An OSHA citation is a written notice that OSHA issues to an employer after an inspection when it believes a safety or health standard, regulation or the General Duty Clause has been violated. Each citation describes the alleged violation, the standard involved, any proposed penalty and the date by which the hazard must be corrected.
Citations matter because they start legal clocks that cannot be ignored. An employer has 15 working days from receipt to contest, must post the citation for employees, and must correct each hazard by its abatement date. A citation that is not contested becomes a final order, and it can serve as the basis for higher repeat-violation penalties later.
What Is an OSHA Citation?
Under Section 9 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, OSHA issues citations "with reasonable promptness" after an inspection. A citation may not be issued more than six months after the violation occurred. Citations are usually delivered together with a Notice of Proposed Penalty, and the procedures that follow are set out in 29 CFR Part 1903.
Each citation item typically includes the standard allegedly violated, a description of the condition, the violation type, the proposed penalty and the abatement date. Hazards that no specific standard covers can be cited under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1). Employers in states with an OSHA-approved State Plan receive citations from the state agency, which follows its own procedures.
Types of OSHA Violations
- Serious: there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.
- Other-than-serious: the violation relates to safety or health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.
- Willful: the employer intentionally and knowingly violated the requirement, or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.
- Repeated: the employer was previously cited for the same or a substantially similar violation, and that citation became a final order. OSHA's Field Operations Manual uses a five-year lookback.
- Failure to abate: a previously cited violation was not corrected by its abatement date.
- De minimis: a technical violation with no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. These are documented but carry no penalty and do not need to be posted.
How Penalties Are Set
OSHA sets maximum penalty amounts by violation type, and those maximums are adjusted annually for inflation. Willful and repeated violations carry much higher maximums than serious or other-than-serious ones, and failure-to-abate penalties can accrue for each day past the abatement date.
The OSH Act requires OSHA to consider four factors when proposing a penalty: the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the employer's good faith, and its history of previous violations. OSHA's Field Operations Manual explains how these factors reduce or adjust proposed amounts. Penalty policies change from time to time, so check OSHA's current guidance rather than relying on older figures.
Posting, Contesting and Informal Conferences
Posting the citation
Under 29 CFR 1903.16, the employer must immediately post each citation, or an unedited copy, at or near the place where the violation occurred, or in a prominent location where affected employees will see it. The citation stays posted until the violation is abated or for three working days, whichever is later. Filing a contest does not end the posting duty.
The 15-working-day contest period
An employer that disagrees with a citation, the proposed penalty or the abatement date must file a written notice of contest with the OSHA Area Director within 15 working days of receiving the citation. Weekends and federal holidays are not counted. Contested cases go to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. If no notice of contest is filed within that period, the citation and proposed penalty become a final order that is not subject to review.
Informal conferences
An employer may request an informal conference with the Area Director to discuss the citation, present evidence of abatement or negotiate an informal settlement. The conference must take place within the 15-working-day contest period, because requesting one does not extend the deadline. Employee representatives may be invited to take part.
Employee rights
Employees and their representatives may contest the reasonableness of the abatement period, and employees are protected from retaliation for raising safety concerns. Learn more about whistleblower protection.
How to Respond to an OSHA Citation Step by Step
- Note the receipt date. Count 15 working days to find your contest deadline and put it on the calendar.
- Post the citation. Post it immediately near the cited area for at least three working days or until abated.
- Review each item. Check the facts, the standard cited, the violation type and the abatement date.
- Protect employees. Start fixing hazards right away, even if you plan to contest.
- Decide on a response. Choose to accept, request an informal conference, or file a notice of contest, ideally with legal advice for willful or repeat items.
- Abate and certify. Correct each hazard by its abatement date and send the required certification and documentation.
- Prevent recurrence. Fix the root cause and check other sites for the same condition to avoid repeat citations.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Counting calendar days instead of working days, or starting the count late.
- Assuming an informal conference extends the contest deadline.
- Forgetting to post the citation or removing it too early.
- Paying the penalty and forgetting to abate and certify.
- Not fixing the same hazard at other locations, which can lead to repeat citations.
- Poor records, such as an incomplete OSHA injury and illness log, that create additional citation items.
How SMS360 Helps
SMS360's Compliance Management module helps teams track citation items, deadlines and related regulatory obligations in one place. Actions Management turns each item into an assigned corrective action with reminders and evidence, and Document Library stores the citation, correspondence and abatement records.
OSHA's inspection, citation and penalty procedures are in 29 CFR Part 1903 on eCFR.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to contest an OSHA citation?
You have 15 working days from the date you receive the citation to file a written notice of contest with the OSHA Area Director. If you miss the deadline, the citation becomes a final order.
How long must an OSHA citation be posted?
Until the violation is abated or for three working days, whichever is later. Post it at or near the place of the violation, or where affected employees will see it.
Does an informal conference stop the contest clock?
No. The informal conference must be held within the 15-working-day contest period. If no settlement is reached in time, you must still file a notice of contest to preserve your rights.
How much is an OSHA penalty?
Maximum penalties depend on the violation type and are adjusted annually for inflation. OSHA considers gravity, business size, good faith and history when proposing an amount, so actual penalties are often below the maximum.
