SST Frequently Asked Questions

You need to meet the Local Law 196 training requirements if you are a construction worker at a site that is required to designate a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator or Site Safety Manager. If you are a worker, you need 40 hours of training. If you are a supervisor, which includes Construction Superintendents, Site Safety Coordinators, Site Safety Managers, Concrete Safety Managers, and competent persons, you need 62 hours of training.

Yes. Workers and supervisors at job sites that are required to designate a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator or Site Safety Manager must be trained, regardless of company size.

Yes. Workers and supervisors at job sites that are required to designate a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator or Site Safety Manager must be trained, regardless of whether they are the general contractor or a subcontractor.

Generally, DCA-licensed Home Improvement Contractors and workers at job sites that only involve minor alterations or the construction of a new 1-, 2-, or 3-family home are not required to be trained.
Local Law 196 applies to workers and supervisors at job sites that are required to designate a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator or Site Safety Manager.

Delivery persons, flag persons, design professionals (professional engineers/registered architects), Department-licensees and Department-registrants (excluding safety professionals) are not required to be trained.

If you fall into one of these categories but serve as a Site Safety Manager, Site Safety Coordinator, Concrete Safety Manager, Construction Superintendent or competent person, you are required to receive training. While licensees themselves do not need to be trained, employees working under their direct and continuing supervision do need to be trained.

For additional examples, see the chart below:

Safety Training Required

• Construction Workers
• Demolition Workers
• Construction Superintendents (CS)
• Site Safety Coordinators (SSC)
• Site Safety Managers (SSM)
• Concrete Safety Managers (CSM)
• Competent Persons
• Journeypersons
• Forepersons
• Employees of DOB Licensees or Registrants

Safety Training Not Required

• Building Site Owners
• Project Managers
• Professional Engineer (PE)
• Registered Architect (RA)
• Developers
• Delivery Persons
• Construction Managers
• Flag Persons
• General Contractors
• DOB Licensees and Registrants that are not CS, SSC, SSM, or CSM
• Concrete Testing Laboratories/Concrete Inspectors
• Filing Representatives
• Security Officers
• Special Inspectors
• Service Technicians
• Consultants

You are only considered a supervisor for the purposes of Local Law 196 if you are serving on a construction site as a Construction Superintendent, Site Safety Coordinator, Site Safety Manager, Concrete Safety Manager, or competent person.

If you have taken a Department-approved course, such as the 40-Hour Site Safety Manager or 16-Hour Rigging Worker courses, you may be eligible to receive credit towards your SST training requirement. The Department has published a printable DOB-approved Site Safety Training Course Equivalent document.

Any training that will be applied towards a Site Safety Training Card, including OSHA training, must have been received within the past five years.

You may take in-person OSHA training with an OSHA-authorized trainer or online, as long as the online training is actively proctored. Visit OSHA for a list of OSHA-authorized trainers. View the list of NYC Department of Buildings approved course providers.

Actively proctored online training is:

• online training that is taken in a classroom with a proctor; or
• online training that at a minimum requires the individual receiving the training:
• to attest that they are the individual that received the training and that the training was received without assistance; and
• to have their participation monitored at random times to ensure that the individual receiving the training is present for the entirety of the training.

Workers will be required to complete their 40 hours of training by March 1, 2021.

DOB-approved course providers are responsible for issuing Site Safety Training Cards upon the completion of training. View a list of DOB-approved course providers.

SST cards expire after five years. Card holders will be required to take a refresher course every five years to renew their SST card.

If you have an OSHA 30-Hour Card, you need the following training:

If you have an OSHA 10-Hour Card, you need the following training:

DOB will not be issuing violations to workers. Permit holders are responsible for ensuring that workers at their sites are trained. If the Department discovers that workers at a construction site are untrained, the Department will issue a violation with civil penalties that go as high as $5,000 per untrained worker to the owner of the site, the permit holder and the employer of the untrained worker.