• Employees must be protected from falls while using fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level.
• Regulations vary depending on certain dates.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s fall protection requirement applies to fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level. This is found in 1910.28(b)(9). Employees are not required to use fall protection when working on portable ladders, nor when using fixed ladders under 24 feet.

OSHA determines the height of a fixed ladder based on the total distance between the starting level and the top level or the total potential falling distance, regardless of whether the climb consists of several sections. For example, if a climb consists of two offset ladder sections of 20 feet each, the ladder needs fall protection because the total height is more than 24 feet. Similarly, if employees access a 16-foot fixed ladder from a point 10 feet above a lower level (creating a potential fall of 26 feet), OSHA considers that ladder to be more than 24 feet.

On and after January 17, 2017, for fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet (7.3 m) above a lower level, when employers replace fixed ladders, cages, or wells, or any portion of a section thereof, then a ladder safety system or personal fall arrest system must be installed with the upgrade where the replacement is made. (This does not apply to minor repairs, such as replacing a bolt or repairing a weld on a cage.) However, a fixed ladder that extends more than 24 feet above a lower level and is newly installed after November 19, 2018, must be equipped with a ladder safety system or personal fall arrest system.

Existing fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet above a lower level and were erected before November 19, 2018, must be equipped with a personal fall arrest system, ladder safety system, cage, or well. However, on and after November 18, 2036, all fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet (even existing ones) must be equipped with a ladder safety or personal fall arrest system. State plan states may have a different deadline. Editor's note: On April 6, 2026, OSHA proposed to remove the 2036 deadline at 1910.28(b)(9)(i)(D). If finalized, the change would allow upgrades to existing fixed ladders when they reach the end of their service lives.

The employer may use a cage or well in combination with a personal fall arrest system or ladder safety system, provided that the cage or well does not interfere with the operation of the system.

Cages and wells must be designed, constructed, and maintained:

• To permit easy access to and egress from the ladder.
• To contain employees in the event of a fall.
• To direct employees to a lower landing.

The employer must ensure ladder sections having a cage or well:

• Are offset from adjacent sections; and
• Have landing platforms provided at maximum intervals of 50 feet.