Hot Work Permit Program
Hot work permit program controlling welding, cutting, grinding, brazing, and torch work by maintenance staff and outside contractors, covering when a written permit is required, the preference order of moving the work or moving the hazards before guarding them, the 35 foot combustible clearance and floor protection rules, fire extinguisher readiness at the work site, fire watch duties during work and for at least a half hour after it stops, prohibited conditions such as impaired sprinklers and flammable atmospheres, and permit closeout with a documented final inspection.
- Audience
- Maintenance technicians and any employee performing spark or flame producing work, the permit authorizing individual and their backup, assigned fire watchers, supervisors of hot work, and outside contractors performing hot work on the property
- Review cycle
- annual
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-17
- Revision
- 1
What is in the procedure
7 sections. Regulatory language is fixed and passes through verbatim. Sections marked customized get rewritten around your facility, your equipment, and your job titles.
- 01
Purpose
FixedThis program controls hot work: welding, torch and plasma cutting, brazing, torch soldering, grinding, abrasive cutting, and any other work that produces sparks, open flame, or enough heat to ignite nearby material.
- 02
Scope
CustomizedThis program applies to all spark or flame producing work performed anywhere on the property outside the designated hot work area, whether by facility employees or by outside contractors.
- 03
Responsibilities
CustomizedManagement establishes the designated hot work area, establishes the permit procedure for hot work in all other areas, designates in writing the individual responsible for authorizing cutting and welding operations...
- 04
Procedure: Deciding Whether a Permit Is Required and Issuing It
Customized1. Ask first whether the job needs hot work at all.
- 05
Procedure: Preparing the Site Within the 35 Foot Radius
CustomizedBefore the permit is signed, the site is prepared and each step is verified on the permit: 1. Relocate all combustibles at least 35 feet from the work site wherever practicable.
- 06
Procedure: Fire Watch, Final Inspection, and Permit Closeout
CustomizedA fire watcher is required whenever hot work is performed in a location where other than a minor fire might develop, and whenever any of the following is true: appreciable combustible material, in building construction...
- 07
References
Fixed29 CFR 1910.252 General requirements (Subpart Q, Welding, Cutting and Brazing), including NFPA Standard 51B (1962), incorporated by reference at 1910.252(a)(1) through 1910.6. 29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers.
OSHA references
Hot Work Permit Program: 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(1)
Every SOP generated from this template cites the paragraphs below, with a plain-language summary of what each one requires. Citations are informational and are not legal advice.
| Standard | Title | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(1) | Welding, cutting, and brazing: basic precautions for fire prevention | The basic precautions set a strict order: if the object to be welded or cut cannot readily be moved, all movable fire hazards in the vicinity shall be taken to a safe place; if the object cannot be moved and all the fire hazards cannot be removed, guards shall be used to confine the heat, sparks, and slag and to protect the immovable fire hazards; and if neither of those requirements can be followed, welding and cutting shall not be performed. The paragraph also incorporates NFPA Standard 51B (1962) by reference for elaboration of these precautions and for the fire protection responsibilities of welders and cutters, their supervisors (including outside contractors), and those in management on whose property cutting and welding is performed. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(i) | Special precautions: combustible material below and beyond openings | Wherever there are floor openings or cracks in the flooring that cannot be closed, precautions must be taken so that no readily combustible materials on the floor below will be exposed to sparks that might drop through the floor. The same precautions must be observed for cracks or holes in walls, open doorways, and open or broken windows. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(ii) | Special precautions: fire extinguishing equipment at the work site | Suitable fire extinguishing equipment must be maintained in a state of readiness for instant use. Depending on the nature and quantity of the combustible material exposed, that equipment may consist of pails of water, buckets of sand, hose, or portable extinguishers. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iii) | Special precautions: fire watch requirement, duties, and duration | Fire watchers are required whenever welding or cutting is performed in locations where other than a minor fire might develop, or when any of these conditions exists: appreciable combustible material, in building construction or contents, closer than 35 feet (10.7 m) to the point of operation; appreciable combustibles more than 35 feet away that are easily ignited by sparks; wall or floor openings within a 35 foot radius that expose combustible material in adjacent areas, including concealed spaces in walls or floors; or combustible materials adjacent to the opposite side of metal partitions, walls, ceilings, or roofs that are likely to be ignited by conduction or radiation. Fire watchers must have fire extinguishing equipment readily available and be trained in its use, must be familiar with the facilities for sounding an alarm, must watch for fires in all exposed areas, and must try to extinguish a fire only when it is obviously within the capacity of the equipment available, otherwise sounding the alarm. A fire watch must be maintained for at least a half hour after completion of welding or cutting operations to detect and extinguish possible smoldering fires. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iv) | Special precautions: authorization before cutting or welding | Before cutting or welding is permitted, the area must be inspected by the individual responsible for authorizing cutting and welding operations. That individual designates the precautions to be followed in granting authorization to proceed, preferably in the form of a written permit. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(v) | Special precautions: floor sweeping and protection of combustible floors | Where combustible materials such as paper clippings, wood shavings, or textile fibers are on the floor, the floor must be swept clean for a radius of 35 feet (10.7 m). Combustible floors must be kept wet, covered with damp sand, or protected by fire-resistant shields, and where floors have been wet down, personnel operating arc welding or cutting equipment must be protected from possible shock. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(vi) | Special precautions: situations where cutting or welding is prohibited | Cutting or welding is not permitted in areas not authorized by management; in sprinklered buildings while such protection is impaired; in the presence of explosive atmospheres (mixtures of flammable gases, vapors, liquids, or dusts with air), or explosive atmospheres that may develop inside uncleaned or improperly prepared tanks or equipment that previously contained such materials, or that may develop in areas with an accumulation of combustible dusts; or in areas near the storage of large quantities of exposed, readily ignitible materials such as bulk sulfur, baled paper, or cotton. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(vii) | Special precautions: relocation or protection of combustibles | Where practicable, all combustibles must be relocated at least 35 feet (10.7 m) from the work site. Where relocation is impracticable, combustibles must be protected with flameproofed covers or otherwise shielded with metal or asbestos guards or curtains. |
| 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(xiii) | Special precautions: management responsibilities including contractors | Management must recognize its responsibility for the safe usage of cutting and welding equipment on its property and, based on the fire potentials of plant facilities, establish areas for cutting and welding and establish procedures for cutting and welding in other areas; designate an individual responsible for authorizing cutting and welding operations in areas not specifically designed for such processes; insist that cutters or welders and their supervisors are suitably trained in the safe operation of their equipment and the safe use of the process; and advise all contractors about flammable materials or hazardous conditions of which they may not be aware. |
Compliance checklist
What an inspector looks for
A designated hot work area is established, and a written procedure with a designated permit authorizing individual governs hot work everywhere else
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(xiii)
The permit authorizing individual inspects the area before each job and grants authorization in the form of a written permit
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iv)
Movable work goes to the designated area; movable hazards are relocated; immovable hazards are guarded; and where neither is possible the work is not performed
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(1)
Combustibles are relocated at least 35 feet from the work site where practicable, and those remaining are protected with flameproofed covers or shielded with guards or curtains
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(vii)
Floors are swept clean for a 35 foot radius where combustible material is present, and combustible floors are wet down, covered with damp sand, or shielded, with shock protection for arc work on wet floors
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(v)
Floor and wall openings, cracks, open doorways, and open or broken windows are protected so sparks cannot reach combustible material below or in adjacent areas
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(i)
Suitable fire extinguishing equipment is staged at the work site in a state of readiness for instant use
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(ii)
Portable extinguishers used for hot work are maintained under the facility extinguisher inspection program
29 CFR 1910.157
A fire watcher with equipment and training is posted whenever required, watches all exposed areas including the opposite side of worked-on partitions, and remains at least a half hour after work stops
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iii)
No hot work occurs in unauthorized areas, while sprinkler protection is impaired, in actual or potential explosive atmospheres, or near large quantities of exposed readily ignitible material
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(vi)
Equipment worked on is isolated and locked out where the work requires de-energization
29 CFR 1910.147
Contractors are advised of flammable materials and hazardous conditions they may not be aware of, and perform hot work only under this facility's permit
29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(xiii)
Every permit is closed with a documented final inspection, and closed permits are filed and retrievable for insurance loss control review
Waitlist
Generate this SOP for your facility
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This page is informational and is not legal advice. Have a qualified safety professional review any procedure before it goes into service at your facility.