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Facility compliance calendar: federal and California dates for commercial buildings
One table of the recurring compliance items a commercial building owes, federal and California side by side, ordered by cycle, with what starts each clock and who handles it.
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Your facility compliance calendar
A facility compliance calendar lists the recurring legal checks a commercial building owes, from the injury log posted every February to the elevator permit renewed each year. Most items repeat on a fixed yearly date, some run every few years, and some start only when something happens, such as a failed test or a plan change. The table puts the federal and California versions side by side and orders the items by cycle, as of November 2026.
California private employers follow Cal/OSHA’s Title 8 rules. The federal rows are there so you can match the OSHA dates you see in vendor portals and corporate policies to the California rule that applies.
| Item | Who it applies to | When or how often | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal and California: portable extinguisher visual inspection | Employers that provide extinguishers for employee use | Monthly | 29 CFR 1910.157(e)(2); 8 CCR 6151(e)(2) |
| Federal and California: non-supervised employee alarm test | Employers with employee alarm systems | Every two months, using a different actuation device each time | 29 CFR 1910.165; 8 CCR 6184 |
| Federal: review the injury log, then prepare and certify Form 300A | Employers that must keep the OSHA log | At the end of each calendar year; a company executive certifies it | 29 CFR 1904.32 |
| California: review the injury log, then prepare and certify Form 300A | California employers that must keep the Cal/OSHA log | At year end, with zeros entered if there were no cases | 8 CCR 14300.32 |
| Federal and California: post Form 300A | The same employers | Posted by February 1 and kept up through April 30; California also hands or mails it to employees who do not report to the site weekly | 29 CFR 1904.32; 8 CCR 14300.32 |
| Federal: electronic submission of injury data | Establishments with 250 or more employees that keep the log, or 20 to 249 in Appendix A industries; 100 or more in Appendix B industries also send Form 300 and 301 data | By March 2 for the prior calendar year | 29 CFR 1904.41 |
| California: electronic submission of injury data | Establishments meeting 8 CCR 14300.41’s size and industry tests (Appendix H and Appendix I) | By March 2 for the prior year, through federal OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application | 8 CCR 14300.41 |
| California: workplace violence prevention plan review and training | Covered California employers | Plan reviewed at least once a year; training when the plan is set up, then yearly | Labor Code 6401.9 |
| Federal and California: supervised employee alarm test | Employers with supervised alarm systems | At least annually | 29 CFR 1910.165; 8 CCR 6184 |
| Federal and California: extinguisher maintenance check | Employers that provide extinguishers for employee use | Annually; the date is recorded and the record kept one year after the last entry or the life of the shell, whichever is less | 29 CFR 1910.157; 8 CCR 6151 |
| Federal: sprinkler main drain flow test | Sprinkler systems installed to meet an OSHA standard | Annually | 29 CFR 1910.159(c)(2) |
| California: sprinkler main drain flow test | Sprinkler systems required by Title 8 | Annually | 8 CCR 6170(c)(2) |
| California: backflow prevention assembly field test | Each assembly in a public water system’s cross-connection control program | At least annually; the water system or a health agency can set a shorter interval for high-hazard premises | State Water Board handbook, 3.3.3 |
| California: air-gap inspection | Air gaps used for backflow protection | Visual inspection at least annually | State Water Board handbook, 3.3.3(c) |
| California: elevator inspection and permit to operate | Elevators under Cal/OSHA’s Elevator Safety Orders | At least yearly; the permit runs up to one year, or up to two years when the elevator is safe and under a full maintenance contract with a C-11 licensed company servicing it at least monthly | 8 CCR 3001; Cal/OSHA Elevator Unit |
| California: request elevator reinspection | Elevator owner | Up to 30 days before the permit expires | Cal/OSHA Elevator Unit |
| Federal and California: sprinkler inspector’s test valve | The same sprinkler systems | Opened at least every two years | 29 CFR 1910.159; 8 CCR 6170 |
| Federal and California: keep injury and illness records | Employers keeping the log | Five years after the end of the calendar year covered, with Form 300 kept updated | 29 CFR 1904.33; 8 CCR 14300.33 |
| California: workplace violence records | Covered California employers | Hazard records, violent incident logs and investigation records five years; training records one year | Labor Code 6401.9(f) |
| Federal and California: six-year extinguisher maintenance | Stored-pressure dry chemical extinguishers that need a twelve-year hydrostatic test | Every six years; the clock restarts at a recharge or hydrostatic test | 29 CFR 1910.157; 8 CCR 6151 |
| Federal and California: extinguisher hydrostatic test | Extinguishers provided for employee use | Every five or twelve years by extinguisher type | 29 CFR 1910.157; 8 CCR 6151 |
| Federal: emergency action plan review with employees | Employers required to have a plan | When the plan is developed or an employee is first assigned, when that employee’s duties under it change, and when the plan changes | 29 CFR 1910.38 |
| California: emergency action plan review with employees | Employers required to have a plan under 8 CCR 3220 | The same three triggers; evacuation helpers are designated and trained before the plan is put in place | 8 CCR 3220 |
| California: extra workplace violence plan review | Covered California employers | After a deficiency is found or a workplace violence incident | Labor Code 6401.9 |
| California: extra backflow field test | Backflow prevention assemblies | After installation, repair, winterizing depressurization or relocation | State Water Board handbook, 3.3.3 |
| California: failed backflow assembly | An assembly that fails its field test | Repaired or replaced within 30 days of the failure notice | State Water Board handbook, 3.3.3(e) |
| California: elevator preliminary order | Elevator owner | Make the repairs and send written notice of correction; with no notice in 30 days, a further order gives 30 more days before use can be prohibited | Cal/OSHA Elevator Unit |
What sets the date for your building
The table gives cycles, not dates for your property, because each item runs on its own clock:
- Calendar year: the injury log, the Form 300A posting window and the March 2 electronic submission.
- Your plan’s own history: the workplace violence plan review runs a year from the last review, and the emergency action plan review starts when the plan, a person’s duties or the plan’s content changes.
- Equipment dates: extinguisher maintenance and hydrostatic tests count from the last service, recharge or test recorded on the unit.
- Notices and permits: backflow tests follow your water system’s notices, and the elevator cycle follows the expiration date on the posted permit.
A planning idea, not a rule: put each item on the building’s maintenance calendar with its last completed date, so the next one is counted from a real record. Bidders on public contracts can add small business certification renewals to the same calendar so a lapsed status never costs them a preference. Local chapters of the facility management associations are a good place to compare how other buildings keep these dates.
Injury and illness records: the yearly cycle
The OSHA and Cal/OSHA cycles match. At year end the employer reviews the log and prepares the Form 300A summary, which a company executive certifies under 29 CFR 1904.32. In California, 8 CCR 14300.32 sets the same cycle, and no summary is posted for an establishment that closed during the year.
California establishments covered by 8 CCR 14300.41 file through federal OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application, not with Cal/OSHA directly.
Where your contractors fit, as general practice: agree with each on-site vendor how an injury on your premises gets reported to you, so the event is on record on both sides.
Emergency action plans and employee alarms
Neither 29 CFR 1910.38 nor 8 CCR 3220 fixes a yearly review date. The plan is reviewed with each employee when it is first written or the person is first assigned, when that person’s duties under it change, and when the plan itself changes. OSHA’s eTool notes that effective plans often call for annual retraining, which is guidance rather than a rule. Employee alarm systems carry their own test cycle under 29 CFR 1910.165 and 8 CCR 6184.
Night cleaners and day porters move through every floor, so include them when exits and assembly points change. Our emergency action plan guide covers what the plan must contain and has a fill-in template.
California workplace violence prevention plan
Labor Code 6401.9, added by SB 553, requires covered employers to review their plan at least once a year and again after a deficiency or a workplace violence incident. Training happens when the plan is set up and then every year, as Cal/OSHA’s employer fact sheet (June 2024) explains. Records have their own clocks: hazard records, incident logs and investigation records five years, training records one year.
The law covers California employers and workplaces broadly, with listed exemptions. They include places with fewer than 10 employees at any time that are closed to the public and comply with 8 CCR 3203, and employees teleworking from a place the employer does not control. Each employer keeps its own plan: your plan covers your employees, and your cleaning contractor’s plan covers its crew. Hiring a vendor never stands in for your own.
Fire extinguishers and sprinklers under Cal/OSHA
The rows here come from Cal/OSHA’s workplace rules, 8 CCR 6151 for extinguishers provided for employee use and 8 CCR 6170 for sprinkler systems required by Title 8, with their federal twins, 29 CFR 1910.157 and 1910.159. The duty sits with the employer, and the clock for the longer extinguisher cycles counts from the last service, recharge or hydrostatic test, for example five years for carbon dioxide and water units.
Your local fire authority can set its own schedule under other codes. For the full system-by-system task list, use our building maintenance checklist generator. Cleaning crews can help by reporting a blocked cabinet, a missing unit or a tag that looks out of date to the person who owns the inspection.
Backflow prevention assemblies
The State Water Resources Control Board’s Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook, in force since July 1, 2024 and amended April 21, 2026, replaced the older Title 17 cross-connection rules. Under it, the public water system makes sure each assembly in its program is tested by a certified backflow assembly tester, and it keeps the results for the previous three calendar years. Owners get the notices, so the notice date is the one to put on the calendar.
Elevator inspections and permits
Elevators run on a permit to operate under 8 CCR 3001, and the permit, or a copy, is posted in the car. The two-year permit depends on a full maintenance contract for the whole term, so a contract change matters to the calendar as much as the expiration date.
The owner schedules the reinspection, according to the Cal/OSHA Elevator Unit. If the maintenance contract on a two-year permit ends or changes, the service company tells Cal/OSHA within 30 days. Cab walls, doors and thresholds are part of routine lobby, elevator and stairwell cleaning.
Get help
Keep these dates with the people who own them, and hand the daily upkeep to one partner. Continental runs janitorial, day porter and facility maintenance programs for office, industrial and retail buildings. Request a quote and we’ll walk the building with you at a time that suits your hours.
A few useful answers
Common questions
What goes on a facility manager’s compliance calendar?
The recurring checks the rules date: the injury log and Form 300A cycle, workplace violence plan reviews in California, extinguisher and sprinkler checks, backflow tests and elevator permits. Event-driven items, such as an emergency action plan change or a failed backflow test, sit on it too.
When must Form 300A be posted?
From February 1 to April 30 of the year after the one it covers, under both 29 CFR 1904.32 and 8 CCR 14300.32. A company executive certifies it at year end, and covered establishments also submit the data electronically by March 2.
Is there a yearly review date for an emergency action plan?
Not in the regulation. OSHA and Cal/OSHA tie the review to a new plan, a new assignment, changed duties and plan changes. OSHA’s eTool notes that effective plans often include annual retraining, which is guidance only.
Who arranges backflow testing in California?
The public water system makes sure each assembly in its program is tested at least yearly, and the building owner receives the notices. Tests are done by certified backflow assembly testers, and a failed assembly is repaired or replaced within 30 days of the notice.
How often is a California workplace violence prevention plan reviewed?
At least once a year, plus after a deficiency or a workplace violence incident, under Labor Code 6401.9. Training runs when the plan is set up and then every year, and training records are kept for one year.