Cal/OSHA Inspection Overview Covers activities entered in OIS between 1/1/2015 and 5/7/2026

The following gives a total of the inspections opened by Cal/OSHA by calendar year (in some instances inspections may have been closed and citations issued the following calendar year). The inspections are broken down by initiating type.

Cal/OSHA Inspection Type 2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020**  2021**  2022  2023  2024  2025 
Total Inspections1 7,690 7,862 7,910 7,816 7,558 6,021 5,494 6,427 6,820 6,375 7,415
Total Programmed2 Inspections 1,721 1,842 1,761 1,795 1,920 926 701 1,312 1,688 1,740 1,902
Total Unprogrammed3 Inspections 5,969 6,020 6,149 6,021 5,638 5,095 4,793 5,115 5,132 4,635 5,513
- Fatality/ Catastrophe 190 186 197 214 216 454 419 242 273 276 310
- Accident 2,291 2,350 2,422 2,449 2,249 2,062 2,136 2,220 2,214 2,167 2,103
- Complaint 2,040 2,228 2,148 2,174 2,046 1,350 1,274 1,456 1,575 1,372 2,093
- Referral 603 530 708 443 467 765 559 598 591 376 427
- Other Unprogrammed Inspections 845 726 674 741 660 464 405 599 479 444 580

*Note: This data is subject to change as information is updated and discrepancies are addressed.

  • 1 Inspections include Comprehensive, Partial, and Records Only inspections. Does not include inspections marked "No Inspection".
  • 2 Programmed inspections are planned inspections of worksites which have been selected based upon objective criteria.
  • 3 Unprogrammed inspections are initiated as a result of a notification of a fatality, accident, complaint, or referral.
  • ** The COVID-19 global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 occurred during this time.

May 2026