OSHA 1926 Subpart AA Confined Spaces in Construction (1926.1203): what it requires and the equipment it names
29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA (1926.1200 to 1926.1213) is the 2015 construction confined space rule. 1926.1203 sets the general requirements: a competent person identifies every confined and permit space before work begins, the host employer, controlling contractor and entry employers exchange information, and entry runs under a permit program with the same testing order, attendant, retrieval and rescue duties as 1910.146, plus continuous atmospheric monitoring where feasible. We sell nationwide; ships in 1–2 business days; most orders arrive in 3–7 business days.
The plain answer
29 CFR 1926.1203 requires each construction employer to have a competent person identify all confined spaces its employees may work in and each one that is a permit space, through consideration, evaluation and testing as necessary; to inform exposed employees and the controlling contractor of each permit space; and, if employees will enter, to follow a written permit space program under 1926.1204 or the alternate procedures of 1926.1203(e) where continuous forced air ventilation alone controls the only hazard, with the atmosphere tested before entry with a calibrated direct-reading instrument for oxygen, then flammables, then toxics, and monitored periodically.
The host employer tells the controlling contractor about the spaces, their hazards and precautions; the controlling contractor passes that to every entry employer, coordinates entries by multiple employers, and debriefs afterwards. 1926.1204 requires the program to provide testing and monitoring, ventilating, communication, PPE, lighting approved for the atmosphere, barriers, entry and exit equipment and rescue equipment, with continuous monitoring of atmospheric and engulfment hazards where feasible. The rule applies to construction work; general industry uses 1910.146.
The equipment it names is the same list as 1910.146 with additions: continuous atmospheric monitors and early-warning systems for engulfment, electronic communication equipment for attendants monitoring more than one space, lighting approved for the gas or dust present, and the retrieval system of 1926.1211(c): a chest or full body harness with a retrieval line at the back or above the head to a mechanical device or fixed point outside, with a mechanical device for vertical spaces more than 5 feet deep.
What the rule says
Each entry is condensed from the paragraph cited; the paragraph itself is the rule and the link opens it.
29 CFR 1926.1203(a): Before work begins at a worksite, each employer ensures that a competent person identifies all confined spaces in which its employees may work and identifies each permit space, through consideration and evaluation of the elements of the space, including testing as necessary.
29 CFR 1926.1203(b): An employer who identifies or is told of a permit space posts danger signs ("DANGER, PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER") or uses another equally effective means, and informs its employees' representatives and the controlling contractor of the existence, location and danger of each permit space.
29 CFR 1926.1203(c)-(d): An employer that decides its employees will not enter permit spaces prevents entry; an employer whose employees will enter has a written permit space program under 1926.1204 available before and during entry.
29 CFR 1926.1203(e): Alternate procedures where the only hazard is an actual or potential hazardous atmosphere that continuous forced air ventilation alone controls, supported by monitoring data and documented: unsafe conditions at the cover are eliminated, the opening is guarded, the internal atmosphere is tested before entry with a calibrated direct-reading instrument for oxygen content, then flammable gases and vapors, then potential toxic air contaminants, in that order, with entrants allowed to observe; no hazardous atmosphere while anyone is inside; forced air ventilation from a clean source directed at the work area until everyone has left; the atmosphere is continuously monitored or, where the employer demonstrates it is sufficient, periodically tested; employees exit at once if a hazardous atmosphere is detected and the space is evaluated before re-entry; a written certification of the determinations is made available.
29 CFR 1926.1203(g): A permit space with no actual or potential atmospheric hazard, whose other hazards are eliminated without entry, may be reclassified as a non-permit space for as long as the hazards remain eliminated, with a certification.
29 CFR 1926.1203(h): Host employer, controlling contractor and entry employer duties: the host provides the location, hazards and precautions of each permit space to the controlling contractor; the controlling contractor passes that information to each entry employer, coordinates entry operations between employers and with other work that could create hazards, and debriefs each entry employer afterwards; the entry employer tells the controlling contractor of its program and the hazards it encountered.
29 CFR 1926.1204(d): The program provides at no cost and maintains: testing and monitoring equipment; ventilating equipment; communications equipment, including electronic equipment for attendants assessing entrants in multiple spaces; PPE where controls do not adequately protect; lighting that meets 1926.56 and is approved for the ignitable properties of the gas, vapor, dust or fiber present; barriers and shields; equipment such as ladders for safe entry and exit; rescue and emergency equipment; and any other equipment necessary for safe entry and rescue.
29 CFR 1926.1204(e): Conditions are tested before changes to natural ventilation and before entry is authorized, with continuous monitoring in large or continuous-system spaces where isolation is infeasible; atmospheric hazards are continuously monitored unless the employer demonstrates periodic monitoring is sufficient, and engulfment hazards are continuously monitored with an early-warning system; when testing for atmospheric hazards, oxygen first, then combustible gases and vapors, then toxic gases and vapors; entrants may observe and request a reevaluation.
29 CFR 1926.1211(c): Non-entry rescue is required unless retrieval equipment would increase the overall risk or would not contribute to the rescue; each entrant uses a chest or full body harness with a retrieval line attached at the center of the back near shoulder level, above the head, or at another point the employer shows gives a small enough profile (wristlets or anklets only where a harness is infeasible or a greater hazard); the other end is attached to a mechanical device or fixed point outside the space so rescue can begin as soon as the need is known; a mechanical device is available for vertical spaces more than 5 feet deep; and emergency assistance is confirmed available before entry in case non-entry rescue fails.
Source: 29 CFR, Occupational Safety and Health Standards, as published by OSHA (ecfr.gov), read Nov 9 2026.
California (Cal/OSHA)
Each entry is condensed from the paragraph cited; the paragraph itself is the rule and the link opens it.
Title 8 §5158: Cal/OSHA applies §5158, Other Confined Space Operations, to construction, with its own requirements for testing, ventilation, standby persons and rescue equipment; §5157 is the general industry twin of 1910.146.
Source: California Code of Regulations, Title 8, as published by Cal/OSHA (dir.ca.gov), read Nov 9 2026.
Equipment the rule names
| Equipment or condition | What the rule requires | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Testing and monitoring equipment | Calibrated direct-reading instrument; oxygen, then flammables, then toxics; continuous monitoring where feasible | 29 CFR 1926.1203(e)(2)(iii), 1926.1204(e) |
| Engulfment early-warning system | Continuous monitoring of engulfment hazards (for example upstream water in sewers) | 29 CFR 1926.1204(e)(1)(ii) |
| Ventilating equipment | Continuous forced air from a clean source | 29 CFR 1926.1203(e)(2)(v) |
| Communications equipment | Including electronic equipment for attendants watching several spaces | 29 CFR 1926.1204(d)(3) |
| Lighting | Meets 1926.56 and is approved for the gas, vapor or dust present | 29 CFR 1926.1204(d)(5) |
| Retrieval system | Chest or full body harness, line at the back or above the head, to a mechanical device or fixed point outside; mechanical device for vertical spaces over 5 ft | 29 CFR 1926.1211(c) |
| PPE | Where controls do not protect; respirators under 1926.103 | 29 CFR 1926.1204(d)(4) |
| Danger signs | "DANGER, PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER" | 29 CFR 1926.1203(b)(1) |
Source: 29 CFR, Occupational Safety and Health Standards, as published by OSHA (ecfr.gov), read Nov 9 2026.
What we carry for it
Each table lists products whose manufacturer data states the rating or the standard the rule names, every brand we carry that does, with the current price. Sizes and versions are chosen on the product page. The selector linked under each table holds every item of that type.
Four-gas monitors with continuous monitoring and alarms
More: every 4-gas monitor by brand.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages, specification sheets and catalogs as reproduced on each product page; the ratings and standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements, and the products listed are those whose published data names the rating or the standard, not a selection by Bayshore Safety.
Sample-draw monitors for pre-entry testing from outside
More: every pumped monitor.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages, specification sheets and catalogs as reproduced on each product page; the ratings and standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements, and the products listed are those whose published data names the rating or the standard, not a selection by Bayshore Safety.
Tripods, davits and retrieval winches (1926.1211(c))
More: every tripod, davit and winch.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages and technical data sheets (Safewaze, FallTech, Miller, DBI-SALA) as reproduced on each product page; the standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements.
Harnesses for retrieval (dorsal or shoulder D-rings)
More: every harness by D-ring configuration.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages and technical data sheets (Safewaze, FallTech, Miller, DBI-SALA) as reproduced on each product page; the standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements.
Calibration gas and bump-test kits
More: every calibration gas and regulator.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages, specification sheets and catalogs as reproduced on each product page; the ratings and standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements, and the products listed are those whose published data names the rating or the standard, not a selection by Bayshore Safety.
Escape respirators
More: every escape respirator.
Source: the manufacturers' product pages, specification sheets and catalogs as reproduced on each product page; the ratings and standards shown are the manufacturers' own statements, and the products listed are those whose published data names the rating or the standard, not a selection by Bayshore Safety.
Guides that go further
Confined spaces in construction · What is a confined space · What equipment does 1910.146 require for confined space entry · Confined space rescue · Gas detection for confined space entry · Confined space entry procedure step by step · 1910.146, the general industry confined space rule.
OSHA 1926 Subpart AA Confined Spaces in Construction (1926.1203) questions
What is 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA? OSHA's confined spaces in construction standard, sections 1926.1200 to 1926.1213, in force since August 2015. It mirrors 1910.146 (definitions, permit program, testing order, attendant, permit, training, rescue) and adds a competent-person identification of every space before work starts, information exchange between the host employer, controlling contractor and entry employers, continuous atmospheric monitoring where feasible, engulfment early-warning systems, and a suspended-permit option.
What are some examples of confined spaces in construction? OSHA's Subpart AA materials and the definition in 1926.1202 cover manholes, sewers and storm drains, crawl spaces, attics with limited access, pits, vaults, tanks, boilers, ducts, pipelines, trenches with limited access, precast concrete and steel structures under construction, and water and wastewater structures; a space is confined when it is large enough to enter, has limited entry or exit, and is not designed for continuous occupancy.
What are the construction standards for confined spaces in the United States? 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA, with respirators under 1926.103 (which applies 1910.134), excavation atmospheres under 1926.651(g), welding in confined spaces under 1926.353, and the fall protection and retrieval equipment criteria borrowed from 1926.502. California applies Title 8 §5158 to construction.
Does Subpart AA require continuous gas monitoring? Yes where feasible: 1926.1204(e)(1)(ii) requires atmospheric hazards to be continuously monitored unless the employer demonstrates that periodic monitoring is sufficient, and 1926.1203(e)(2)(vi) says the same for alternate-procedure entries; engulfment hazards get continuous monitoring with an early-warning system. 1910.146 asks only for testing and monitoring as necessary.
What does the controlling contractor have to do? Under 1926.1203(h): obtain the host employer's information on each permit space, pass it and any information from other entry employers to each entry employer, coordinate entry operations when more than one employer enters or when other work could create a hazard in the space, and debrief each entry employer afterwards about the program followed and hazards met.
What retrieval equipment does the construction rule require? 1926.1211(c): non-entry rescue by a retrieval system unless it would increase the risk or not help, with each entrant in a chest or full body harness with the retrieval line attached at the center of the back near shoulder level or above the head, the line run to a mechanical device or fixed point outside, and a mechanical device available for vertical spaces more than 5 feet deep; the entry employer also confirms before entry that emergency assistance is available if non-entry rescue fails.
The ratings, test results and standards shown here are the manufacturers' published values, reproduced as published. Nothing on this page is a recommendation by Bayshore Safety that any product is suitable for a particular task, hazard or workplace. Selecting safety products and protective equipment is the responsibility of the end user and the employer, based on their own hazard assessment and the regulations that apply to their work. Confirm every value on the manufacturer's own documentation before use.