29 CFR 1910.106 · 1926.152

Flammable liquid storage limit calculator

Count the cabinets before the fire marshal counts the drums.

Enter the flammable liquids kept in one fire area by OSHA category to see what may stay outside a cabinet, how many cabinets the rest needs, and what inside storage room would hold it.

Last updated 2026-09-28. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

Enter everything kept in one fire area, the part of the building separated from the rest by fire rated walls. Not sure which category a liquid is in? The flammable liquid classifier turns the flash point and boiling point from SDS Section 9 into the OSHA category in one step.

Units

Pick the standard your site falls under, because the construction rule caps a storage area at three cabinets and uses a different inside room table.

Category 1 means a flash point below 23 °C (73.4 °F) and a boiling point at or below 35 °C (95 °F), such as diethyl ether.

Most thinners and common solvents such as acetone, toluene and ethanol sit here, with a flash point below 23 °C and a boiling point above 35 °C.

Enter liquids with a flash point from 23 °C to 60 °C (140 °F), which shares the 60 gallon cabinet limit with Categories 1 and 2.

Enter liquids with a flash point above 60 °C and up to 93 °C (199.4 °F), which may go 120 gallons to a cabinet.

Enter 55 for drums or 5 for cans so the tool counts whole containers, since half a drum cannot go in a cabinet. Leave it blank to treat the liquid as divisible.

Before the booking, screen the name on the invoice. Shipment pre-check is on the paid plans, from USD 59 a month.

General guidance only. Verify against the cited primary sources before you commit to a shipment, declaration, or contract.

The limits the tool applies

LimitGeneral industryConstruction
Outside a cabinet or room, per fire area25 gal Category 1; 120 gal Category 2 to 4 in containers; 660 gal Category 2 to 4 in one portable tank (1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b))25 gal in a room (1926.152(b)(1))
One cabinet60 gal Category 1 to 3 or 120 gal Category 4 (1910.106(d)(3)(i))Same (1926.152(b)(3))
Cabinets per storage areaNo count in 1910.106Three, then an inside storage room
Inside room, 2 hour, sprinklered, up to 500 sq ft10 gal per sq ft10 gal per sq ft
Inside room, 2 hour, no sprinklers, up to 500 sq ft5 gal per sq ft4 gal per sq ft
Inside room, 1 hour, sprinklered, up to 150 sq ft4 gal per sq ft5 gal per sq ft
Inside room, 1 hour, no sprinklers, up to 150 sq ft2 gal per sq ft2 gal per sq ft

The general industry allowance outside cabinets is used on Category 2 first, then 3, then 4, because Category 4 packs twice as much into a cabinet. A single portable tank of up to 660 gallons is a separate allowance the tool mentions but does not spend. On a construction site the 25 gallons go to Categories 1 to 3 first for the same reason.

Every figure is quoted from 29 CFR 1910.106 and 29 CFR 1926.152 on eCFR. Container sizes are capped too: Table H-12 allows metal drums of up to 60 gallons and approved portable tanks of up to 660 gallons for every category.

Worked example. The two drum cabinet with the wrong drums in it

The booking. A furniture plant keeps four 55 gallon drums of lacquer thinner (Category 2) and two 55 gallon drums of a finishing oil (Category 4) in its finishing shop. It buys one two drum cabinet, puts two thinner drums in it, and keeps the other four drums by the spray line, which looks fine on paper.

The failure. 1910.106(d)(3)(i) caps a cabinet at 60 gallons of Category 1 to 3, so two thinner drums, 110 gallons, overload it. Outside cabinets the shop may keep 120 gallons of Category 2 to 4 in containers, and four drums are 220 gallons. The choice is simple: buy more cabinets, or cut the drums on the floor.

The fix. With a container size of 55, the tool leaves two thinner drums (110 gallons) at the spray line, puts the other two thinner drums in two cabinets of one drum each, and moves the two oil drums, 110 gallons of Category 4, into the two drum cabinet, which is under its 120 gallon limit. Three cabinets in all, and every figure is inside the rule.

Drums on the floor also need a spill plan. The secondary containment calculator sizes the bund or spill pallet under them, and the chemical storage compatibility chart shows which of your other chemicals must stay out of the same cabinet.

Frequently asked

How many gallons can a flammable storage cabinet hold under OSHA?

Not more than 60 gallons of Category 1, 2 or 3 flammable liquids, or 120 gallons of Category 4, under 29 CFR 1910.106(d)(3)(i). The limit is on the liquid, not the size of the box, so a two drum cabinet can hold only one 55 gallon drum of a Category 2 solvent.

How much flammable liquid can be kept outside a cabinet?

In an industrial plant where flammable liquids are incidental to the business, 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b) allows, per fire area, 25 gallons of Category 1 in containers, 120 gallons of Category 2, 3 or 4 in containers, or 660 gallons of Category 2, 3 or 4 in a single portable tank. On a construction site, 1926.152(b)(1) allows 25 gallons in a room outside an approved cabinet.

How many flammable cabinets are allowed in one area?

The three cabinet limit is in the construction standard: 29 CFR 1926.152(b)(3) allows not more than three cabinets in a single storage area and sends the rest to an inside storage room. The general industry standard 1910.106 sets no count, but fire codes adopted locally can, so ask the fire marshal before you add a fourth cabinet.

What are the OSHA inside storage room limits?

Table H-13 in 1910.106(d)(4) allows 10 gallons per square foot in a sprinklered 2 hour room of up to 500 square feet, 5 without sprinklers, and 4 or 2 gallons per square foot in a 1 hour room of up to 150 square feet. The construction standard's Table F-2 uses 10, 4, 5 and 2 for the same four rooms, and the tool applies the right table for the setting you pick.

Does this apply to a chemical warehouse or a chemical plant?

Not fully. 1910.106(d) and (e) both exclude chemical plants, refineries and distilleries, and a general purpose or flammable liquid warehouse is governed by the pile limits in Tables H-14 and H-15, which this tool does not model. Use it for a plant, workshop or site where solvents, paints and fuels support the main work.

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Sourzi shows what official files say. It is not customs or legal advice. For a binding answer, ask a licensed customs broker, a CBP ruling or an Australian Border Force Tariff Advice.

File dates and links are on Data sources.