Does OSHA 10 Expire? What Electricians Need to Know
Quick Answer
Federally, an OSHA 10 card never expires. OSHA itself sets no expiration date. However, some states, cities, and employers put a shelf life on the card — most commonly five years — so whether your card is “expired” depends on who’s asking for it.
I’m an IBEW Local 134 journeyman electrician, a licensed electrical contractor, and OSHA 30 certified, and I teach a federally recognized pre-apprenticeship — which means I answer this exact question every cohort. The confusion is understandable, because the truthful answer is “no, and also sometimes yes.” Here’s the whole picture, with the actual rules verified instead of the training-provider marketing version.
Does an OSHA 10 Card Expire?
No — the federal card has no expiration date. OSHA’s own outreach-training FAQ says it plainly: student completion cards for Construction, General Industry, Maritime, and Disaster Site “do not have an expiration date.” The card you earned in 2015 is still a valid federal credential today.
Three things create the “expiration” confusion, and they’re all real:
- OSHA’s replacement-card cutoff. OSHA will only let your trainer issue a replacement card if you took the class within the last 5 years — and only one replacement, ever. Lose a 6-year-old card and there is no way to get it back.
- State and city laws. A handful of jurisdictions — Nevada and Connecticut by statute, New York City through its Site Safety Training system — treat cards older than 5 years as no longer valid proof.
- Employer and GC policies. Plenty of general contractors require “current” OSHA 10, and they define current however they want — 3 years and 5 years are both common house rules.
Which States Require OSHA 10 Renewal?
Most states have no OSHA 10 mandate at all — the card only comes up because an employer or project owner requires it. But several states require OSHA 10 by law for construction work, and a subset of those effectively expire the card. These are the verified rules:
| Jurisdiction | Where OSHA 10 is required | Does it expire there? |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | All non-supervisory construction workers, within 15 days of hire (NRS 618.983) | Yes — cards expire 5 years after issuance. Renew by retaking the course or documented continuing education. |
| New York City | Construction/demolition jobs requiring site-safety personnel — via the 40-hour SST card, which OSHA 10/30 only partially satisfies | Effectively yes — SST cards expire every 5 years and renewal requires a DOB-approved refresher. |
| Connecticut | Manual laborers on public building projects where total work costs $100,000+ (CGS § 31-53b) | Yes — a card issued more than 5 years before the project start is not valid proof. |
| Massachusetts | All worksite employees on public works contracts (M.G.L. c.30 § 39S — the statute sets the bar at just over $10,000) | No — the statute sets no card-age limit, though some awarding authorities apply a 5-year convention. |
| Missouri | On-site workers on public works projects; training within 60 days of starting (RSMo § 292.675) | No — prior completion counts indefinitely. |
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and West Virginia also require OSHA 10 on public projects above certain dollar thresholds, and Rhode Island is widely reported to apply a five-year card-age rule. Philadelphia requires OSHA 10 for all workers on permitted construction and demolition. Rules like these get amended — if a specific project is on the line, check your state’s current requirement rather than trusting any article, including this one.
Do IBEW Apprenticeships Require OSHA 10?
Generally, no — and this trips up a lot of applicants who think they need to stack certifications before applying. The standard IBEW apprenticeship requirements are: 18 years old, a high school diploma or GED, a year of algebra, a qualifying score on the aptitude test, and usually a driver’s license and a drug test. OSHA 10 is not on that list at almost any JATC.
When I taught pre-apprentices, we handled OSHA 10 for them — and most JATCs do the same thing during your first year, along with CPR and first aid. Don’t spend money on a card the program will give you.
The one place an early OSHA 10 helps: the interview. When the panel asks whether you’ve taken any trade-related classes, “I already completed my OSHA 10” is concrete evidence you’re serious. It won’t outweigh a weak aptitude score — but it’s a legitimate ranking-points play. If you’re at that stage, the IBEW interview panel guide covers exactly what they score.
OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30: Which Do Electricians Need?
OSHA 10 is for workers; OSHA 30 is for anyone directing work. The 10-hour course covers hazard recognition basics — falls, electrocution, struck-by, caught-between. The 30-hour course goes deeper and adds management-side duties, and it’s what supervisor-level rules ask for: Nevada requires OSHA 30 for construction supervisors, NYC’s supervisor SST track builds on it, and Philadelphia requires a licensed contractor to have a supervisory employee with OSHA 30 completed within the last 5 years.
- Apprentice or applying? OSHA 10 is all you’d ever be asked for — and your JATC likely provides it.
- Journeyman aiming at foreman? Get OSHA 30. I hold OSHA 30 for exactly that reason — once you run work, the 10 stops being enough on paper or in practice.
How to Replace a Lost OSHA 10 Card
OSHA does not issue cards and cannot reissue yours — the card comes from your outreach trainer. The replacement process:
- Contact the training provider you took the course through (the online provider or the individual trainer on your card).
- Confirm you’re inside the 5-year window. Trainers can only replace cards for classes taken within the last 5 years — one replacement per student per class, period.
- Pay the provider’s fee. Roughly $25–$89 depending on the provider (OSHA Education Center charges $60; 360training lists $89).
If your class was more than 5 years ago, the only path back to a card in hand is retaking the course — which, given what Nevada, Connecticut, and half the GCs in the country think of old cards, is usually worth the $50–$90 anyway.
The Bottom Line
An OSHA 10 card does not expire federally. It effectively expires at 5 years anywhere the card’s age matters — Nevada and Connecticut by statute, NYC through the SST system, OSHA’s own replacement window, and many employers’ house rules. If your card is older than 5 years and your work depends on it, plan to retake the course.
And if you’re getting your OSHA 10 as part of an IBEW apprenticeship application: the card is the easy part. The aptitude test is what washes people out — it’s the gate that decides whether the panel ever sees your certifications at all.
The card is the easy part
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Take the Free Practice TestFrequently Asked Questions
Is OSHA 10 good for life?
The federal DOL card is good for life — OSHA sets no expiration date. But OSHA will only issue a replacement card within 5 years of your class, and Nevada, Connecticut, and New York City reject or age-out cards older than 5 years. Treat 5 years as the practical shelf life.
Does OSHA 10 transfer between states?
Yes. OSHA 10 is a federal Department of Labor credential, so the card itself is valid in every state. What changes by state is whether the card is required at all, and whether it must be recent — Nevada and Connecticut, for example, will not accept a card issued more than 5 years ago.
How much does OSHA 10 cost?
Legitimate authorized online providers charge roughly $50–$90 for the OSHA 10 construction course in 2026 (ClickSafety, 360training, OSHA Education Center are all in that band). Be suspicious of anything far cheaper or promising an instant card — the DOL card takes time to arrive.
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Michael B.
IBEW Local 134 Journeyman · Licensed Contractor · IL Educator
Michael started in the IBEW at 18 and made foreman as a 3rd-year apprentice. Thirteen years in, he’s a Local 134 journeyman, a licensed electrical contractor, a licensed Illinois teacher, and OSHA 30 and EPA 608 certified. He teaches a federally recognized pre-apprenticeship on the south side of Chicago — where he’s helped 100+ students get into the IBEW. He built Sparky AI around exactly what the NJATC exam tests and what trips people up. Prep with this and you walk in ready.