If you hire maintenance technicians, electricians, plumbers or HVAC techs, you’ve seen “OSHA 10” and “OSHA 30” on a lot of resumes. Here’s how to verify OSHA certification: ask for the card, scan the QR code on the back of a plastic card and contact the training center it lists, or contact the trainer who issued it. There’s no national database to search, and what most people call “OSHA certification” is technically a training card.
What does it mean if someone is OSHA certified?
When a candidate says they’re OSHA certified, they almost always mean they hold a student course completion card from OSHA’s Outreach Training Program. Authorized trainers teach the classes, which cover construction, general industry, maritime and disaster site work.
The two cards you’ll see most often are OSHA 10 and OSHA 30. According to OSHA, the OSHA 10 class gives workers an awareness of common job hazards, while the OSHA 30 class is better suited to supervisors and workers with some safety responsibility.
The card isn’t a license. OSHA states that it doesn’t consider an OSHA card a certification or license, and that the program is voluntary. Some states, cities and employers still require it as a condition of employment, as OSHA notes, along with some unions.
So the card tells you the person completed basic safety training. It doesn’t tell you they’re qualified to do electrical, plumbing or HVAC work. That’s what trade licenses are for, and we’ll cover them below.
How to verify an OSHA card, step by step
OSHA won’t verify cards for you. Its FAQ explains that it doesn’t verify individual cards for privacy reasons and doesn’t run or recognize any national database for checking them. Verification goes through the people who ran the training.
- Ask for the card itself. A line on a resume isn’t enough. Ask for a photo of the front and back, or bring the physical card to the interview.
- Check what’s printed on it. Look at the cardholder’s name, the card number, the course (construction or general industry, OSHA 10 or OSHA 30) and the trainer or training organization behind it.
- Scan the QR code on plastic cards. According to OSHA, the QR code on the back of a plastic card gives you contact details for the OTI Education Center that processed it, and that center can verify the card. The scan alone doesn’t confirm anything, so reach out to the center.
- Contact the trainer for paper cards or cards without a QR code. Ask the candidate for the name and contact information of the trainer who issued the card. OSHA requires authorized trainers to keep training records for five years, so the trainer should be able to confirm the class.
- Match the name. Make sure the name on the card and in the trainer’s records matches the candidate’s ID.
- Keep a record. Note who you contacted, when and what they confirmed. If the role requires the card, you’ll want that on file.
Since you’ll need the candidate’s help to reach the trainer, tell applicants up front that you check cards and ask them to share the trainer’s details.
If you’re looking for a way to verify an OSHA certificate online, the QR code is the closest thing you’ll find. There’s no official site where you type a name or card number and get an answer.
How to spot a fake OSHA card
Watch for these warning signs:
- The card doesn’t list a trainer or a training organization.
- The QR code doesn’t lead to an OTI Education Center, or the center has no record of the card.
- The trainer can’t be reached or can’t find the class in their records.
- The name, course or date doesn’t match what the candidate told you.
Be careful with lookup sites. Some private websites use official sounding names and offer to check cards by number. OSHA doesn’t run or recognize any national database, so a result from one of those sites doesn’t prove anything.
If you think a card is fake, you can report it. OSHA asks people to email outreach@dol.gov or call its outreach fraud hotline at 847-725-7804, and to include the trainer’s name and the date, location and type of training.
OSHA cards vs trade licenses
For trades roles, the OSHA card is often the smallest piece of the puzzle. Electricians and plumbers are usually licensed by the state, and HVAC techs who work with refrigerants need EPA Section 608 certification. EPA rules require it for technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release ozone depleting refrigerants. Since January 1, 2018, the requirement also covers appliances with most substitute refrigerants, including HFCs. Each credential is issued and checked in a different place.
| Credential | Who issues it | What it shows | Where to verify it |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 card | An authorized trainer, with the card processed by an OTI Education Center | The person completed basic safety training. It’s not a certification or license | The QR code and the center it lists, or the trainer |
| Electrician or plumber license | The state licensing board for that trade | The person can legally do that work in that state | The board that issued it; many have a public license search on their website |
| EPA Section 608 certification | An EPA approved certifying organization | The person passed the test to handle refrigerants for that type of equipment | The certifying organization named on the card |
The EPA row trips up a lot of employers. The EPA doesn’t issue Section 608 cards and can’t replace them, so ask for the card and contact the organization named on it. Section 608 credentials don’t expire, so an older card can still be valid.
When to verify in the hiring process
Put the requirement in the job posting. If the role needs an OSHA 10 card, a state license or EPA 608 certification, say so in the requirements, so applicants without them can screen themselves out.
Ask for the card or license number in your first conversation. That gives you time to reach the trainer, the board or the certifying organization before the final interview, so the check doesn’t hold up an offer. Keep must haves like these separate from the skills you rate on your interview scorecard template.
Verify before the offer, not on day 1. If a card or license doesn’t check out, it’s easier to stop before the candidate has given notice at their current job, and you avoid paying the true cost of a bad hire.
For roles you fill over and over, like maintenance technicians across several properties, build the requirement into an evergreen job requisition. Every applicant sees it, and every hire goes through the same check.
How Workwolf® helps with trades hiring
Workwolf® is a Recruiting as a Service (RaaS) company for businesses that hire frontline staff in volume. Its clients work in field sales, call centers, retail, event marketing, property management and the trades, including HVAC, electrical and plumbing.
Workwolf® sources candidates, filters them with AI, phone screens them with its recruiters and books the best fits into your calendar, so you only meet the finalists and make the hire. Workwolf® runs on its own AI engine, Packfinder. It screens and ranks every applicant against the profile of each client’s top performers, and it gets more precise with every placement.
When a client requests it or the role requires it, Workwolf® can run background checks and verifications on final candidates, including criminal record checks, employment and education verification, and professional license verification.
For clients who hire for the same roles continuously, Workwolf® keeps a pipeline of screened candidates ready, so new seats get filled faster.
Frequently asked questions
Can you look up an OSHA card by name?
No. OSHA doesn’t run a national database, and it doesn’t verify individual cards for privacy reasons. To check a card, scan the QR code on a plastic card and contact the training center it lists, or contact the trainer who issued it.
Do OSHA cards expire?
According to OSHA, student course completion cards for construction, general industry, maritime and disaster site work don’t have an expiration date. Some employers and local rules require refresher training, so check what applies to your job sites.
Is OSHA training required by law?
OSHA itself doesn’t require the OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 class. Some states, cities, employers and unions do, so the answer depends on where the work happens and who you work for.
How do I verify a certificate online for free?
For OSHA cards, scanning the QR code is free and gives you the training center to contact. For trade licenses, many state boards let you search licenses on their website. Avoid paid sites that claim to check OSHA cards from a national database, since OSHA doesn’t run or recognize one.
Get help with your trades hiring
If your team hires the same trades roles over and over, book a call to see how Workwolf® works for your roles, or run your numbers with our hiring ROI calculator.
