Confined Spaces Permit Required vs. Non Permit Required

Permit-Required Vs. Non-Permit Required Space Guide

Do you know the difference between permit-required and non-permit required confined spaces? This post will give you all the information you will need! Including the definition of a confined space, confined space hazards, and OSHA 1910.146!

This post will be a short guide on the difference between permit required, and non-permit required confined spaces. As always, The Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA) has pages and pages of information that go into super detail about everything. This guide is a quick, easy way to learn the differences between permit required and non-permit required confined spaces for those who don’t want to spend hours on the OSHA website searching for the information!

OSHA Defines a Confined Space as:

1. Large enough and configured so an employee can enter and perform assigned work.
2. Has limited or restricted means of entry or exit. Some examples include vessels, tanks, storage bins, silos, hoppers, vaults, and pits.
3. Is not designed for continuous human occupancy.

Main Difference Between Permit Required and Non-Permit Required

Permit-Required Confined Space: This is a space where the hazards to employees are controlled but still present. These spaces are usually IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health).

Non-Permit Required Confined Space: This is a space where the hazards are “eliminated.”

Permit-Required Confined Space (OSHA Standard 1910.146)

A permit-required confined space is defined by having any of the following:

• Contains or potentially contains a hazardous atmosphere
• Contains a material that has the possibility of engulfing someone
• Has a configuration where someone could get trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section.
• Contains any other recognized serious safety and health hazard

Confined Space Hazards include

• Mechanical Entrapment
• Engulfment Atmospheric
• Gas Temperature Extremes
• Dust Excessive Noise
• Slick or Wet Surfaces Falling Objects
• Falling Hazards Electrical Shock
• Poor Lighting or Work Created Hazards 

Employers are required to evaluate a space to determine if it is a permit required or a non-permit required confined space.

Want more information on Permit-Required and Non-Permit Required Confined Spaces? Visit OSHA 1910.146

If you are looking for Confined Space Training, please visit one of the links below for more information!
Confined Space Entry Training (General Industry)
Confined Space Entry Training (Construction Industry)

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