OSHA Extends OMB Review of Fire Extinguisher Hydrostatic Testing

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting public comments on its proposal to extend Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements in the hydrostatic testing provision of the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard. OSHA published that request for public comments at 91 FR 42776 on July 10, 2026. The comment period closes September 8, 2026.

At a glance

• OSHA document 2026-13927 is a Notice published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2026, at 91 FR 42776 through 42777 (two pages).
• The action is titled “Request for public comments,” and the agency describes it as a proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements.
• Comments must be submitted, postmarked, sent, or received by September 8, 2026.
• The docket is Docket No. OSHA-2010-0025, and the OMB control number at issue is 1218-0218.
• The underlying rule text is 29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16), and the docket lists six supporting documents, the most recent dated July 2026.

What OSHA’s notice actually does

The notice is a paperwork notice, not a change to the fire extinguisher rule. Under the abstract in the Federal Register record, OSHA “solicits public comments concerning the proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Hydrostatic Testing Provision of the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard.”

The notice carries a Federal Register type of “Notice,” a subject line of “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals,” and no effective date. It cites no regulation identifiers and no Code of Federal Regulations references in the record fields. The main citation is 91 FR 42776, and the printed document runs from page 42776 to page 42777.

The rule provision at the center of the collection is 29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16). That provision governs hydrostatic testing of portable fire extinguishers under the standard. The notice concerns the information collection aspects of that provision, meaning the records and paperwork obligations that OMB reviews under its approval of the collection.

What is established vs. what is alleged

This is a regulatory proceeding, so the ordinary alleged versus established split takes a different form. There is no allegation and no adverse party.

Established by the Federal Register record:

• OSHA is an agency of the Department of Labor, per the agency fields in the document record.
• The notice was published on July 10, 2026, as document number 2026-13927.
• OSHA is soliciting comments on extending OMB approval of the information collection requirements.
• The comment deadline is September 8, 2026.
• The docket is Docket No. OSHA-2010-0025, and the OMB control number is 1218-0218.

Not established by the record:

• OMB approval has not been granted or extended by this notice, which is labeled a proposal and a request for comments.
• The notice does not state the content of any comment received, and it does not describe any change to 29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16) itself.

Where the paperwork review stands procedurally

The proceeding sits in the public comment phase. The notice is an agency information collection activity, the routine step through which a federal agency asks the public for views before OMB acts on an information collection. The notice’s “Dates” field states that comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by September 8, 2026.

The docket record on regulations.gov shows a comment window that opened on July 10, 2026 and closed for submissions on September 9, 2026. The same record reports a comment count of 9 for docket document OSHA-2010-0025-0018 and marks late comments as not allowed.

There is no court involved, no MDL, no bellwether trial, and no judicial consolidation, because this is a rulemaking-track information collection review rather than litigation. The docket includes six supporting documents, the most recent titled “Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Requirements of the Hydrostatic Testing Provision of the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard (29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16)); Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 1218-0218 (July 2026).” Earlier supporting statements in the docket are dated January 2024, July 2020, August 2017, 2010, and one undated Information Collection Request and Supporting Statement.

Why paperwork review matters for workplace safety disputes

The hydrostatic testing provision is one of the recurring compliance obligations for employers who keep portable fire extinguishers on site. When an extinguisher injury or fire response failure becomes the subject of a claim, the records an employer kept, including testing and maintenance documentation, often become part of the factual record. The information collection reviewed here concerns the paperwork side of that testing obligation.

Compliance questions connect to other OSHA standards with similar paperwork extensions, including the Cadmium in General Industry Standard approval extension, the Fire Protection in Shipyard Employment Standard approval extension, and the Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance Standard approval extension. Each follows the same structure: an agency information collection notice, a comment window, and an OMB control number.

Readers looking at how injury claims generally move through the system may find background in the site’s commercial truck collision claims overview, which describes a different subject area and is not connected to this notice.

Key dates

• July 10, 2026: OSHA publishes document 2026-13927 at 91 FR 42776, opening the comment period and the docket comment window.
• September 8, 2026: Deadline stated in the notice for comments to be submitted, postmarked, sent, or received.
• September 9, 2026: Comment end date recorded in the regulations.gov docket entry for OSHA-2010-0025-0018.
• July 2026: Date on the most recent supporting statement in the docket.
• January 2024: Date on the prior supporting statement in the docket.

What this does not establish

The record does not show that OMB has approved or extended anything. It shows a proposal and a request for comments.

The record does not show what the nine comments in the docket say, who filed them, or whether OSHA will change its approach in response.

The record does not show any amendment, rescission, or reinterpretation of 29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16). The notice concerns the information collection requirements of that provision, not the substance of the testing rule.

The record does not show any enforcement action, citation, injury, penalty, or court case connected to this notice. It also does not establish how any particular employer’s records would be treated in a later proceeding.

The record does not show what OMB’s decision timeline will be after the comment period closes.

Frequently asked questions

What is OSHA document 2026-13927?

Document 2026-13927 is a Notice that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2026, at 91 FR 42776. It requests public comments on a proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements in the hydrostatic testing provision of the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard. The underlying rule citation is 29 CFR 1910.157(f)(16), and the OMB control number is 1218-0218.

When is the comment deadline for the OSHA hydrostatic testing paperwork notice?

The notice states that comments must be submitted, postmarked, sent, or received by September 8, 2026. The regulations.gov docket entry for OSHA-2010-0025-0018 records a comment end date of September 9, 2026. Late comments are marked as not allowed in that docket record.

Does this notice change the fire extinguisher testing rule?

No. The Federal Register record describes document 2026-13927 as a request for public comments on extending OMB approval of the information collection requirements, not as a rule amendment. The record carries no effective date and no regulation identifiers. The action is an agency information collection activity, a routine OMB paperwork review step.

What is the docket number for the OSHA hydrostatic testing information collection?

The docket is Docket No. OSHA-2010-0025, and the regulations.gov docket title is “Portable Fire Extinguishers: Hydrostatic Testing.” The same docket holds six supporting documents, the most recent dated July 2026. The OMB control number for the collection is 1218-0218.

Is there any court case or settlement connected to this notice?

No. The Federal Register record for document 2026-13927 describes a regulatory information collection review, with no court, no MDL, and no settlement. Any litigation involving a fire extinguisher injury would be a separate matter with its own record. This notice establishes only that OSHA has opened a comment period on extending OMB approval.

Sources

1. Federal Register: “Hydrostatic Testing Provision of the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)
2. Federal Register: “All Documents” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)
3. Federal Register: “Agencies” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)
4. Federal Register: “Documents of type Rule” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)
5. Federal Register: “Documents of type Notice” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)
6. Federal Register: “Documents of type Proposed Rule” (link, accessed 2026-11-04)