What is a safety data sheet (SDS)?
A safety data sheet is the document that comes with a hazardous chemical and explains, in sixteen numbered sections, what it is, how it can hurt people and what to do about it.
Also called SDS
What it means.
29 CFR 1910.1200(c) defines it as written or printed material concerning a hazardous chemical that is prepared in accordance with paragraph (g) of the standard. Chemical manufacturers and importers must obtain or develop one for each hazardous chemical they produce or import, and employers must have one in the workplace for each hazardous chemical they use.
The sixteen sections run in a fixed order, from Section 1, Identification, to Section 16, Other information, and the standard notes this is to be consistent with the Globally Harmonized System. Having the binder in the office does not by itself tell a worker how to do a task safely; that is what training and a job hazard analysis are for.
Employers shall have a safety data sheet in the workplace for each hazardous chemical which they use.
Where it shows up on a job.
A worker about to decant a cleaner checks Section 8 for the gloves and eye protection and Section 4 for first-aid measures before opening it.
Where this comes from.
Each source was read on 22 October 2026. Guidance is advice; a regulation is the rule.
- 29 CFR 1910.1200Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29. Regulation. The definition, who must have one, and the sixteen sections.
- Hazard CommunicationOccupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA guidance, advisory. OSHA's overview of the standard and its safety data sheet guides.
A plain-language definition, not legal advice. For a decision on your site, read the standard that applies to it.
Related terms
- hazard
A hazard is anything at work that can hurt someone if it is not controlled: a condition, a task, a chemical or a source of energy.
- job hazard analysis
A job hazard analysis is breaking a job into steps, identifying what could go wrong at each step, and deciding how to control it before the work starts.
- incident
An incident is an unplanned event at work that hurt someone or could have: a fatality, an injury, an illness or a close call.
- safety inspection
A safety inspection is a planned look at a workplace, a job, equipment or a procedure, done to find hazards before they cause harm.
Read moreSDS you can find when it matters
In PanoraSafety data sheets: Your chemical library, and a binder for each site that workers open from a QR code.