OSHA 10, OSHA 30, NFPA 70E: which cards matter

Federal OSHA doesn't require an OSHA 10 card. OSHA calls the 10- and 30-hour classes "a voluntary program." But Nevada requires one within 15 days of hire on any construction job, several states require it on public work, and plenty of GCs won't badge you without it. For an electrician, OSHA 10 gets you through the gate, OSHA 30 helps toward a foreman spot, and NFPA 70E training is what the electrical work itself runs on.

01The cards at a glance

What each card is, who asks for it, and how long it's good for:

Every state rule below is as of 2026. Confirm with the state before you count on it. For the rest of what a shop owes you, from overtime to PPE, see electrician rights on the job.

02OSHA 10: the gate card

OSHA 10 is a 10-hour hazard awareness class, and you need it wherever a state, owner or GC says so, which is a lot of places.

OSHA's own page is plain: the program "is a voluntary program and does not meet the training requirements for any OSHA standards." The 10-hour class gives workers "awareness of common job-related safety and health hazards," and OSHA notes that "some states, municipalities or others may require outreach training as a condition of employment" (OSHA Outreach Training Program).

Where it's state law:

• Nevada. A construction worker must get an OSHA-10 card within 15 days of being hired. If he doesn't show it, "the employer shall suspend or terminate his or her employment." Nevada runs a public registry of who's completed the course (NRS 618.977 to 618.990).
• New York. On public work contracts of $250,000 or more, every laborer, worker and mechanic must have finished an OSHA-approved 10-hour construction course "prior to performing any work on the project" (NY Labor Law 220-h).
• New Hampshire. On public projects of $100,000 or more, on-site employees must complete a 10-hour construction safety program before starting work. Without proof within 15 days, you can be removed from the site (RSA 277:5-a).
• Missouri. On public works, on-site employees have 60 days from starting on the project to finish the 10-hour course. If you're found without proof, you get 20 days to produce it before you can be removed (RSMo 292.675).
• Connecticut. On public works, the contractor sends proof of your 10-hour course with the first week's certified payroll. The catch for licensed electricians: if your OSHA 10 is five or more years old, you also need a 4-hour refresher taught by an OSHA-authorized trainer (C.G.S. 31-53b).

If you've had your card for years, check the date on it before a public job in Connecticut.

On the card itself: take the class from an OSHA-authorized trainer or online provider. The trainer has 90 days to issue your card. If you lose it, the trainer or provider can replace it, but not for a class you took five or more years ago. Then you retake it (OSHA Outreach). Keep a photo of the front and back on your phone.

03OSHA 30: the foreman card

OSHA 30 is the longer version, aimed at people with supervisory or safety duties, and it helps most when you're going for a foreman spot.

Nevada makes it law for supervisors: a supervisory employee on a construction site must get an OSHA-30 card within 15 days of being hired (NRS 618.983). Elsewhere it's the GC or owner who asks, mostly for foremen and site safety roles.

Does OSHA 30 get you a foreman spot by itself? No. Running work, ordering material and keeping a crew busy gets you the spot. OSHA 30 takes away a reason to say no, and it shows you've thought about the job past your own hands. If you're aiming that way, read how to become an electrical foreman and see what the extra pay looks like in how much an electrical foreman makes.

If you've got OSHA 10 and you're running a crew already, OSHA 30 is the next card to get.

04NFPA 70E: the card the electrical work runs on

NFPA 70E is the electrical safety standard a lot of shops train to so they meet OSHA's training rule, and it calls for retraining at least every three years.

OSHA's rule is the legal part. Under the general industry rule, 29 CFR 1910.332, employees facing a risk of electric shock must be trained, in a classroom or on the job. "Qualified persons," the ones who work on or near exposed energized parts, must be trained to tell exposed live parts from other parts, determine nominal voltage, and know the clearance distances. Electricians are on the rule's own list (Table S-4) of jobs facing a higher than normal risk of electrical accident.

NFPA 70E training is how many shops deliver that. Under the standard, a qualified person must be retrained "at least every three years," and sooner if supervision shows you're not following safe work practices, if new equipment or procedures come in, or if you'll use practices you don't normally use. The employer documents it (ISHN, Know your NFPA 70E training requirements). That article covers the 2015 edition; check the edition your employer trains to.

Why it matters for your career: 70E is the card that lines up with the work you get paid for. Plant maintenance, switchgear, data center energization and commissioning crews live under it. If your last 70E class was more than three years ago, ask your shop when the next one is and whether it runs the class itself.

05MSHA training: plants on a mine or quarry

If the job is on a mine or quarry property, OSHA cards aren't the gate. MSHA training is.

Under MSHA's Part 46 rules, which cover surface sand, gravel, stone, clay and limestone operations, a "miner" includes "any construction worker who is exposed to hazards of mining operations," and independent contractors' employees doing mining work. A new miner gets at least 24 hours of training: 4 hours before starting, the rest within 90 days (30 CFR 46.2, 30 CFR 46.5). Then at least 8 hours of refresher training every 12 months (30 CFR 46.8).

Part 48 covers other mines. New miners there also get at least 24 hours, with at least 8 before they start work, and the same 8-hour annual refresher (30 CFR 48.25, 30 CFR 48.28). Short visits by outside contractors can be covered by site hazard training instead. Ask the site which applies before you show up.

An MSHA card is worth carrying if you do industrial work in mining country. Connecticut even accepts MSHA Part 46 new miner training in place of OSHA 10 on its public works.

06NCCER: the one that can move your rate

On some industrial and data center jobs, an NCCER assessment gets you in the door and your level sets the rate.

One data center electrician ad posted Oct 8, 2026 on RoadDogJobs requires "the cut score on the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Skill Assessment" and lists pay by level: "$34 CR1," "$36 CR2," "$37 kv or pv," and "$38 Certified plus," with $875 a week per diem paid 7 days (RoadDogJobs ad). The ad doesn't spell out each level, but that's a $4-an-hour spread from the bottom tier to "Certified plus" in one ad.

Example only, on that ad's numbers: $4 more an hour on a 50-hour week is $220 more before taxes (40 hours × $4, plus 10 overtime hours × $6).

A foreman ad posted Oct 19, 2026 for a one-year industrial job lists "NCCER certification" as preferred (RoadDogJobs ad). NCCER pitches its assessments to "craft professionals seeking to validate experience and advance their careers," and lists a journey-level Commercial Electrician assessment (NCCER Assessments).

If you're chasing data center or plant work, it's worth asking the contractor whether it uses NCCER levels before you sit for one. Data center electrician work covers the rest of what those jobs want.

07First aid, CPR and lift cards

These are site cards. Nobody hires you for them, but they can keep you on a crew.

First aid and CPR. If there's no clinic, hospital or doctor reasonably close to the site, OSHA requires someone with valid first-aid training "available at the worksite to render first aid" (29 CFR 1926.50). On a remote solar field or plant job, that's often the foreman. Being the guy with the card is useful.

Aerial lifts. OSHA says "only authorized persons shall operate an aerial lift" (29 CFR 1926.453). Shops and sites usually show authorization with their own lift training and a card. Bring yours. Expect the site to want its own, too.

08Which cards to get, in order

For a working journeyman, this order makes sense:

1. OSHA 10, if you don't have it. It's the most common gate card on GC jobs and the law in Nevada and on some public work.
2. NFPA 70E, current within three years. It's tied to the actual electrical work. Ask whether your shop covers it.
3. OSHA 30, once you're leading hands or want to.
4. NCCER, if you're going after industrial or data center work and the contractor uses it.
5. MSHA, if your area has mines, quarries or plants on mine property.

Cards help you get on jobs and up the ladder. They don't set your rate by themselves. Your license, your years and the work you can run do. Run your Pay Check to see what electricians with your license make near you. Takes about a minute and your boss never hears about it.

Once you're carrying the cards, know what to do when a site isn't safe. Can your boss make you work hot? covers your rights on an unsafe site, and contractors look for these cards in what contractors check before they hire a journeyman.

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