OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30: What General Contractors Need to Know

May 8, 2026 · 5 min read

If you're a general contractor managing subcontractors, you've probably required OSHA cards at some point. But there's consistent confusion in the field about what OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 actually certify — and which one you should be requiring for which workers.

Here's a clear breakdown.

What Is OSHA 10?

OSHA 10 is a 10-hour safety training course designed for entry-level workers. It covers the basics of workplace safety — hazard recognition, fall protection, electrical safety, PPE, and workers' rights under OSHA regulations.

It's the baseline certification. If someone is working on a job site and doesn't have safety training, OSHA 10 is the floor. Most states and many project owners require it for all workers on commercial or public construction projects.

What Is OSHA 30?

OSHA 30 is a 30-hour course aimed at supervisors, foremen, and site safety personnel. It covers everything in OSHA 10 in greater depth, plus additional topics like managing safety programs, accident investigation, recordkeeping, and supervising workers in hazardous conditions.

The extra 20 hours aren't just more of the same — they're oriented toward people who are responsible for others on site, not just themselves.

Key Differences at a Glance

	OSHA 10	OSHA 30
Duration	10 hours	30 hours
Intended for	Entry-level workers	Supervisors and foremen
Focus	Hazard awareness and personal safety	Safety management and supervision
Card color	White	Blue
Expires	Does not expire (though some owners require renewal)	Does not expire (same caveat)

Which Should You Require From Subcontractors?

A reasonable baseline for most commercial projects:

• All workers on site — OSHA 10 minimum
• Subcontractor foremen and supervisors — OSHA 30
• Your own site superintendent — OSHA 30

Some project owners — particularly on public, federal, or union jobs — will specify their own requirements in the contract. Always check the spec before setting your own subcontractor requirements, since the owner's requirements become your requirements by flow-down.

Many states have also enacted their own OSHA card laws. New York, for example, requires OSHA 10 for all construction workers and OSHA 30 for supervisors on most job sites. Check your state's Department of Labor requirements if you're unsure.

The Practical Problem: Collecting and Tracking the Cards

Requiring OSHA cards is easy. Actually collecting them, verifying they're authentic, and tracking which workers have current cards on file is where it breaks down in practice.

Common failure modes:

• A sub says their crew is OSHA 10 certified but nobody has the cards on them.
• Cards get submitted by email, scattered across threads, and impossible to audit later.
• A new worker joins a crew mid-project and their certification status is never verified.
• An owner or insurer asks for proof of OSHA compliance and you can't produce it quickly.

The fix is the same as with COIs — centralize the collection, attach documents to the subcontractor and project, and be able to pull a compliance report on demand.

A Note on Card Authenticity

OSHA cards are issued by OSHA-authorized trainers through the OSHA Outreach Training Program. They're not difficult to verify — the card includes the trainer's name and the issuing organization — but in practice most GCs accept them at face value.

If you're on a high-stakes project where verification matters, you can cross-reference the trainer's authorization at osha.gov. Storing a timestamped, tamper-proof copy of the card at the time of submission gives you a defensible record that the document was authentic when received.

Bottom Line

OSHA 10 is for workers, OSHA 30 is for supervisors. Require both, collect the cards before work starts, and keep them on file in a way you can actually access when someone asks.

The liability exposure from having an uncertified worker on site — or from being unable to prove certification when required — is significant. The paperwork burden of tracking it doesn't have to be.