Entry Supervisor Duties: Authorizing, Overseeing and Ending an Entry

The entry supervisor is the person (such as the employer, foreman or crew chief) responsible for determining whether acceptable entry conditions exist, for authorizing entry and overseeing entry operations, and for terminating entry. The permit is the entry supervisor's signature on the line that everything has been done.

The entry supervisor's duties

Under 1910.146(j), the employer must make sure each entry supervisor:

1. Knows the hazards that may be faced during entry, including the mode, signs or symptoms and consequences of exposure.
2. Verifies, by checking, that the appropriate entries have been made on the permit, that all tests specified by the permit have been conducted, and that all procedures and equipment specified by the permit are in place before endorsing the permit and allowing entry to begin.
3. Terminates the entry and cancels the permit as required by 1910.146(e)(5).
4. Verifies that rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable.
5. Removes unauthorized individuals who enter or attempt to enter the permit space during entry operations.
6. Whenever responsibility for a permit space entry operation is transferred, and at intervals dictated by the hazards and operations performed in the space, determines that entry operations remain consistent with the terms of the permit and that acceptable entry conditions are maintained.

Verify by checking, not by asking

"Verify, by checking" means the entry supervisor personally confirms. Before signing:

• Read the test results on the monitor and the permit, and confirm they meet the acceptable entry conditions.
• Walk the isolation: locks, tags, blanks, open bleeds and disconnected linkages.
• See the equipment: ventilation running from a clean source, retrieval system rigged and attached, communications tested, PPE on.
• Confirm the people: trained entrants and attendants named on the permit, with no one doing double duty that would interfere.
• Confirm rescue: call or radio the rescue service to confirm it's available and can respond in time, and test the means of summoning them.

During the entry

The entry supervisor doesn't have to stay at the space the whole time, but must check, at intervals dictated by the hazards, that conditions still match the permit. A supervisor overseeing hot work in a tank will check more often than one overseeing a dry vault inspection.

Transferring the role

Supervisor duties can pass from one entry supervisor to another during an entry operation, for example at a shift change. Whenever responsibility is transferred, the incoming supervisor determines that operations remain consistent with the permit and that acceptable entry conditions are maintained. Many programs require the incoming supervisor to sign the permit.

Ending the entry

The entry supervisor terminates entry and cancels the permit when:

• The work covered by the permit is complete, or
• A condition not allowed under the permit arises in or near the space.

Note any problems encountered on the canceled permit. The employer keeps it for at least a year for the annual program review. In construction, the entry supervisor may suspend the permit for a temporary condition and fully reassess the space before re-entry (1926.1205).

Key takeaways

• The entry supervisor authorizes, oversees and terminates entry.
• Before signing: verify by checking that tests, procedures and equipment on the permit are in place.
• Verify rescue is available and can be summoned.
• Remove unauthorized people and recheck conditions at intervals and at every handoff.
• Cancel the permit when work is done or a prohibited condition arises.

Last reviewed: October 25, 2026 · Free general education based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146 and 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA. It does not replace the site-specific training, written program and hands-on evaluation your employer must provide, and it does not issue a certificate. Nothing you enter on this page is saved or sent.