Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2026

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The preliminary list of 10 Top OSHA violations of 2026 continues the trend of fewer citations than previous years. This year’s top 10 list accounts for just 18,061 violations, compared to 23,537 in 2025 and 26,207 in 2024. That’s a 31 percent decline in three years!

The largest drop is in Fall Protection – General requirements. OSHA issued 1,873 fewer general fall protection citations in 2026, compared to 2025. That’s a decline of almost 32% in one year. However, fall protection remains the top citation for the 16th consecutive year.

While the top 10 standards remain the same as 2024, there was some movement in the list, most notably scaffolding citations, which jumped from #7 to #4 in 2026.

The 10 most-often cited OSHA safety standards of fiscal year 2026 are:

  1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (Standard 1926.501): 4,041 violations (-1,873 vs. 2025)
  2. Hazard Communication (Standard 1910.1200): 1,961 violations (-585 vs. 2025)
  3. Lockout/Tagout (Standard 1910.147): 1,863 violations (-314 vs. 2025)
  4. Scaffolding (Standard 1926.451): 1,725 violations (-180 vs. 2025)
  5. Ladders (Standard 1926.1053): 1,659 violations (-476 vs 2025)
  6. Respiratory Protection (Standard 1910.134): 1,608 violations (-345 vs. 2025)
  7. Powered Industrial Trucks (Standard 1910.178): 1,379 violations (-447 vs. 2025)
  8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (Standard 1926.503): 1,273 violations (-634 vs. 2025)
  9. PPE – Eye and Face Protection (Standard 1926.102): 1,120 violations (-545 vs. 2025)
  10. Machine Guarding (Standard 1910.212): 1,072 violations (-167 vs. 2025)

For comparison, the 2025 Top 10 were:

  1. Fall Protection – General Requirements: 5,914 violations
  2. Hazard Communication:  2,546 violations
  3. Ladders: 2,405 violations
  4. Lockout/Tagout: 2,177 violations
  5. Respiratory Protection: 1,953 violations
  6. Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 1,907 violations
  7. Scaffolding: 1,905 violations
  8. Powered Industrial Trucks: 1,826 violations
  9. Eye and Face Protection: 1,665 violations
  10. Machine Guarding: 1,239 violations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration unveils its preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited standards at the NSC’s annual Safety Congress and Expo.

Browse safety signs to address the top 10 OSHA violations: