345 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,379 violations.
   Ranked at # 8 in 2025; 447 fewer violations than previous year.

    

8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,273 violations.
   Ranked at # 6 in 2025; 634 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,120 violations. 
   Ranked at # 9 in 2025; 545 fewer violations than in the previous year.

    

10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,072 violations.
    Ranked at # 10 in 2025; 167 fewer violations than in the previous year.

Machine Guarding (1910.212) remains on the list at number 10, Control of hazardous Energy (LOTO) moved up one spot to number 3

History of Machine Guarding in the top 10 most cited violations:

Learn more about the announcement here. A more in-depth analysis of the Top 10 violations for 2026 will be published in the December edition of Safety+Health magazine, a National Safety Council publication.