What is an emergency action plan?
An emergency action plan is the written plan that says how people report an emergency, how they get out, who stays to shut things down, and how everyone is accounted for afterwards.
Also called EAP
What it means.
29 CFR 1910.38 is a specification, not a blanket requirement on every employer. It applies whenever another OSHA standard in Part 1910 calls for a plan. A common trigger is the portable fire extinguisher standard: an employer that has everyone evacuate rather than fight a fire, and uses the exemption in 1910.157(b)(1), needs an emergency action plan and a fire prevention plan.
The minimum elements are procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency; procedures for emergency evacuation, including the type of evacuation and exit route assignments; procedures for employees who stay to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate; procedures to account for all employees after evacuation; procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties; and the name or job title of the people who can explain the plan. The plan must be in writing and kept in the workplace, except that an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally. Construction has a parallel standard at 29 CFR 1926.35.
An employer must have an emergency action plan whenever an OSHA standard in this part requires one.
Where it shows up on a job.
New starters are walked through it in their induction, the evacuation map by the door is its most visible page, and the accounting procedure inside it is what a drill actually tests.
Where this comes from.
Each source was read on 22 October 2026. Guidance is advice; a regulation is the rule.
- 29 CFR 1910.38Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29. Regulation. Emergency action plans, including the duty to account for employees after evacuation.
- 29 CFR 1910.157(b)(1)Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29. Regulation. The extinguisher exemption that calls for an emergency action plan.
- 29 CFR 1926.35Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29. Regulation. The construction emergency action plan standard.
A plain-language definition, not legal advice. For a decision on your site, read the standard that applies to it.
Related terms
- headcount
A headcount is the check, after people have left, that everyone who should be accounted for is, with the names and last known locations of anyone missing passed to whoever is in charge.
- evacuation warden
An evacuation warden is a person given the job of helping others get out during an emergency, checking areas on the way, and helping account for people once they reach the safe area.
- assembly point
An assembly point is the place people go after they leave a building in an emergency, so someone can find out who made it out and who did not.
- after-action report
An after-action report is a written look back at a drill or a real emergency: what was supposed to happen, what did happen, and what will change.
Read moreEmergency accountability after an evacuation
In PanoraEmergency muster: Start an event, account for everyone at the muster point on a tablet, and keep the after-action report.