OSHA COMPLIANCE & TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
OSHA 1910.27 Certification, Explained
The code that governs rooftop anchors and fall protection systems — broken down into what it requires and how the certification cycle works.
Understanding Your OSHA Obligations — From Requirement to Certification
OSHA 1910.27(b)(1)(i) is the specific rule most rooftop anchor compliance questions trace back to. It requires that before any rope descent system is used, the building owner has to inform the employer — in writing — that every anchorage has been identified, tested, certified, and maintained to support at least 5,000 pounds per attached worker. That certification has to come from a qualified person, based on an annual inspection, with full re-certification at least once every ten years.
In practice, that means your building runs on a two-part cycle: a 10-year certification that establishes the anchor's baseline compliance, and annual inspections in between that confirm nothing's changed — no water intrusion, no metal deterioration, no compromised attachment points. Skip either half of that cycle, and 1910.27(b)(1)(ii) puts the responsibility squarely on the employer: no anchorage should be used without that written confirmation on file.
QUICK FACTS
- 1910.27(b)(1) governs anchorages used for rope descent systems
- Requires a qualified person to identify, test, and certify each anchorage
- Certification cycle: full re-certification at least every 10 years, with annual inspections in the years between
- Building owner must provide written information to the employer before any anchorage is used
- Employers must keep that documentation for the duration of the job
Start Your 10-Year Certification Cycle
Whether you're due for your first certification or your ten years are almost up, our team handles the full 1910.27 process — testing, documentation, and everything in between.
Our Nationwide Rooftop Safety Services
Our Professional Affiliations
Expert Summit Anchors holds active affiliations with the organizations that set the bar for our industry. We're members of the Power Washing North America (PWNA) and International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA), and our technicians work to SPRAT and IRATA rope access certification standards. Every inspection we perform is held to ANSI and OSHA standards for fall protection and rooftop safety.
We're also proud to work alongside our affiliate companies — Expert Safety Services, delivering hands-on safety training nationwide, and Expert Safety Advocate, helping businesses stay ahead of OSHA compliance year-round. Together, this network means Expert Summit Anchors isn't operating in isolation — we're backed by a full ecosystem built around getting safety right.
30+ Years of Keeping People Safe at Height — OSHA Compliant, By Standard
Michael Draper has spent over three decades working at height — and that experience shapes everything about how Expert Summit Anchors operates. For Michael, safety isn't a checkbox on an inspection form or a line item toward OSHA compliance. It's what makes a job site somewhere people actually make it home from at the end of the day.
Every inspection we perform is held to OSHA's fall protection standards — that's the floor, not the finish line. It's the standard our whole team works to, on every roof, every time.
