OSHA 10 Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

The numbers to remember

• 10 hours total instructional time required for the course.
• 6 required / 2 elective / 2 optional hours make up the blueprint.
• Classes span a minimum of 2 calendar days.
• Class size: 3 to 40 students.
• Daily cap: 7.5 student contact hours per day.
• No test is required and there is no official passing score — completion is at the trainer's discretion.
• Cards never expire (Construction) and must be issued within 90 days of course completion.
• Replacement cards are available only if the class was completed within the last 5 years, and only one replacement is ever issued per student per class.

Content domains and hour weights

• Introduction to OSHA — 1 hour (rights, responsibilities, filing complaints).
• Focus Four Hazards — 4 hours total, with falls alone requiring a minimum of 1.5 hours and each of the other three hazards (electrocution, struck-by, caught-in/between) requiring a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Health Hazards in Construction — 30 minutes minimum.
• Personal Protective Equipment — 30 minutes minimum.
• Elective topics — at least 2 distinct topics, 2 hours total.
• Optional topics — 2 hours, trainer's choice of additional content.
• No single topic may exceed 4 hours; every topic covered has a 30-minute floor.

High-yield review areas

• Falls — why they get the largest single time allocation in the Focus Four block.
• PPE selection — matching the right gear to the right hazard, not just naming equipment.
• Workers' rights basics from the Introduction to OSHA segment — how and where to file a hazard complaint.
• The difference between required, elective, and optional topics, and why electives need at least two distinct subjects rather than one deep dive.

Top traps

• Assuming there's a numeric passing score to hit — there isn't one; OSHA leaves completion determination to the trainer.
• Confusing the 10-hour student course with the OSHA #500 Trainer Course, which does include a knowledge-based test — that test applies only to people becoming trainers, not to 10-hour students.
• Thinking the completion card expires — Construction cards never expire once issued.
• Forgetting that testing time (if a trainer gives a quiz) never counts toward the 10 required instructional hours.