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Ladder Inspection Checklist Generator

Log each ladder by its own ID, work through the defects that force a ladder out of service under 29 CFR 1926.1053, record what was tagged and sign the form, then print it or download it as a PDF. Every checkpoint carries the paragraph it comes from, and a blank form prints just as cleanly for marking up by hand at the ladder rack.

OSHA never defines “periodic” in construction: the interval is the employer’s to set. General industry is specific — before initial use in each work shift.
1926.1053(b)(15) names the role. 1926.32(f): able to identify the hazards and authorized to take prompt corrective measures.
Ladders inspected

One line per ladder. The ID and the rated capacity from the ladder’s own label are what make this record usable next month — and the rating is what 1926.1053(b)(3) actually points at.

#Ladder IDTypeMaterialLengthRated capacity (label)Verdict
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Template for informational purposes only. This document must be reviewed and adapted by a competent or qualified person for your specific jobsite, equipment, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements. It does not constitute legal, engineering, or safety advice and does not by itself establish compliance with OSHA or any other standard. SteelToeTools assumes no liability for its use. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

How to use this checklist

  1. 1
    Number the ladders before you inspect them. “The 24-footer” is not a record when the rack holds four of them. An ID stencilled on the rail turns this sheet into something you can check against next month, and it is the only way to tell whether the ladder that failed in March ever came back.
  2. 2
    Copy the rated capacity off the label. Not the type, not what you remember — the number printed on the ladder. 1926.1053(b)(3) is written against the manufacturer’s rating, and that rating covers the worker plus everything being carried up.
  3. 3
    Answer group A before anything else. A broken rung, a split rail, corrosion or a field repair ends the inspection on the spot. There is nothing to weigh up and no percentage to judge: the ladder is marked or tagged and it leaves the job.
  4. 4
    Work the ladder with your hands. Flex each rail, twist the rungs, open and close the spreader, run the extension up and down and let it drop onto the rung locks, spin each foot. A rung that turns in the rail and a lock that catches nine times out of ten are both defects.
  5. 5
    Log what was tagged and where it went, then sign. Print or download the PDF. Put the ladder task and its fall hazard into a JHA, check the fall protection kit with the harness and lanyard form, and run the crew briefing off the ladder safety toolbox talk.

What OSHA requires

Two sentences carry the inspection duty, and they are not the same sentence. In construction, 29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(15): “Ladders shall be inspected by a competent person for visible defects on a periodic basis and after any occurrence that could affect their safe use.” In general industry, 1910.23(b)(9): ladders are “inspected before initial use in each work shift, and more frequently as necessary, to identify any visible defects that could cause employee injury.”

The difference is worth a minute. Construction names a role — a competent person, defined at 1926.32(f) as someone capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and authorized to take prompt corrective measures — but leaves the interval open: OSHA never defines “periodic”, so the employer sets it and has to be able to justify it. General industry does the reverse: it fixes the interval at every work shift and names no role. A contractor whose crews cross between the two has one simple way out, which is to run the shift inspection everywhere.

What happens to a bad ladder is where most sites fall short. 1926.1053(b)(16) requires a portable ladder with structural defects to either be immediately marked in a manner that readily identifies it as defective, or be tagged with “Do Not Use” or similar language — and to be withdrawn from service until repaired. The tag is not the compliance; the withdrawal is. For fixed ladders, 1926.1053(b)(17) adds a third acceptable marking: blocking the ladder, such as with a plywood attachment that spans several rungs. General industry specifies the words: “Dangerous: Do Not Use” or similar language, in accordance with 1910.145.

The ladder figures OSHA does state
WhatFigureWhere
Extension above the upper landing surfaceAt least 3 ft (0.9 m)1926.1053(b)(1); 1910.23(c)(11)
Set-up angle, non-self-supporting ladderFoot out about ¼ of the working length — the 4:1 rule1926.1053(b)(5)(i)
Set-up angle, wood job-made ladder with spliced railsFoot out ⅛ of the working length1926.1053(b)(5)(ii)
Rung, cleat and step spacing10 in to 14 in centre to centre (step stools 8 in to 12 in)1926.1053(a)(3)(i)-(ii)
Clear distance between portable ladder side railsAt least 11½ in (29 cm)1926.1053(a)(4)(ii)
Portable self-supporting ladder strengthAt least 4× the maximum intended load (3.3× for extra-heavy-duty type 1A metal or plastic)1926.1053(a)(1)(i)
Fixed ladder rung strengthSingle concentrated load of at least 250 lb (114 kg) in the middle of the rung1926.1053(a)(1)(iii)
Loading in useNever beyond the maximum intended load, nor beyond the manufacturer’s rated capacity1926.1053(b)(3)
RepairMust restore the ladder to a condition meeting its original design criteria1926.1053(b)(18)

Duty ratings: where they come from, and what actually binds

The five ladder types originate in the ANSI A14 standards, which are paid consensus documents. OSHA publishes the table itself, in the public domain, in Fact Sheet 3660 — Reducing Falls in Construction: Safe Use of Extension Ladders, sourcing Types IA, I, II and III to Subpart X Appendix A and Type IAA to ANSI A14 (2009) non-mandatory guidelines. Reproduced here with that attribution:

Ladder duty ratings as published by OSHA in Fact Sheet 3660
TypeDuty ratingUseLoad
IAASpecial dutyRugged375 lb
IAExtra dutyIndustrial300 lb
IHeavy dutyIndustrial250 lb
IIMedium dutyCommercial225 lb
IIILight dutyHousehold200 lb

Useful for buying ladders — but it is not what an inspection turns on. The enforceable sentence is 1926.1053(b)(3): ladders shall not be loaded beyond the maximum intended load for which they were built, nor beyond their manufacturer’s rated capacity. That is the number printed on the ladder in front of you, and it covers the worker plus every tool and material going up. It is what this form records, and it is why an unreadable label is itself a finding. OSHA also prescribes no form, no format and no retention period for a ladder inspection, and 1926.1060(a)(1) puts the ladder training itself in the hands of a competent person, including the maximum intended load-carrying capacities of the ladders used.

Frequently asked questions

It depends which standard you work under, and the two are genuinely different. In construction, 29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(15) says ladders shall be inspected by a competent person for visible defects on a periodic basis and after any occurrence that could affect their safe use — OSHA never defines "periodic", so the interval is the employer's to set and to justify. In general industry, 1910.23(b)(9) is specific: ladders are inspected before initial use in each work shift, and more frequently as necessary. If your crews move between the two, run the shift-based rule everywhere; it satisfies both.

In construction the standard names the role: a competent person, defined at 1926.32(f) as someone capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. Both halves matter — the authority to pull a ladder off the job is part of the definition, not a bonus. General industry does not name a role in 1910.23(b)(9), but 1926.1060(a)(1) requires a competent person to do the training in construction, so in practice the same person usually does both.

Two things, and the second is the one sites forget. 1926.1053(b)(16) requires a portable ladder with structural defects to either be immediately marked in a manner that readily identifies it as defective, or be tagged with "Do Not Use" or similar language — and to be withdrawn from service until repaired. Marking alone is not enough; the ladder has to leave the job. For fixed ladders, 1926.1053(b)(17) gives a third option: blocking it, such as with a plywood attachment that spans several rungs. In general industry, 1910.23(b)(10) specifies the wording — "Dangerous: Do Not Use" or similar language, in accordance with 1910.145.

Only to one standard. 1926.1053(b)(18) requires that ladder repairs restore the ladder to a condition meeting its original design criteria before the ladder is returned to use. That is a high bar for a fiberglass rail or a swaged rung, and in practice most manufacturers do not offer a field repair that meets it. A hose clamp on a split rail does not meet it, and neither does a replacement rung from a different make of ladder. When in doubt the honest disposition is destruction, which is why it is on the tag-out table of this form.

1926.1053(b)(5)(i) requires non-self-supporting ladders to be used at an angle such that the horizontal distance from the top support to the foot of the ladder is approximately one-quarter of the working length — the distance along the ladder between the foot and the top support. So a ladder touching the wall 16 ft up the rail sits about 4 ft out from the base. Wood job-made ladders with spliced side rails are the exception: 1926.1053(b)(5)(ii) puts them at one-eighth the working length, a steeper pitch. Neither figure is a target you eyeball once and forget: the ladder moves.

At least 3 feet. 1926.1053(b)(1) requires portable ladder side rails to extend at least 3 ft above the upper landing surface the ladder is used to reach, and 1910.23(c)(11) says the same for general industry. The standard does allow the alternative when the ladder is simply not long enough: secure the top to a rigid support that will not deflect and provide a grasping device such as a grabrail. What it never allows is an extension so long that ladder deflection under load could make the ladder slip off its support.

Not in the standard, but yes in its own guidance, and the distinction matters. The five ladder types and their pound ratings originate in the ANSI A14 standards, which are paid consensus documents. OSHA reproduces the table in the public domain in its Fact Sheet 3660, sourcing Types IA, I, II and III to Subpart X Appendix A and Type IAA to ANSI A14 (2009) non-mandatory guidelines: IAA special duty 375 lb, IA extra duty 300 lb, I heavy duty 250 lb, II medium duty 225 lb, III light duty 200 lb. What is enforceable is narrower and simpler. 1926.1053(b)(3) says ladders shall not be loaded beyond the maximum intended load for which they were built, nor beyond their manufacturer's rated capacity — the number printed on the ladder in front of you, covering the worker plus every tool and material carried. That is what this form records, and it is why an unreadable label is itself a finding.

No. Subpart X prescribes no form, no format and no retention period, and neither does 1910.23. What is required is that the inspection happen, that a competent person do it in construction, and that defective ladders be marked or tagged and withdrawn from service. A sheet like this one is simply how an employer shows all three — and on a site with forty ladders in a rack, an inspection with ladder IDs on it is the only version anyone can check later.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated v1