OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30: Which card does your crew actually need?

OSHA's Outreach Training Program produces the wallet cards everyone on a jobsite recognizes: the 10-hour and the 30-hour. They're often lumped together, but they're aimed at different people — and picking the wrong one wastes either money or a week of someone's time.

Who the 10-hour is for

The 10-hour course is entry-level awareness training for workers. It covers your rights under the OSH Act, employer responsibilities, and recognition and avoidance of the most common hazards — with heavy time on construction's "Focus Four": falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, and electrocution. If someone works on site and doesn't direct other people's work, the 10-hour is almost always what's being asked of them.

Who the 30-hour is for

The 30-hour course is for anyone with safety responsibility: foremen, superintendents, competent persons, safety committee members, and project managers. It goes deeper on the same hazards and adds breadth — managing safety programs, health hazards, cranes and rigging, excavations, stairways and ladders. Many general contractors now require the 30-hour for anyone supervising.

What actually decides it

• State law: several states (New York, Nevada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and others) require the 10-hour for workers on public — and in some cases all — construction projects. New York's Site Safety Training law goes further still for NYC jobs.
• Contract requirements: owners and GCs routinely write "OSHA 10 for all workers, OSHA 30 for supervision" into contracts, regardless of state law.
• Company policy and insurance: carriers and prequalification services (ISNetworld, Avetta) often score training coverage.

Things to know before you buy

• Outreach cards do not expire under federal OSHA rules, but many states, cities, and contracts require refreshing every five years. Check what governs your work.
• Only OSHA-authorized providers and trainers can deliver Outreach training and issue Department of Labor cards. An unauthorized "equivalent" course does not satisfy an OSHA 10/30 requirement, no matter how good the content is.
• Online delivery is capped by OSHA's rules on daily training time, so a 10-hour course takes at least two days and a 30-hour at least four.

If your crew needs cards, choose a course that says exactly who the authorized provider is — that's the name your card comes from.