Exam and rule changes

Latest updates

1. Oct 16, 2026

   OSHA finishes hearings on five deregulatory proposals

   Between August 19 and 26, 2026, OSHA held virtual hearings on its proposals for respirator medical evaluations, fixed ladders, respirator rules in 16 chemical standards and the safety color code. The last written briefs were due October 10, 2026. Nothing is final yet.

2. Oct 16, 2026

   OSHA plans a revised heat proposal

   OSHA's current regulatory agenda lists a supplemental proposed rule on heat injury and illness prevention for December 2026, with final action in October 2027. A supplemental proposal means a revised text and another comment period before any final rule.

BCSP exam outlines

1. CHST5 is the current CHST outline

   BCSP's CHST5 blueprint has governed every CHST exam since August 1, 2024. Its four domains are led by Hazard and Risk Identification and Control at 36.6%. BCSP has started work on the next outline, with no date announced.

   On your exam: yesIn effectCHST

   CHST5 is the outline every CHST exam is built on today, and it stays in effect until BCSP announces a CHST6 date. It hasn't.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

2. BCSP starts work on the next CHST outline

   BCSP has scheduled a three-day CHST job and task analysis panel for December 7 to 9, 2026, the step that drafts a new exam blueprint. No new outline or date has been announced, so CHST5 stays in effect.

   On your exam: watchScheduledCHST

   A panel is the first step toward a new outline. CHST5 stays in effect until BCSP publishes a new blueprint and a date, so study CHST5.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

OSHA rules

1. HazCom 2024: new compliance dates

   OSHA's 2024 update aligns the Hazard Communication Standard with GHS Revision 7. It took effect July 19, 2024. In January 2026 OSHA moved every compliance date back four months: May 19, 2026 for substances and November 19, 2027 for mixtures.

   On your exam: not yetIn effectASP, CSP, CHST

   BCSP's references predate the 2024 update. The core the exam tests (six label elements, pictograms, the 16-section SDS) didn't change; the new details aren't tested yet.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

2. OSHA heat rule: still a proposal

   OSHA proposed a federal heat standard on August 30, 2024. Hearings ended in 2025, and OSHA's regulatory agenda now lists a supplemental proposal for December 2026 and final action for October 2027. Until then there is no federal heat standard.

   On your exam: watchProposedASP, CSP, CHST

   Heat stress science is tested (heat illness signs, acclimatization, WBGT). The proposed rule's triggers and duties aren't, because it isn't final.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

3. OSHA emergency response rule: final expected 2027

   OSHA's proposed Emergency Response standard would replace the 1980 Fire Brigades standard (29 CFR 1910.156) and cover emergency medical services and technical search and rescue as well as firefighting. OSHA's regulatory agenda lists a final rule for April 2027.

   On your exam: watchProposedASP, CSP, CHST

   Exams test today's rules: fire brigades (1910.156), emergency action plans (1910.38), HAZWOPER (1910.120) and incident command. The proposal isn't final.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

4. Respirator medical evaluations may narrow

   OSHA proposed in July 2025 to drop the medical evaluation requirement for filtering facepiece respirators, such as N95s, and loose-fitting PAPRs. It also proposed aligning the respirator rules in 16 chemical standards. Hearings ran in August 2026; there is no final rule.

   On your exam: not yetProposedASP, CSP, CHST

   Exams test 1910.134(e) as written: a medical evaluation before fit testing or first required use, for every required respirator, N95s included.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

5. OSHA proposes ending construction lighting rules

   OSHA proposed in July 2025 to rescind its construction illumination standard, 29 CFR 1926.26 and 1926.56, including the table of minimum foot-candles. Comments closed November 1, 2025. No final rule has been published, and it was not among OSHA's August 2026 hearings.

   On your exam: not yetProposedASP, CHST

   Until a final rule removes it, 1926.56 and its foot-candle table are the rule a CHST or ASP lighting question would test.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

6. Construction PPE must now fit properly

   Since January 13, 2025, OSHA's construction PPE standard, 29 CFR 1926.95, explicitly requires that protective equipment fit each employee properly. General industry already had the same requirement.

   On your exam: yesIn effectASP, CSP, CHST

   It's in effect, and it matches what general industry already required (1910.132(d)), so a PPE-fit question has one right answer either way.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

Consensus standards and exposure limits

1. NFPA 70E 2027 adds a second-person rule

   NFPA lists the 2027 edition of NFPA 70E as current. Its headline change, new section 130.2(A)(2), requires an additional person trained in contact release whenever justified energized work needs a permit and PPE, standing outside the limited approach or arc flash boundary.

   On your exam: not yetNew edition publishedASP, CSP, CHST

   BCSP's reference lists date from 2021. Approach boundaries, energized work permits and arc flash PPE are tested; the 2027 second-person rule is too new to be.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

2. Z359 fall protection code: 2024 and 2026 updates

   ASSP's Fall Protection Code has new editions: ANSI/ASSP Z359.1-2024, which replaced the 2020 edition and ties the code together, and Z359.6-2026 on designing active fall protection systems, which replaced the 2016 edition.

   On your exam: not yetNew edition publishedASP, CSP, CHST

   Exam fall protection questions rest on OSHA's rules (1926.502, 1910.140) and older references. The new Z359 editions don't change what those rules require.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

3. ASSP revises five A10 construction standards

   On June 8, 2026, ASSP announced revised editions of five A10 construction and demolition standards: A10.4 personnel hoists, A10.11 personnel nets, A10.23 drilled shafts, A10.26 emergency procedures and A10.37 debris nets. A10.43-2026, on confined spaces in construction, is also new.

   On your exam: not yetNew edition publishedCHST

   CHST5 questions on these hazards are built on OSHA's 1926 rules and references from 2021 or earlier. The 2026 editions are consensus practice, not new OSHA law.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

4. Z10 is still the 2019 edition

   ANSI/ASSP Z10.0-2019 remains the current U.S. standard for occupational health and safety management systems. ASSP's 2024 publication, GM-Z10.100-2024, is a guidance and implementation manual for it, not a new edition.

   On your exam: yesNew edition publishedASP, CSP, CHST

   Z10.0-2019 is current, and all three BCSP reference lists include Manuele's Advanced Safety Management, a textbook built around Z10, so its concepts are fair game.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

OSHA enforcement

1. OSHA's maximum penalties stay the same for 2026

   The Department of Labor cancelled its 2026 inflation adjustment because the October 2025 consumer price index wasn't published during the funding lapse. OSHA's maximums stay at $16,550 per serious violation and $165,514 per willful or repeated violation.

   On your exam: yesIn effectASP, CSP, CHST

   These are the current maximums. The figures are normally adjusted for inflation each year, so know the violation types and how penalties work first.

   Last checked Oct 16, 2026

How this page stays current

Every week we check BCSP's exam outlines, its Current Changes Index and exam development panels, and look for movement on the OSHA rules and standards listed here, from the Federal Register, OSHA.gov and the federal regulatory agenda. When something moves, the item is updated and its date changes. How we check every question

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