Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Compliance Guide

OSHA's #4 most-cited standard, up one place from FY 2024.

The Control of Hazardous Energy (29 CFR 1910.147) drew 2,177 citations in FY 2025. LOTO failures are among the most consequential on the Top 10, because the failure mode is a machine starting while someone is inside it.

Shop lockout/tagout signage

What gets cited

• No documented energy control procedure for the specific machine
• Procedures that exist on paper but do not match how the equipment actually isolates
• Stored energy not released or restrained: springs, hydraulics, capacitors, elevated parts
• Isolation not verified before work begins
• Each authorized employee not applying their own lock
• No annual periodic inspection of the energy control procedure
• Employees not retrained when procedures or machines change

Why this one escalates fast

Lockout/tagout is on OSHA's instance-by-instance citation list for high-gravity serious violations. That means a single inspection can generate a separate citation per machine or per employee rather than one citation for the condition. The arithmetic changes quickly.

What a citation actually costs

OSHA maximum civil penalties per violation. 2026 amounts are unchanged from 2025, because the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish October 2025 CPI data during the federal funding lapse.

Source: OSHA 2026 Annual Adjustments to Civil Penalties and 29 CFR 1910.147.

Free compliance checklist

A walkthrough checklist covering machine-specific procedures, energy isolation verification, group lockout, shift handover, and the annual periodic inspection.

Download the LOTO Compliance Checklist (PDF)

Where signage fits

Energy isolation points, disconnects, and equipment under service all need to be identifiable at a glance by someone who did not apply the lock. Durable signage at the disconnect and on the guard is what keeps a second shift from energizing a machine that looks idle.

Browse 8x12 aluminum safety signs or see all ten OSHA Top 10 guides.