Posted on: July 27, 2023

OSHA DOL Card Meaning: What is a OSHA Card?

OSHA Card

Learning how to get an OSHA card – especially the right OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 card – is a hurdle that a lot of workers new to an industry will face.

High- and medium-risk industries will often ask workers to earn a "DOL card" early in their employment or sometimes even before they're hired. It's important because it will give you a basic foundation in workplace safety for your industry.

What Is a DOL Card?

A "DOL card" is shorthand for the durable plastic card issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) when you complete an OSHA Outreach course. Sometimes these also get referred to as "OSHA certification," but OSHA dislikes that term.

Which Type of DOL Card is Best?

It depends on what type of work you do and whether you're a supervisor.

There are multiple types of DOL cards – there are 4 different "industries" with two education levels each. DOL card "industries" aren't always real or specific industries. Instead, they're grouped together by OSHA standard number:

  • Construction DOL cards cover the standards in §1926 targeted to the construction industry
  • Maritime DOL cards are subdivided into Shipyard (§1915), Marine Terminal (§1917), and Longshoring (§1918)
  • Disaster Worker cards are designed for skilled support workers or site cleanup services that respond to man-made or natural disasters
  • General Industry covers the standards in §1910, designed for everyone who doesn't fall into one of the above categories.

Construction and General Industry are the most common types of DOL cards. General Industry covers everything from manufacturing and warehousing to healthcare and hospitality.

Within each industry, the shorter courses are for workers and the longer courses are for anyone with supervisory responsibilities. Disaster worker courses are a little shorter than the other industries.

What Is an OSHA 10 Card?

An OSHA 10 card proves that you completed one of the worker-level OSHA Outreach courses.

The 10-hour curriculum varies by industry but always includes an Intro to OSHA section so that workers understand their rights (and their employers' responsibilities). The rest of the course focuses on the most important safety topics, including 6-7 hours of mandatory topics per industry. Instructors can fill the rest of the time by choosing from a list of elective topics.

What Does an OSHA 10 Card Look Like?

DOL cards are color-coded by industry and level, but the design changed in March of 2016. As a result, you may see two different styles depending on when the card was issued.

The design change was more complicated for some types of cards, so we'll just list them below.

OSHA 10 Construction:

  • New cards are white with a yellow/light gold stripe behind the course title
  • Older cards have a yellow/light gold background

OSHA 10 General Industry:

  • New cards are white with a light blue title stripe
  • Older cards have a muted blue background

OSHA 10 Maritime:

  • New cards are white with a light green title stripe
  • Older cards have a background that fades from white to light blue with a light blue title font

OSHA 7.5 Disaster Site Worker:

  • New cards are white with a dark red title stripe
  • Older cards have a background made of a gray graphic with a light green title font

What Is an OSHA 30 Card?

An OSHA 30 card proves that you completed one of the supervisor-level OSHA Outreach courses.

The 30-hour curriculum covers everything in the 10-hour course, adds in a lesson on their responsibilities as supervisors and includes a greater breadth of safety topics to give them a broader overview.

What Does an OSHA 30 Card Look Like?

Like the 10-hour DOL card, OSHA redesigned the OSHA 30 card in 2016, so the appearance will vary by age.

OSHA 30 Construction:

  • New cards are white with an orange/dark gold stripe behind the course title
  • Older cards have an orange/dark gold background

OSHA 30 General Industry:

  • New cards are white with a navy blue title stripe
  • Older cards have a bold blue background

OSHA 30 Maritime:

  • New cards are white with a dark green title stripe
  • Older cards have a background that fades from white to light blue with a light blue title font

OSHA 15 Disaster Site Worker:

  • New cards are white with a lighter red title stripe
  • Older cards have a background made of a gray graphic with a light green title font

How Do I Get My OSHA Card?

To earn your DOL card, OSHA requires you to:

  • Spend a certain amount of time studying their curriculum with an OSHA-authorized provider
  • Pass the final exam with a score of at least 70% (within the first three attempts)
  • Answer the end-of-course survey evaluating your training

How Long Will It Take to Get My DOL Card?

Earning your OSHA safety card will take more than 10 hours (or 30 for the supervisor course) – even if you take the training online.

That's because OSHA has pretty strict rules about times, breaks, and the length of your day.

For an OSHA 10 card, you're required to spend at least 10 hours absorbing the material – breaks, quizzes, and test time don't count toward that total. For the higher-level course, it's a minimum of 30 hours.

Plus, OSHA limits students to 7.5 hours a day (including quizzes and tests), and they mandate breaks at certain intervals.

In an online course, this means that:

  • You'll have to spend a minimum amount of time within the material
  • You'll be locked out for 15-30 minute breaks at certain intervals
  • You'll be locked out "overnight" after you hit the daily maximum

Due to these restrictions, OSHA 10 courses need to be spread out over at least 2 separate days, and OSHA 30 courses take at least 4.

How Do I Find an OSHA-Authorized Training Provider?

You can only get a valid DOL card from an OSHA-authorized or accepted training provider.

When a trainer is OSHA-authorized or accepted, it means they've completed a rigorous training program through the OSHA Outreach Training Institute.

Unfortunately, OSHA reports that fraudulent trainers and courses are on the rise, so you should always confirm that a training provider's acceptance is valid and current by checking OSHA's list of authorized providers before you enroll.

There's one list for individual classroom trainers and one list for brands that offer online training (that's where you'll find us!)

Get Your OSHA Training Card Online with Us!

We've been an OSHA-authorized training provider for more than 20 years. We offer self-paced online courses that fulfill the requirements for an OSHA safety card in the most common industries. You'll be able to work through the curriculum at your own convenience when and where it makes sense for you.

Whether you need OSHA 10 Construction, OSHA 30 Construction, OSHA 10 General Industry, or OSHA 30 General Industry, we have it for you in English or in Spanish.

Enroll today to get started!

https://www.osha.com/courses/outreach.html