Personal Protective Equipment General Requirements (29 CFR 1910.132) is the OSHA standard that sets the ground rules for PPE in general industry. It requires employers to assess the workplace for hazards, select and provide equipment that protects against them, train workers to use it and keep it in good condition. It protects any employee whose eyes, face, head, hands, feet or body are exposed to hazards that other controls have not eliminated.
Almost every general industry employer with physical hazards is affected, and the rule is the foundation for the more specific PPE sections that follow it in Subpart I.
What Is the PPE General Requirements Standard?
29 CFR 1910.132 is the first section of Subpart I, Personal Protective Equipment, in OSHA's general industry standards (29 CFR Part 1910). It applies to protective equipment for the eyes, face, head and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers. That equipment must be provided, used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever hazards from processes, the environment, chemicals, radiation or mechanical irritants could cause injury through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.
Subpart I contains several companion sections that build on 1910.132:
- 1910.133, eye and face protection
- 1910.134, respiratory protection
- 1910.135, head protection
- 1910.136, foot protection
- 1910.137, electrical protective equipment
- 1910.138, hand protection
- 1910.140, personal fall protection systems
Under 1910.132(g), the hazard assessment and training paragraphs of 1910.132 apply to the eye and face, head, foot, hand and fall protection sections. They do not apply to respiratory protection or electrical protective equipment, because the Respiratory Protection Standard and 1910.137 carry their own, more detailed requirements.
PPE is the last line of defense in the hierarchy of controls. OSHA expects employers to use elimination, substitution, engineering and administrative controls first, and to rely on PPE for the hazards that remain.
Who Must Comply?
The standard covers general industry employers under federal OSHA jurisdiction whose workplaces present hazards that require PPE. Construction has a parallel rule in 29 CFR 1926.95, and maritime employers follow their own PPE provisions. In December 2024 OSHA amended 1926.95(c), effective January 13, 2025, to state explicitly that construction PPE must properly fit each affected employee, matching the general industry language in 1910.132(d)(1)(iii).
States that run their own OSHA-approved State Plans must have PPE rules that are at least as effective as the federal standard. Some State Plans add requirements, so employers in those states should check their state rule as well.
There is no size threshold. A small shop has the same duty to assess hazards as a large manufacturer.
Key Requirements
Hazard assessment, 1910.132(d)
The employer must assess the workplace to determine whether hazards are present, or likely to be present, that require PPE. Where they are, the employer must select the types of PPE that protect against those hazards, have each affected employee use it, communicate the selection decisions to each affected employee, and select PPE that properly fits each person.
The assessment must be verified through a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated, the person certifying that the evaluation was performed, the date or dates of the assessment, and that identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment. Non-mandatory Appendix B to Subpart I describes an acceptable walk-through approach.
Employee-owned equipment and design, 1910.132(b) and (c)
If employees provide their own PPE, the employer is still responsible for making sure it is adequate, properly maintained and sanitary. All PPE must be of safe design and construction for the work being performed.
Defective and damaged equipment, 1910.132(e)
Defective or damaged PPE must not be used. In practice this means employees need a way to inspect equipment before use and a way to get a replacement quickly.
Training and retraining, 1910.132(f)
Each employee required to use PPE must be trained to know at least:
- When PPE is necessary
- What PPE is necessary
- How to properly put on, take off, adjust and wear it
- The limitations of the PPE
- Proper care, maintenance, useful life and disposal
Before performing work that requires PPE, each affected employee must demonstrate an understanding of the training and the ability to use the PPE properly. Retraining is required when changes in the workplace or in the types of PPE make earlier training obsolete, or when an employee's knowledge or use of PPE shows they have not retained the necessary understanding or skill.
Under 1910.132(f)(4), the employer must verify that each affected employee received and understood the training through a written certification. It must contain the name of each employee trained, the date or dates of training, and identify the subject of the certification.
Payment for PPE, 1910.132(h)
With limited exceptions, the employer must provide required PPE at no cost to employees. The employer does not have to pay for:
- Non-specialty safety-toe footwear and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, as long as the employer allows these items to be worn off the job site
- Shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection, when the employer provides metatarsal guards and the employee asks to use the built-in style instead
- Logging boots required by 1910.266(d)(1)(v)
- Everyday clothing and ordinary weather gear, such as long pants, street shoes, normal work boots, winter coats, raincoats, ordinary sunglasses and sunscreen
The employer must pay for replacement PPE, except when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged it. An employee may voluntarily use adequate PPE they already own, but the employer cannot require employees to provide their own PPE outside the listed exceptions. Where another OSHA standard specifically addresses who pays for certain equipment, that standard controls.
Documentation and Recordkeeping
The core written document is the certification of hazard assessment under 1910.132(d)(2). OSHA does not set a fixed review cycle for it, but the assessment should be revisited whenever new equipment, processes, chemicals or job tasks change the hazards, and after an incident that points to a gap in protection.
The second required document is the written training certification under 1910.132(f)(4), showing each employee's name, the date or dates of training and the subject covered. Many employers also record how each person demonstrated competence, and keep PPE issue logs and inspection checklists for items such as harnesses, chemical-rated gloves and face shields.
Common Violations and Penalties
PPE citations usually trace back to a few recurring gaps:
- No written certification. An employer may have thought through hazards but cannot produce a certified assessment that names the workplace, the certifier and the date.
- Generic PPE selections. A blanket "safety glasses required" rule does not address splash, impact, heat or chemical hazards that call for goggles, face shields or specific gloves.
- Training that covers what, but not how. Employees know they need gloves but not which glove, how long it lasts or when to discard it.
- Charging employees for PPE that is not on the list of exceptions, or for replacements of worn-out equipment.
- Worn or damaged equipment still in use because there is no inspection or replacement process.
As of 2026, OSHA's published maximum penalties are $16,550 per serious or other-than-serious violation and $165,514 per willful or repeated violation, with failure-to-abate penalties of up to $16,550 per day beyond the abatement date. State Plan penalties may differ.
How to Comply: Step by Step
- List your work areas and tasks. Break the workplace into departments, jobs or tasks so each can be assessed separately.
- Walk through and identify hazards. Look for impact, penetration, compression, chemical, heat, cold, dust, radiation, sharp edges, electrical and fall hazards. Use your job hazard analysis results where they exist.
- Apply higher-level controls first. Engineer out or reduce hazards where feasible, then decide what PPE is still needed.
- Select PPE for each hazard and task. Match equipment to the hazard and any applicable consensus standard referenced in 1910.133 through 1910.140, and offer sizes that fit your workforce.
- Write and sign the certification. Record the workplace evaluated, the date and the person certifying, and label it a certification of hazard assessment.
- Communicate selections. Post or distribute PPE requirements by area or task so employees know what to wear.
- Train and verify. Cover all five training topics, have each employee demonstrate proper use before working, and complete the written training certification.
- Set up issue, inspection and replacement. Make it easy to get replacements at no cost and to remove damaged equipment from service.
- Review regularly. Reassess after process changes, new equipment, incidents and near misses, and retrain when needed.
How SMS360 Helps
SMS360's Audits & Inspections module helps teams turn PPE hazard assessments and equipment checks into repeatable digital forms and checklists. Supervisors can complete area walk-throughs on a mobile device, capture findings and photos, and assign corrective actions with owners and due dates when PPE is missing, damaged or wrong for the task.
Completed assessments and inspection records are stored centrally, so the certified hazard assessment and the history of follow-up actions are easy to find during an audit. Dashboards show open items and recurring findings by location, which helps safety managers see where PPE compliance needs attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does OSHA require a written PPE hazard assessment?
Yes. Under 1910.132(d)(2), the employer must verify that the hazard assessment was performed through a written certification. It must identify the workplace evaluated, the person certifying the evaluation, the date or dates of the assessment, and state that it is a certification of hazard assessment. OSHA does not require a specific form.
Does my employer have to pay for safety boots?
Usually not for ordinary steel-toe boots. The employer does not have to pay for non-specialty safety-toe footwear if employees are allowed to wear it off the job site. Specialty footwear, such as metatarsal guards or chemical-resistant boots that cannot reasonably be worn away from work, generally must be provided at no cost.
How often is PPE training required?
1910.132 does not set an annual refresher requirement. Training is required before an employee does work that requires PPE, and retraining is required when workplace or PPE changes make earlier training obsolete or when an employee shows they lack the needed understanding or skill. Each training must be documented in the written certification required by 1910.132(f)(4). Other standards, such as respiratory protection, set their own frequencies.
Does 1910.132 apply to respirators?
Partly. Respirators fall within the general duty in 1910.132(a) to provide and maintain protective equipment, but the hazard assessment and training paragraphs do not apply to them. Respirator selection, fit testing, medical evaluation and training are governed by 29 CFR 1910.134.
