29 CFR 1910.165: Employee alarm systems
The official text is on the eCFR. Below: how the section is organized, the paragraphs our ASP, CSP questions are built on, and free questions to try.
Quoted from the eCFR, current as of 2026-10-14; last amended 2017-01-01.
How 29 CFR 1910.165 is organized
- (a) Scope and application3 paragraphs
- (b) General requirements5 paragraphs
- (c) Installation and restoration2 paragraphs
- (d) Maintenance and testing5 paragraphs
- (e) Manual operation1 paragraph
Paragraphs our practice questions cite most
Counted across the 14 live PassCited questions on this section: our bank, not the real exam.
“(3) The employer shall maintain or replace power supplies as often as is necessary to assure a fully operational condition. Back-up means of alarm, such as employee runners or telephones, shall be provided when systems are out of service.”
“(4) The employer shall explain to each employee the preferred means of reporting emergencies, such as manual pull box alarms, public address systems, radio or telephones. The employer shall post emergency telephone numbers near telephones, or employee notice boards, and other conspicuous locations when telephones serve as a means of reporting emergencies. Where a communication system also serves as the employee alarm system, all emergency messages shall have priority over all non-emergency messages.”
“(e) Manual operation. The employer shall assure that manually operated actuation devices for use in conjunction with employee alarms are unobstructed, conspicuous and readily accessible.”
“(2) The employee alarm shall be capable of being perceived above ambient noise or light levels by all employees in the affected portions of the workplace. Tactile devices may be used to alert those employees who would not otherwise be able to recognize the audible or visual alarm.”
“(5) The employer shall establish procedures for sounding emergency alarms in the workplace. For those employers with 10 or fewer employees in a particular workplace, direct voice communication is an acceptable procedure for sounding the alarm provided all employees can hear the alarm. Such workplaces need not have a back-up system.”
Free practice questions on 29 CFR 1910.165
Question 1
A machine shop with 8 employees in one building plans to sound emergency alarms by shouting a warning, and all employees can hear a voice from anywhere in the shop. The owner asks whether a separate back-up alarm system is also required. What is the correct answer?
Show answer and source
Answer: B. No back-up system is needed, because for workplaces with 10 or fewer employees direct voice communication is acceptable if all employees can hear the alarm
OSHA's employee alarm rule, 29 CFR 1910.165(b)(5), lets workplaces with 10 or fewer employees sound alarms by direct voice if all employees can hear it, and they need no back-up system. Voice alarms are not banned, the cutoff is 10 employees, not 5, and tactile devices are optional, for employees who cannot recognize the alarm.
On the job
A safety coordinator audits a six-person upholstery shop that uses a single open workroom. She confirms every employee can clearly hear a shouted warning from any station, including near the loud sewing area. Since the workplace has 10 or fewer employees and all can hear it, direct voice is accepted as the alarm, and the shop does not need a back-up system.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer B rests on
29 CFR 1910.165(b)(5)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“For those employers with 10 or fewer employees in a particular workplace, direct voice communication is an acceptable procedure for sounding the alarm provided all employees can hear the alarm. Such workplaces need not have a back-up system.”
Question 2
A 60-employee plant's emergency action plan tells employees to report emergencies by calling the security desk from shop-floor and office telephones. The employer has already explained this reporting method to every employee. An audit finds that no emergency telephone numbers are posted near any telephone, on notice boards, or anywhere else. What must the employer do?
Show answer and source
Answer: A. Post the emergency telephone numbers near the telephones, on employee notice boards, and in other conspicuous locations
OSHA's employee alarm standard requires the employer to post emergency numbers near telephones or on notice boards and in other conspicuous places when telephones serve as the reporting method. The verbal explanation is a separate duty and does not replace posting. Telephones are an allowed reporting means, and the back-up system point does not fit this issue.
Answer A rests on
29 CFR 1910.165(b)(4)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“The employer shall post emergency telephone numbers near telephones, or employee notice boards, and other conspicuous locations when telephones serve as a means of reporting emergencies.”
Where it shows up in exam prep
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Other Part 1910 sections
- 29 CFR 1910.1020: Access to employee exposure and medical records
- 29 CFR 1910.1030: Bloodborne pathogens
- 29 CFR 1910.1053: Respirable crystalline silica
- 29 CFR 1910.106: Flammable liquids
- 29 CFR 1910.119: Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals
- 29 CFR 1910.120: Hazardous waste operations and emergency response
A study aid, not legal advice or an official interpretation. Always check the current eCFR text.