29 CFR 1926.1203: General requirements
The official text is on the eCFR. Below: how the section is organized, the paragraphs our CHST questions are built on, and free questions to try.
Quoted from the eCFR, current as of 2026-10-14; no change since eCFR's change history begins (around January 2017).
How 29 CFR 1926.1203 is organized
- (a)1 paragraph
- (b)4 paragraphs
- (c)1 paragraph
- (d)1 paragraph
- (e)25 paragraphs
- (f)1 paragraph
- (g)6 paragraphs
- (h) Permit space entry communication and coordination21 paragraphs
- (i)1 paragraph
Paragraphs our practice questions cite most
Counted across the 9 live PassCited questions on this section: our bank, not the real exam.
“(A) An employee must not enter the space until the forced air ventilation has eliminated any hazardous atmosphere;”
“(2) Inform, in a timely manner and in a manner other than posting, its employees' authorized representatives and the controlling contractor of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by, each permit space.”
“(d) If any employer decides that employees it directs will enter a permit space, that employer must have a written permit space program that complies with § 1926.1204 implemented at the construction site. The written program must be made available prior to and during entry operations for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives.”
“(iii) Before an employee enters the space, the internal atmosphere must be tested, with a calibrated direct-reading instrument, for oxygen content, for flammable gases and vapors, and for potential toxic air contaminants, in that order. Any employee who enters the space, or that employee's authorized representative, must be provided an opportunity to observe the pre-entry testing required by this paragraph.”
“(B) The forced air ventilation must be so directed as to ventilate the immediate areas where an employee is or will be present within the space and must continue until all employees have left the space;”
Free practice questions on 29 CFR 1926.1203
Question 1
A crew is working in a permit space that was reclassified as a non-permit space after hazards were eliminated. Partway through the shift, a worker's monitor shows a new hazard developing inside the space. What must happen first?
Answer: B. Each employee in the space must exit, and the entry employer then reevaluates and reclassifies the space as a permit space as appropriate Source: 29 CFR 1926.1203(g)(4)
Why, and the rule text
OSHA's construction confined spaces rule, 29 CFR 1926.1203(g)(4), says if hazards arise in a space reclassified as non-permit, each employee must exit. The entry employer then reevaluates the space and reclassifies it as a permit space as appropriate. Letting some workers finish, continuing under monitoring, or noting the hazard on the certification all skip the required exit.
On the job
On a wastewater treatment plant construction project, the entry employer's competent person had reclassified a new valve vault as non-permit after isolation and cleaning. Midway through the shift, a fitter's multi-gas monitor alarmed on a new hazard in the space. The coordinator ordered every worker out at once, without letting anyone finish the weld pass. Only after everyone was clear did the entry employer reevaluate the space and reclassify it as a permit space as appropriate.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer B comes from
29 CFR 1926.1203(g)(4)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“If hazards arise within a permit space that has been reclassified as a non-permit space under paragraph (g) of this section, each employee in the space must exit the space. The entry employer must then reevaluate the space and reclassify it as a permit space as appropriate in accordance with all other applicable provisions of this standard.”
Question 2
An employer has decided to send its employees into a permit space tomorrow. Its written permit space program is stored in the home office. The site supervisor tells a worker who asks to read it that the program can be reviewed after the entry is finished. Which action complies with the standard?
Answer: D. Give the worker access to the written program before entry starts and keep it available during entry Source: 29 CFR 1926.1203(d)
Why, and the rule text
The construction confined spaces standard requires the written program to be available before and during entry for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives. Waiting until after the entry, limiting access to the entry supervisor and attendant, or limiting it to representatives alone leaves the entering employees without access.
Answer D comes from
29 CFR 1926.1203(d)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“The written program must be made available prior to and during entry operations for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives.”
Question 3
A crew will enter a below-grade vault using the alternate entry procedures. The only way in is a vertical shaft, and the foreman plans to lower workers with a winch the crew built on site from scrap steel. The winch was never designed for lifting people, and no engineer has reviewed it. Which statement is correct?
Answer: D. The winch may be used only if a registered professional engineer approves it for personnel hoisting in writing before use Source: 29 CFR 1926.1203(e)(2)(viii)
Why, and the rule text
OSHA's construction confined space standard allows a job-made hoisting system for personnel only if a registered professional engineer approves it in writing before use. A competent person's inspection, a harness with a retrieval line, or a supervisor's verbal assurance does not meet that requirement.
On the job
At a utility vault job using alternate entry procedures, a site superintendent finds the crew has rigged a hoist from a pipe frame and a hand winch to lower workers down a shaft. The rig was not designed for lifting people. The superintendent keeps it out of service until a registered professional engineer approves it in writing for personnel hoisting, since that approval is required before a job-made system can be used.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer D comes from
29 CFR 1926.1203(e)(2)(viii)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“If a hoisting system is used, it must be designed and manufactured for personnel hoisting; however, a job-made hoisting system is permissible if it is approved for personnel hoisting by a registered professional engineer, in writing, prior to use.”
Where it shows up in exam prep
Find out which regulations you'd miss
Keep going in your CHST course
Other Part 1926 sections
A study aid, not legal advice or an official interpretation. Always check the current eCFR text.