Fall protection starts at 6 feet in construction, 4 feet in general industry, more than 10 feet on a scaffold and more than 15 feet in steel erection. All four are federal OSHA rules, all four can apply on the same site on the same day, and which one covers you is decided by the work being performed — not by what your company calls itself.
The four numbers, and where each one lives
| Work | Trigger height | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Construction — unprotected sides and edges | 6 ft or more | 1926.501(b)(1) |
| General industry — unprotected sides and edges | 4 ft or more | 1910.28(b)(1)(i) |
| Scaffolds (construction) | More than 10 ft | 1926.451(g)(1) |
| Steel erection | More than 15 ft | 1926.760(a)(1) |
| Steel erection — connectors | More than two stories or 30 ft; equipment to tie off from 15 ft | 1926.760(b) |
| Fixed ladders (general industry) | More than 24 ft | 1910.28(b)(9)(i) |
Fall protection, 29 CFR 1926.501, was the most frequently cited OSHA standard in fiscal year 2025, and fall protection training, 1926.503, came seventh. Two entries in the same top ten, on the same subject. The numbers below are not trivia.
Construction: 6 feet, fifteen different ways
1926.501(b) does not state one rule. It states fifteen, one per situation, and almost all of them land on 6 feet. Knowing which subparagraph covers the work matters, because each one allows a different set of protective systems.
| Situation | Paragraph | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Unprotected sides and edges | (b)(1) | 6 ft or more |
| Leading edges | (b)(2) | 6 ft or more |
| Hoist areas | (b)(3) | 6 ft or more |
| Holes — falling through | (b)(4) | More than 6 ft |
| Formwork and reinforcing steel | (b)(5) | 6 ft or more |
| Ramps, runways and other walkways | (b)(6) | 6 ft or more |
| Excavations — wells, pits, shafts and similar | (b)(7) | 6 ft or more in depth |
| Dangerous equipment | (b)(8) | Any height — see below |
| Overhand bricklaying | (b)(9) | 6 ft or more |
| Low-slope roofs | (b)(10) | 6 ft or more |
| Steep roofs | (b)(11) | 6 ft or more |
| Precast concrete erection | (b)(12) | 6 ft or more |
| Residential construction | (b)(13) | 6 ft or more |
| Wall openings | (b)(14) | Outside edge 6 ft or more; inside edge less than 39 in |
| Walking/working surfaces not otherwise addressed | (b)(15) | 6 ft or more |
General industry: 4 feet
1910.28(b) is built the same way, situation by situation, and it lands on 4 feet almost everywhere: unprotected sides and edges under (b)(1)(i), hoist areas under (b)(2)(i), holes under (b)(3)(i), dockboards under (b)(4)(i), runways and similar walkways under (b)(5)(i), openings under (b)(7), stairways under (b)(11)(i). Dangerous equipment appears again, at 4 feet or more, in (b)(6)(ii).
Two general-industry numbers are worth remembering separately. Repair, service and assembly pits less than 10 feet deep get their own treatment under (b)(8), and fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level fall under (b)(9)(i), which is the paragraph driving the long phase-out of cages and wells in favor of ladder safety systems and personal fall arrest.
Scaffolds at 10 feet, steel erection at 15
Scaffolds — Subpart L
1926.451(g)(1): each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level. Subpart M's 6-foot rule does not reach a worker standing on a scaffold platform; Subpart L does, and it then tells you which system by scaffold type — a personal fall arrest system on boatswains' chairs, catenary, float, needle beam and ladder jack scaffolds under (g)(1)(i); both a personal fall arrest system and a guardrail system on single-point and two-point adjustable suspension scaffolds under (g)(1)(ii); either system on other scaffolds under (g)(1)(vii).
Guardrail heights also differ from the rest of construction. The general rule at 1926.502(b)(1) is 42 inches plus or minus 3. On supported scaffolds manufactured or placed in service after January 1, 2000 it is 38 to 45 inches, and on older supported scaffolds and on suspension scaffolds it is 36 to 45 inches — 1926.451(g)(4)(ii).
Erectors and dismantlers get their own paragraph, (g)(2): fall protection is required where its installation and use is feasible and does not create a greater hazard.
Steel erection — Subpart R
1926.760(a)(1) sets the general trigger at more than 15 feet. Two exceptions sit inside it. Connectors, under (b), must be protected from fall hazards of more than two stories or 30 feet, and over 15 and up to 30 feet they must be provided with a personal fall arrest, positioning device or fall restraint system and wear the equipment necessary to be able to tie off. A controlled decking zone may be established over 15 and up to 30 feet where metal decking is initially being installed, under (c).
The rules with no trigger height at all
- Aerial lifts. 1926.453(b)(2)(v): a body belt shall be worn and a lanyard attached to the boom or basket when working from an aerial lift. No height. And (b)(2)(iv) is the companion rule crews break every week — employees shall always stand firmly on the floor of the basket, and shall not sit or climb on the edge of the basket or use planks, ladders or other devices for a work position.
- Stairways. 1926.1052(c)(1): stairways having four or more risers, or rising more than 30 inches, whichever is less, shall be equipped with at least one handrail and one stairrail system along each unprotected side or edge.
- Dangerous equipment. Covered above — 1926.501(b)(8) applies below 6 feet.
- Holes. The fall-through hazard triggers above 6 feet, but 1926.501(b)(4) also requires holes to be covered or guarded against employees stepping into or tripping on them, whatever is underneath.
Which rule applies to me?
Not your industry code. The work. 29 CFR 1910.12(a) adopts the Part 1926 standards as the ones that apply to employment in construction work, and 1910.12(b) defines that work: “Construction work means work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating.”
The practical consequences show up in the same building:
- A maintenance technician changing a belt on a mezzanine: general industry, protection at 4 feet.
- The same technician's employer hiring a contractor to build a new mezzanine: construction, protection at 6 feet.
- Either of them standing on a rolling scaffold to do it: more than 10 feet, Subpart L.
- The ironworker setting the mezzanine steel: more than 15 feet, Subpart R.
State Plan states may set stricter rules than federal OSHA, and several have — check yours before you settle on a number. Then write the height and the system you chose into the JHA for the task, and inspect the equipment before every use with the harness and lanyard inspection form.
Five ways crews get the height wrong
- Measuring to the wrong surface. The trigger is the distance to the lower level, not to the nearest platform or to the ground you happen to see.
- Reading “6 feet” as one rule. It is fifteen situations, each with its own list of acceptable systems.
- Applying 6 feet on a scaffold. It is more than 10 feet, and the scaffold type decides the system.
- Assuming below the trigger means no duty. Dangerous equipment, stairways, holes and aerial lifts have no height gate.
- Confusing the trigger with the plan. Reaching 6 feet tells you protection is required. It does not tell you the anchorage exists, that the clearance below is sufficient, or that anybody can reach a suspended worker.
Bottom line
- Construction 6 ft (1926.501(b)(1)) · general industry 4 ft (1910.28(b)(1)(i)) · scaffolds more than 10 ft (1926.451(g)(1)) · steel erection more than 15 ft (1926.760(a)(1)).
- The work decides the standard, not the company — 1910.12(b).
- Watch the wording: “or more” includes the number, “more than” does not.
- Dangerous equipment, stairways, holes and aerial lifts protect below any trigger height.
- State Plans may be stricter. The height is the floor, not the ceiling.