OSHA Regulations for Electrical Rooms and Exit Routes in Commercial Buildings

• OSHA 1910.303 requires clear working space in front of electrical equipment, at least 30 inches wide and 3 feet or more deep depending on voltage, and that space can never be used for storage.
• OSHA 1910.36 and 1910.37 require exit routes at least 28 inches wide, exit doors that open from the inside without keys and routes kept clear of materials even temporarily.
• OSHA 1910.22 requires walking surfaces free of leaks and spills, inspected regularly, with hazards fixed or guarded before anyone uses them.
• NFPA 70E is not an OSHA rule, but OSHA can use it as evidence that an electrical hazard was recognized and could have been controlled.
• OSHA did not raise penalties for 2026: up to $16,550 per serious violation and up to $165,514 for willful or repeat violations.

OSHA applies as federal law to employers, not to buildings. In an office building that means the property manager's and owner's own staff, especially the engineering team, and every contractor and tenant employer working there. The general industry rules in 29 CFR 1910 cover most of what happens in electrical rooms, mechanical spaces and exit routes.

The same few sections keep coming up. In J.J. Keller's review of OSHA's preliminary fiscal 2026 data, general electrical requirements (1910.303) ranked sixth among Part 1910 standards cited, electrical wiring methods (1910.305) eighth, exit routes (1910.37) tenth and walking working surfaces (1910.22) thirteenth (J.J. Keller, October 2026).

For how these rules fit into a full inspection record, see our OSHA 1910 deep dive.

Most electrical room findings come from 1910.303, OSHA's general electrical requirements (OSHA 1910.303):

• Working space depth: at least 3 feet in front of equipment up to 150 volts to ground, and 3 to 4 feet for 151 to 600 volts depending on what faces the equipment.
• Working space width: the width of the equipment or 30 inches, whichever is greater, with room for doors and hinged panels to open at least 90 degrees.
• Headroom: at least 6.5 feet for switchboards, panelboards and motor control centers installed since August 13, 2007, and 6.25 feet for older installations.
• No storage: required working space may not be used for storage, ever.
• Access, lighting and guarding: working spaces need a way in, lighting, and live parts guarded against accidental contact.
• Labels: disconnects need to be marked with what they serve.

Wiring method findings under 1910.305 are usually small and visible: open knockouts in panels and boxes, missing covers, and flexible cords used in place of permanent wiring. All of them can be seen on a walk.

OSHA splits exit routes into design rules in 1910.36 and maintenance rules in 1910.37. The design is usually set when the building is built; the maintenance is what gets cited.

• Two routes: most workplaces need at least two exit routes, far enough apart that one can be used if the other is blocked (OSHA 1910.36).
• Width and height: exit access at least 28 inches wide at every point and a ceiling at least 7 feet 6 inches high, with nothing projecting into that space.
• Unlocked from inside: exit doors must open from the inside at any time without keys, tools or special knowledge.
• Kept clear: no materials or equipment in exit routes, even temporarily (OSHA 1910.37).
• Exit signs: lit to at least 5 foot candles, with letters at least 6 inches high, and doors that could be mistaken for exits marked "Not an Exit" or with their real use.
• During work: during repairs and alterations, exit routes and fire protection must stay available, or equivalent protection provided.

The fire code covers much of the same ground, as our guide to the most common fire code violations explains, so one weekly walk can serve both.

1910.22 applies to every floor engineers walk on, including mechanical rooms, roofs and plant spaces (OSHA 1910.22):

• Passageways, storerooms and service rooms kept clean, orderly and sanitary.
• Floors kept clean and, where possible, dry, with drainage where water is used.
• Surfaces free of hazards such as protruding objects, loose boards, corrosion, leaks, spills, snow and ice.
• Surfaces inspected regularly and as needed, and hazards fixed or guarded before anyone uses the area.

In practice, the findings are leaks: a dripping valve in the mechanical room, condensate on the floor below an air handler, or water near electrical gear, which is both a slip and an electrical hazard.

NFPA 70E is the standard for electrical safety in the workplace, and the 2024 edition is current. It covers the electrical safety program, training, lockout and tagout, work on energized equipment, arc flash risk assessment, protective equipment and maintenance (J.J. Keller).

OSHA has not adopted NFPA 70E as a regulation. It has said a consensus standard like 70E can serve as evidence that a hazard was recognized and that feasible ways to reduce it existed (OSHA interpretation, 2006). A missing arc flash label is not cited by itself, but OSHA can cite the underlying hazard assessment under its protective equipment rules (NASP, 2025).

For building engineers, three habits cover most of it: treat equipment as energized until proven otherwise, keep arc flash labels and one line diagrams current, and keep equipment in the maintained condition 70E assumes, which is where an NFPA 70B electrical maintenance program comes in.

OSHA made no inflation increase for 2026, so the 2025 amounts still apply (OSHA, May 2026):

• Serious and other than serious: up to $16,550 per violation.
• Failure to abate: up to $16,550 per day past the abatement date.
• Willful or repeat: up to $165,514 per violation, with minimums of $11,823 for willful and $4,256 for repeat.

A blocked panel and a blocked exit found on the same visit are two citations. Found again later, they can become repeat violations.

Electrical rooms

• Working space in front of every panel, switchboard and transformer clear to the required depth and width.
• Nothing stored in the room that does not belong there.
• Room lighting working; doors and access clear.
• Panel covers on, no open knockouts, no missing breaker blanks.
• Disconnects and panels labeled; arc flash labels present and readable.
• No water, leaks or condensation near electrical equipment.

Exit routes and walking surfaces

• Every exit route clear, at least 28 inches wide, nothing projecting into it.
• Exit doors open from inside without keys; no chains or added locks.
• Exit signs lit and readable; misleading doors marked.
• Mechanical and plant room floors dry and free of leaks, spills and trip hazards.
• Any hazard found fixed or guarded the same day, with a photo before and after.

What are OSHA's requirements for electrical rooms?

OSHA 1910.303 requires clear working space in front of electrical equipment, at least 30 inches wide and 3 feet or more deep depending on voltage, adequate headroom and lighting, guarded live parts, labeled disconnects and no storage in the working space.

How wide must an OSHA exit route be?

At least 28 inches at every point, with a ceiling at least 7 feet 6 inches high, and wide enough for the number of people the floor serves.

Can exit doors be locked?

Not from the inside. OSHA requires that exit doors open from the inside at any time without keys, tools or special knowledge; panic hardware that locks only from outside is allowed.

Is NFPA 70E an OSHA requirement?

No. OSHA has not adopted NFPA 70E as a regulation, but it can use 70E as evidence that an electrical hazard was recognized and that ways to reduce it existed.

What is the maximum OSHA fine in 2026?

Up to $16,550 per serious violation and up to $165,514 per willful or repeat violation. OSHA made no inflation increase for 2026.

FacilityOps AI (RoboSkill Inc.) is an autonomous inspection platform that checks the conditions OSHA cites most often, every round. A FacilityOps inspection robot walks the route through electrical rooms, corridors, exit routes and mechanical spaces on schedule, and records each check with a time and location stamp.

• Working clearances: the robot checks the floor in front of panels, switchboards and transformers and flags anything stored in the working space.
• Panels and labels: camera checks spot missing covers, open knockouts and missing or unreadable labels on the accessible face of equipment.
• Exit routes: it photographs anything left in a corridor or exit path and confirms exit signs are lit.
• Walking surfaces: it looks for leaks, spills and standing water in mechanical and electrical rooms, and thermal imaging flags hot equipment beside them.

Each finding becomes a work order with a photo and location, and the next pass confirms it was fixed. The result is a dated record that hazards were looked for and corrected, the kind of evidence that matters when an inspector asks how often the space is checked.

The robot runs fully autonomously, and technicians can take manual control at any time. The platform is hardware agnostic: robots and sensor hubs are the usual delivery, and drones, other robots or a technician's camera can feed the same record.

Clear space, clear exits, dry floors: checked every round.

FacilityOps does not open energized equipment or perform electrical work, does not replace your safety program or arc flash studies, and does not certify OSHA compliance.

• The Most Common Fire Code Violations in Office Buildings and How to Catch Them Between Inspections
• Fire Extinguisher Inspection and the Fire Safety Checklist for Office Buildings
• NFPA 70B for Commercial Buildings: How to Build an Electrical Maintenance Program