Dear Employer:

Congratulations! You have accessed the electronic Occupational Lead Fee Waiver Application system maintained by the California Department of Public Health’s Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (OLPPP). We hope that you find this web-based application easy to use. We anticipate that electronic submissions will facilitate your reporting and shorten our evaluation time resulting in quicker determinations.

Please keep in mind that companies doing business in California with a lead-using or lead-disturbing Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code are required to pay the Occupational Lead Poisoning (OLP) Fee annually. In order to receive a
waiver, a company must provide supporting documentation each year that demonstrates unequivocally that no employee
altered or disturbed "Altered or disturbed" has a specific regulatory definition, which is “subjected to a process that may result in the release of dust, mist, fume, or other particles. Such processes may include, but are not limited to, cutting, welding, grinding, polishing, scraping, melting, sanding, spraying, or pressure blasting.”

• Painters: sanding, scraping, or preparing painted surfaces prior to repainting
• Contractors, plumbers, HVAC contractors: cutting through painted walls to access plumbing, HVAC ducts, etc.; use of materials such as solder that contain lead
• Demolition: tearing down structures, tearing off old roofs
• Firearms: security personnel discharging firearms with leaded ammunition
• Scrap metal: recycling brass, bronze, and some steel and aluminum alloys; cutting or crushing painted or coated materials, etc.

lead at greater than de minimus "De minimus amount" means any of the following:

• Lead present in materials which are altered or disturbed and have a lead concentration less than 0.5% (5000 ppm) by weight;
• Lead present in materials where the total weight of such materials altered or disturbed during the calendar year is known to be 16 ounces (one pound) or less by weight;
• Lead present in materials where no such material is altered or disturbed at any individual employee's place of employment on more than one day during the calendar year, i.e., if no employee works on more than one day during the calendar year in any location where lead-containing materials are being altered or disturbed, then the amount is de minimus.

lead levels in a single calendar year. It is not incumbent upon OLPPP to prove that an employee of a company did disturb lead. Furthermore, because applications are reviewed independently on an annual basis, temporary waivers granted for previous years do not constitute supporting evidence that lead was not disturbed in subsequent years. Furthermore, receiving more than one temporary waiver does not constitute evidence for a permanent waiver.

It is the responsibility of the company to provide relevant and sufficient documentation to OLPPP in support of a waiver of the OLP Fee. Failure to provide sufficient documentation will result in the denial of your application. OLP Fees are used to support OLPPP’s surveillance activities, and provide training, educational materials, and technical assistance to employers, employees, and health professionals to improve occupational lead safety in California.

Please read all instructions carefully before completing the application to determine if you are eligible to apply for a waiver of the OLP Fee. Failure to submit a complete application (including submittal of all required documentation) by the deadline of August 31, 2025 will result in a denial of your request for a waiver of the OLP Fee.

We provide links above and below for frequently asked questions and information about identifying lead in the workplace, which may assist you in completing this online application. For more information about OLPPP, click here.

Click below if you wish to proceed with completing this online OLP fee waiver application.