29 CFR 1926.250: General requirements for storage
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; last amended 2019-07-15.
How 29 CFR 1926.250 is organized
- (a) General5 paragraphs
- (b) Material storage13 paragraphs
- (c) Housekeeping1 paragraph
- (d) Dockboards (bridge plates)4 paragraphs
Paragraphs our practice questions cite most
Counted across the 7 live PassCited questions on this section: our bank, not the real exam.
“(ii) Employers shall conspicuously post maximum safe load limits of floors within buildings and structures, in pounds per square foot, in all storage areas, except when the storage area is on a floor or slab on grade. Posting is not required for storage areas in all single-family residential structures and wood-framed multi-family residential structures.”
“(b) Material storage. (1) Material stored inside buildings under construction shall not be placed within 6 feet of any hoistway or inside floor openings, nor within 10 feet of an exterior wall which does not extend above the top of the material stored.”
“(5) Materials shall not be stored on scaffolds or runways in excess of supplies needed for immediate operations.”
“(6) Brick stacks shall not be more than 7 feet in height. When a loose brick stack reaches a height of 4 feet, it shall be tapered back 2 inches in every foot of height above the 4-foot level.”
“(iv) Lumber piles shall not exceed 20 feet in height provided that lumber to be handled manually shall not be stacked more than 16 feet high.”
Free practice questions on 29 CFR 1926.250
Question 1
A crew is loading material from a dock into a boxcar using a bridge plate spanning the gap between the dock and the car. The railcar is on a spur track, and a switching crew is expected later in the shift. Which control does the standard require while the bridge plate is in position?
Show answer and source
Answer: A. Positive protection that prevents the railroad car from being moved
OSHA's construction storage rule, 29 CFR 1926.250(d)(4), requires positive protection to prevent railroad cars from being moved while dockboards or bridge plates are in position. A flagger or a posted notice only warns people and does not prevent the car from moving. Keeping the plate in place until the locomotive arrives leaves the car unprotected the whole time.
On the job
At a warehouse construction site, a foreman has laborers moving drywall stock from a dock into a railcar over a bridge plate. Before the first cart rolls across, the foreman confirms the car cannot be moved while the plate is in position, since a posted notice or a spotter only warns people and does not stop the car. Positive protection against movement stays in place until the plate is removed.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer A comes from
29 CFR 1926.250(d)(4)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“Positive protection shall be provided to prevent railroad cars from being moved while dockboards or bridge plates are in position.”
Question 2
A contractor stores pallets of floor tile in two places: a ground-level warehouse bay with a slab on grade, and a room on the third floor of a new office building under construction. The contractor wants to know where maximum safe floor load limits must be posted in pounds per square foot. Which answer is correct?
Show answer and source
Answer: A. Only in the third-floor storage room, because the slab on grade is excepted
OSHA's construction materials standard requires posting of maximum safe load limits in storage areas, except where the area is on a floor or slab on grade. The third-floor room must be posted. Posting both areas is not required, the slab on grade is the excepted area, and staying under the limit does not remove the posting duty.
On the job
At a hospital construction project, a superintendent plans to stage cartons of ceramic tile in a first-floor loading bay poured as slab on grade, and in a room on the second floor of the new wing. The safety coordinator has maximum safe floor load limits posted in pounds per square foot in the second-floor room, since the posting duty applies to storage areas except those on a floor or slab on grade. The ground-level bay is the excepted area.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer A comes from
29 CFR 1926.250(a)(2)(ii)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“Employers shall conspicuously post maximum safe load limits of floors within buildings and structures, in pounds per square foot, in all storage areas, except when the storage area is on a floor or slab on grade.”
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A study aid, not legal advice or an official interpretation. Always check the current eCFR text.