Letter of Interpretation
OSHA-issued guidance interpreting how a standard applies to specific facts.
What it is
A Letter of Interpretation (LOI) is a document issued by OSHA in response to a question about how a specific standard applies to a specific factual situation. LOIs are public, archived, and searchable.
Plain-English explanation
OSHA's standards are written in general terms. Real workplaces have specific facts. When an employer or industry group asks OSHA ‘does this rule apply to my situation?’, OSHA may respond with a Letter of Interpretation. The letter is OSHA's official position on that question.
LOIs are persuasive but not binding in the same way the regulation itself is. They tell you how OSHA thinks about a question, which is often what you need to know during an inspection or an audit.
Why it matters
Many compliance questions can't be answered from the regulation text alone. The Letters of Interpretation are where OSHA explains its thinking. RegLogic links every LOI to the section it interprets, so you can read the rule and the agency's interpretation side by side.