OSHA Inspection Outcomes by Type

Not all OSHA inspections are the same. Some are triggered by complaints, others by workplace accidents, and others are part of scheduled enforcement programs. This analysis examines 5,162,545 inspections, comparing recorded violation rates and penalty amounts across inspection types.

5,162,545

Total Inspections

2,605,059

With Recorded Violations

50.5%

Overall Violation Rate

Inspection Types

Inspection Types by Volume

Type	Inspections	With Violations	Violation Rate	Avg. per Penalized Viol.
Planned(H)	2,778,006	1,443,820	52.0%	$904
Complaint(B)	963,848	519,408	53.9%	$1,205
Referral(C)	389,565	248,568	63.8%	$2,144
Follow-Up(F)	316,322	27,665	8.7%	$2,258
Unprogrammed Related

Violation Rate by Inspection Type

Referral63.8%

Accident58.3%

Fatality/Catastrophe55%

Complaint53.9%

Planned52%

Programmed Related51.3%

Unprogrammed Related50.8%

Programmed Other45.2%

Average Penalty per Inspection

Type	Inspections	Total Penalties	Penalty per Inspection (All)
Fatality/Catastrophe(M)	27,627	$275,768,595	$9,982
Accident(A)	195,292	$634,572,299	$3,249
Referral(C)	389,565	$1,115,591,703	$2,864
Programmed Other(K)	17,086	$24,626,138	$1,441
Complaint(B)	963,848	$1,348,217,111	$1,399

Key Observations

Penalty amounts vary by inspection type. Fatality/Catastrophe inspections recorded the highest average penalty per inspection at $9,982 based on 27,627 inspections in this dataset.

Violation rates vary by inspection type. The overall violation rate is 50.5%. An inspection does not by itself indicate that a workplace is unsafe.

Data covers 14 inspection types. See the tables above for violation rates and penalty amounts by type.

Methodology

This analysis covers all federal OSHA inspections in our database. An inspection is counted as "with violations" if at least one non-deleted violation record is linked to it in the enforcement database. Violation rates are descriptive: they show what percentage of inspections of each type had violations recorded, not how effective any inspection type is at detecting hazards.

This page shows two different penalty averages. The main table shows the average penalty per penalized violation: total penalty dollars divided by the number of violations that had a penalty greater than $0. The lower table shows the penalty per inspection across all inspections of that type: total penalty dollars divided by the total number of inspections, including those that resulted in no violations. All penalty amounts reflect the latest amount on record (current_penalty), which may still be subject to change for cases without a final order date.

Inspection types with fewer than 100 inspections are excluded from the main table; the penalty table uses a threshold of 50 inspections. Inspection type codes A through L follow standard OSHA definitions. Records reflect all inspection activity entries in the OSHA database, including records where an inspection may not have resulted in a full site visit. Data sourced from the OSHA inspection and violation tables in the U.S. Department of Labor enforcement data API. Records are synced daily.

OSHA Penalty Reductions

Initial vs. current penalty analysis

Most Cited OSHA Standards

Top 50 most frequently cited

Data Source and Methodology

Data synced daily

Data on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA enforcement database, accessed via the DOL public data API. Records are updated daily. We strive for accuracy, but errors in data processing or establishment matching are possible. Penalty amounts reflect the latest penalty amounts on record in the DOL database and may differ from initial assessments or final amounts after informal conference, settlement, or judicial review. Establishment matching is based on employer name and location as reported in inspection records; some establishments may appear under multiple name variations. If you believe any record is inaccurate, please report it and we will investigate. This product uses the DOL Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the DOL. For official and authoritative records, visit osha.gov.