When an OSHA compliance officer shows up, a large share of an inspection is documentary: they ask to see the paperwork the standards require you to keep. Being ready isn't about scrambling on the day — it's about having the right records maintained and retrievable before anyone knocks.
Broadly, the documentation an inspector may request falls into a few buckets:
Your written programs. For every hazard-specific standard that applies to you, the inspector can ask for the written program — HazCom, LOTO, respiratory protection, and the rest (the full list is here). A missing or incomplete written program is one of the most commonly cited findings precisely because it's the easiest thing to ask for and the easiest to be caught without.
Injury and illness records. Covered employers have to maintain OSHA injury and illness records — the 300 log, the 301 incident reports, and the 300A summary — and produce them on request. These are retained for five years following the year they cover, and there are established rules for what counts as recordable.
Training records. Most standards that require training also require you to be able to show it happened — who was trained, on what, and when.
Incident and corrective-action records. Documentation of incidents, near-misses where you track them, and the corrective actions taken shows a functioning program rather than a paper one.
Exposure and medical records. Where workers are exposed to certain hazards, you're required to maintain exposure monitoring and related medical records — and the retention here is long. Exposure records are generally kept for thirty years, and employee medical records for the duration of employment plus thirty years. You're also required to provide access to these under the records-access standard.
The theme: retrievable, current, complete
Inspectors aren't only checking that a document exists — they're checking that it's current and real. A written program dated years ago that doesn't match how you actually work, or training records with gaps, can be as much of a finding as having nothing. The point of a well-run program is that none of this requires a fire drill: the records are maintained as you go, so producing them is routine.