For citations assessed after January 15, 2026, OSHA's maximum civil penalties are $16,550 per violation for serious, other-than-serious, and posting violations, $16,550 per day for failure to abate past the fix-by date, and $165,514 per violation for willful or repeated violations (osha.gov/penalties). These are ceilings, not typical assessments, and they move with inflation each January.
The categories, in plain words
- Serious: a hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm that the employer knew about or should have. The guardrail missing at the roof edge lives here.
- Other-than-serious: violations connected to safety and health but unlikely to cause serious harm. Recordkeeping and paperwork problems are typically cited in this category, and its maximum is the same $16,550.
- Posting: failures to post required notices, which includes the February 300A summary.
- Willful or repeated: intentional disregard, plain indifference, or a violation substantially similar to one you were recently cited for. This is the ten-times multiplier, and it's why fixing things once, properly, matters.
- Failure to abate: blowing past the deadline OSHA gave you to fix a cited condition. It accrues per day.
The recordkeeping angle
Every recordkeeping duty on this site is a citable item on its own: a 300 log that wasn't kept, 301s never completed, a 300A that never went on the wall, a missed March 2 e-file for a covered establishment, records that can't be produced within four business hours, or a severe injury never reported under 1904.39. Citations can stack, because each failure is its own item. None of that means a small contractor gets the maximum for a late posting; it means the paperwork has a real price tag attached, and it's the easiest citation category to simply never earn.
What actually gets assessed
The maximums are the top of the range. OSHA's penalty procedures account for employer size, good faith, and violation history when setting actual amounts, and smaller employers commonly see substantial reductions. There's also an informal conference process after citations where amounts and abatement dates get discussed. None of this page is legal advice, and if you're holding an actual citation, a conversation with a safety attorney or consultant is worth more than any web page.
Two housekeeping notes
- The numbers change every January. Federal civil penalties adjust for inflation annually; the amounts above are the ones osha.gov publishes for citations after January 15, 2026. We re-verify this page against osha.gov/penalties each January.
- State Plan states run their own enforcement. Roughly half the states enforce workplace safety through their own OSHA-approved programs, with their own penalty schedules that must be at least as effective as federal OSHA's. If you're in one, check your state's numbers.
The cheap relationship with this table is never seeing it
SiteSafetyHQ does the recordkeeping work this page puts a price on: the log kept current from phone reports, the 300A totaled with reminders ahead of every date, severe-incident flags the moment intake sees one, and records exportable in seconds when someone asks.
No card, no demo call. Flat $39 to $199/mo by company size.
Quick answers
Would OSHA really fine a 20-person company $16,550 for paperwork?
The maximum is a ceiling, and assessments consider company size, good faith, and history, so small-employer penalties usually land well below it. But recordkeeping citations are routine inspection findings, they stack item by item, and repeat findings escalate. It's real money for something a process fixes.
What's the fine for not posting the 300A?
Posting violations carry a maximum of $16,550. What's actually assessed varies case by case. The fix costs a sheet of paper and a thumbtack: the posting rules are here.
Do these amounts change?
Yes, every January with inflation. This page carries its verification date at the top and gets re-checked against osha.gov each January; when in doubt, osha.gov/penalties is the live source.
Primary source (checked August 4, 2026): osha.gov/penalties (maximum amounts, effective after January 15, 2026) · 29 CFR 1904.39 (severe incident reporting).
SiteSafetyHQ is an independent product, not affiliated with OSHA. Workflow help, not legal advice.