Two clicks: what is being done, and under whose rules. The answer names the permit type, the people who have to sign it, and what must be proved before the signature.
What is being done?
Under whose rules?
Pick a job above and the answer appears here.
Permit rules by country and operator
International practice
HSE UK guidance HSG250 and IOGP guidance underpin most operator systems worldwide.
United States
OSHA regulations are the legal floor; NFPA standards and operator rules sit above them.
- Welding, cutting, grinding — OSHA 1910.252 / 1926.352 with NFPA 51B — fire watch 30 minutes by regulation, 1 hour by NFPA 51B (2019).
- Entry into vessel, tank, pit, sewer — OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146 (general industry), 1926 Subpart AA (construction).
- Work on or near live electrical equipment — OSHA 1910.147 lock-out/tag-out; NFPA 70E for arc flash boundaries.
- Work at height — OSHA 1926 Subpart M — fall protection from 1.8 m (6 ft) in construction.
- Excavation and digging — OSHA 1926 Subpart P — protective systems from 1.5 m (5 ft) depth.
China
GB 30871-2022 is mandatory in full since 1 October 2022 and covers eight special operations, each with its own permit form annexed to the standard.
- Welding, cutting, grinding — 动火作业 — graded special / level one / level two; the grade decides who approves.
- Entry into vessel, tank, pit, sewer — 受限空间作业 — confined space entry under GB 30871-2022.
- Work at height — 高处作业 — work at height under GB 30871-2022.
- Lifting operations — 吊装作业 — lifting under GB 30871-2022.
- Excavation and digging — 动土作业 — excavation under GB 30871-2022.
- Temporary electrical supply — 临时用电作业 — temporary electricity under GB 30871-2022.
- Line breaking, opening process equipment — 盲板抽堵作业 — blinding and de-blinding under GB 30871-2022.
- Road breaking and blinding of pipework — 断路作业 — road breaking under GB 30871-2022.
Mexico
NOM standards issued by the labour ministry (STPS) are binding on the employer.
- Entry into vessel, tank, pit, sewer — NOM-033-STPS-2015 — written authorisation required for every entry.
- Welding, cutting, grinding — NOM-027-STPS-2008 — welding and cutting; prior measures and authorisation required.
- Work at height — NOM-009-STPS-2011 — work at height.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco GI 2.100 governs on Aramco facilities; SABIC and other operators run their own systems on the same pattern. Permits split into cold work and hot work, with a job safety analysis attached to each.
- Welding, cutting, grinding — Hot work permit under GI 2.100; gas test typically demanded at 0% LEL.
- Routine maintenance, no ignition source — Cold work permit — required even where no ignition source exists.
- Entry into vessel, tank, pit, sewer — Confined space entry permit as a separate type, with its own certified gas tester.
United Arab Emirates
ADNOC's Work Management System (permit to work standard ADNOC-HS-S-006) binds all ADNOC group companies and their contractors; it ties the permit to a job safety analysis, energy isolation and simultaneous-operations control in one workflow.
- Welding, cutting, grinding — Hot work permit under the ADNOC work management system.
- Entry into vessel, tank, pit, sewer — Confined space entry permit as its own type under the ADNOC system.
Qatar
QatarEnergy's permit to work procedures govern its concession areas; an approved, current permit must be displayed at the worksite before any activity begins.
Kuwait
Kuwait Oil Company's permit system runs seven permit types — general, hot work, confined space, electrical, radiography, excavation and cold work — each with its own signatures and maximum validity; an expired permit means the work is unauthorised.
Bahrain
Operator systems govern — Bapco Energies on its facilities, contractors' bridged systems elsewhere — built on the same cold work / hot work pattern as the rest of the Gulf.
Oman
Petroleum Development Oman's procedure PR-1172 is the reference permit system in the country's oil and gas sector, and it is tied to Oman's legal framework (Ministerial Decision 286/2008) — a permit there is a legal document, not company paperwork.
Iran and contractor sites
Expect the operator's or main contractor's own permit form. There is no shortcut here: ask for the site permit schedule on day one, and apply the international controls listed above as the minimum.
whichpermit.com — an independent guide to permit-to-work systems. Standards, company names, and internal permit-to-work systems named on this site belong to their publishers and owners; this page describes their requirements only, and is not affiliated with, does not act on behalf of, and is not endorsed by any of them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which permit a job needs?
Identify the dominant hazard — fire, atmosphere, stored energy, height, load, radiation — and the permit type follows from it. The trade doing the work does not decide: a fitter using a grinder needs a hot work permit.
What if a job has two hazards at once?
Two permits are raised and cross-referenced. Welding inside a vessel means a confined space entry permit and a hot work permit, each with its own signatures and its own checks.
Does this tool replace my site's permit schedule?
No. It gives what industry practice expects for the hazard. Your operator may name permits differently or require more. Where the two disagree, the site standard wins — and if the site standard is weaker than the standards named here, raise it.