ANSI/ISEA 107 High-Visibility Safety Apparel

American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel (current edition: ANSI/ISEA 107-2020)

Last updated: April 5, 2026

Overview

If a worker is on foot around moving vehicles or equipment, ANSI/ISEA 107 is the standard that tells you which hi-vis garment is appropriate. It defines three performance classes and three garment types, sets minimum amounts of background and retroreflective material, and specifies daytime color performance and nighttime reflectivity.

The standard is published by the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) and approved as an American National Standard by ANSI. The current edition is ANSI/ISEA 107-2020, which consolidated the prior 107-2015 apparel rules and the separate 207 public safety vest standard into a single document.

OSHA + MUTCD connection: OSHA does not directly write a hi-vis rule for most workers, but it cites ANSI/ISEA 107 under the General Duty Clause and in specific standards like 1910.266 for logging. Federal-aid highway workers are covered by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which requires 107-compliant apparel meeting at least Class 2 in work zones.

Performance Classes

Classes describe how much fluorescent background fabric and how much retroreflective material a garment has. The higher the class, the more coverage and the more conspicuity in complex backgrounds or at higher traffic speeds. Class E applies to supplemental lower-body items like pants and gaiters — a Class E item must be paired with a Class 2 or Class 3 top to reach the highest visibility combination.

Class	Intended Use	What It Looks Like
Class 1	Off-road, low-speed environments where the wearer is separated from traffic. Parking attendants, warehouse yard workers in low-speed zones, shopping cart retrievers.	Small vest with the minimum allowed background and retroreflective material. Not permitted on public roadways.
Class 2	Roadway and work zones where traffic does not exceed about 50 mph, or where the worker's attention is split between traffic and other tasks. Roadway construction flaggers, survey crews, school crossing guards, airport ramp personnel.	Full vest or shirt with more background fabric and more retroreflective area than Class 1.
Class 3	High-speed roadways, poor-visibility conditions (rain, fog, night), and any site where the worker needs to be seen at the maximum distance. Highway road crews, utility line workers, emergency responders on interstates.	Long sleeves or a vest plus pants, providing the most background and retroreflective material and the best body-outline conspicuity from any angle.
Class E	Supplemental lower-body coverage. Pants, bib overalls, shorts, gaiters. Class E alone is not a compliant garment — it must be worn with a Class 2 or Class 3 top.	Hi-vis pants or bibs with reflective bands around the legs. Combined with a Class 3 top, gives full-body conspicuity.

Minimum background and retroreflective material amounts are specified in ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 in square inches and square meters per class. Specific numeric thresholds have changed between editions, so always reference the current ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 document (or the garment's own ISEA-certified label) rather than memorized values from older editions.

Garment Types: O, R, and P

In addition to the class, ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 assigns each garment a type that describes the work environment it is built for. The type is printed on the garment label next to the class.

Type O — Off-Road

For workers in controlled environments that are not exposed to traffic from public roadways. Warehouse yards, mining sites, oil and gas sites, industrial facilities with moving equipment. Type O garments are only offered at Class 1.

Type R — Roadway

For workers exposed to traffic from public access roadway vehicles or construction equipment within a temporary traffic control zone. This is the most common type. Type R is available at Class 2 and Class 3.

Type P — Public Safety

For emergency and incident responders — law enforcement, fire, EMS — who need both conspicuity and the ability to access tools, radios, and body armor. Type P vests typically have break-away features and cutouts for equipment. Type P is available at Class 2 and Class 3, and replaced the separate ANSI/ISEA 207 Public Safety Vest standard when 107-2020 was published.

Type	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3
O (Off-Road)	Yes	—	—
R (Roadway)	—	Yes	Yes
P (Public Safety)	—	Yes	Yes

Color and Retroreflective Requirements

A compliant 107 garment has to perform during the day from its fluorescent background fabric and at night from its retroreflective trim. The standard specifies approved background colors, photometric performance, and minimum retroreflective performance levels.

Approved background colors

Fluorescent yellow-green — the most common, highest daytime contrast against most natural backgrounds
Fluorescent orange-red — standard for highway work zones and often preferred where yellow-green conflicts with foliage
Fluorescent red — permitted for some Type P public safety garments

Retroreflective and combined-performance materials

Retroreflective trim (the silver or prismatic stripes) bounces vehicle headlight light back toward the driver at night. ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 recognizes two material types: retroreflective-only material and combined-performance material that also has fluorescent color. Combined-performance material counts toward both the background and retroreflective minimums, which is how lighter summer-weight Class 2 and Class 3 garments hit their coverage requirements.

Placement also matters. Retroreflective bands should outline the human form around the torso, over the shoulders, and (for Class 3 and Class E) around the arms and legs so a driver sees biomotion, not just a glowing rectangle.

FR-Rated Variants: How 107 Stacks with NFPA and ASTM

A plain ANSI/ISEA 107 vest is not inherently flame-resistant. The fluorescent polyester fabric used in most hi-vis garments will melt and drip in a flash fire or arc flash. Workers exposed to flash fire, arc flash, or molten metal splash need a garment that is certified to both 107 and to the appropriate FR standard.

Standard	What It Covers	Who Needs It
NFPA 2112	Flash fire protection for industrial personnel. Certifies that the garment will self-extinguish and not continue burning after a short hydrocarbon flame exposure.	Oil and gas upstream and midstream, petrochemical, refining, chemical plants.
NFPA 70E / ASTM F1506	Arc flash protection. NFPA 70E is the workplace safety standard; ASTM F1506 is the fabric performance standard that labels garments with an arc rating (ATPV or EBT) in cal/cm².	Electric utility line workers, substation technicians, industrial electricians working on energized equipment.
ASTM F2302	Performance specification for flame-resistant safety clothing used in wildland fire and other exposures where self-extinguishing properties are required.	Wildland firefighters, some utility and hot-work crews where a regional AHJ references F2302.

Do not assume: A garment labeled "FR" is not automatically 107-compliant, and a 107 vest is not automatically FR. Check the label for both certifications and verify the arc rating (cal/cm²) if arc flash exposure is in the hazard assessment. An FR shirt by itself does not satisfy 107 unless it also meets the background and retroreflective minimums for the required class.

Selection by Job

The class you need is driven by traffic speed, worker attention load, background complexity, and light conditions. Use this as a starting point and document the choice in a hazard assessment.

Job / Environment	Minimum Class	Notes
Federal-aid highway work zones	Class 2 (Type R)	MUTCD Section 6D.03 requires 107-compliant Class 2 or Class 3 apparel for all workers exposed to traffic in federal-aid highway work zones. Class 3 is common for night work and interstates.
Utility line work (distribution and transmission)	Class 2 or 3, FR-rated	Must also meet NFPA 70E and ASTM F1506 arc rating appropriate to the task. Line clearance crews working near energized equipment need FR-rated hi-vis with a verified cal/cm² rating.
Logging and forestry (OSHA 1910.266)	Class 2 or 3	OSHA 1910.266 requires employees to wear leg protection and high-visibility colored items. ANSI/ISEA 107 Class 2 or 3 satisfies the visibility requirement; Class 3 is preferred in dense cover.
Warehouse and forklift zones	Class 2 (Type R) typical	Not strictly required by a federal standard, but OSHA cites the General Duty Clause where pedestrians and powered industrial trucks share aisles. Class 2 is the most common employer policy.
Airport ramp and ground support	Class 2 or 3	FAA Advisory Circular 150/5210-5 recommends 107-compliant apparel for ramp personnel. Individual airports often mandate Class 3 on active movement areas.
Emergency response on roadways	Class 2 or 3, Type P	Type P public safety vests with break-away features and tool access are designed for police, fire, and EMS working on or near moving traffic.
Parking attendants and valet (off-road only)	Class 1 (Type O)	Acceptable only if the worker is not exposed to public access roadways. A parking lot on a private site can use Class 1; a lot entrance on a public street cannot.

Care, Inspection, and Replacement

Hi-vis garments lose performance over time. Fluorescent dyes fade with UV exposure, retroreflective tape cracks and delaminates, and repeated laundering breaks down both. A faded vest is not a compliant vest, even if the label still reads Class 2.

When to retire a garment

Background fabric has visibly faded compared to a new vest of the same color
Retroreflective tape is cracked, peeling, or no longer returns light brightly under a flashlight test
Fabric is torn, heavily stained, or coated with substances that obscure the color (paint, oil, concrete)
Maximum wash cycles on the care label have been exceeded — manufacturers typically specify a number of home or industrial wash cycles before the garment is no longer certified
The garment has been exposed to chemicals, hot work spatter, or a flash-fire or arc event

A quick field check: hold a new vest next to a worn one under normal daylight. If the difference in color saturation is obvious to the eye, the worn vest is no longer meeting photometric requirements and should be replaced.

Frequently Asked Questions

Class 2 or Class 3 — which do I need?

Class 2 is the minimum for roadway workers exposed to traffic below about 50 mph or where worker attention is divided between traffic and other tasks. Class 3 is required for higher speeds, night work, poor weather, or any site where the worker needs to be visible at the maximum distance. For federal-aid highway work zones, MUTCD 6D.03 allows Class 2 or Class 3; Class 3 is the safer choice on interstates and at night.

Is a mesh vest enough for highway work?

A mesh Class 2 vest is compliant if it carries the ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 Type R label and is not worn out. Mesh vs solid fabric does not change the compliance status on its own; what matters is the certified background area and retroreflective tape. For high-speed or night work, upgrade to Class 3.

Does an FR shirt satisfy ANSI/ISEA 107?

Not by default. An FR shirt only satisfies 107 if it also carries a 107 label with an identified class and type. Many FR hi-vis shirts are dual-certified, but some flame-resistant shirts are not ANSI 107 compliant, and some 107 vests are not FR. Check both labels.

Do I need ANSI 107 apparel for warehouse forklift work?

No federal OSHA standard explicitly mandates ANSI/ISEA 107 inside a warehouse, but OSHA routinely cites employers under the General Duty Clause when pedestrians and forklifts share aisles without hi-vis protection. Class 2 Type R is the typical employer policy and is a straightforward way to document a good-faith hazard control.

What happened to ANSI/ISEA 207 public safety vests?

ANSI/ISEA 207 was the standalone public safety vest standard. It was folded into ANSI/ISEA 107-2020 as the Type P designation. New public safety vests are labeled as 107 Type P Class 2 or Class 3 rather than 207.

How long does a hi-vis vest last before it has to be replaced?

There is no single expiration date in the standard. Replacement is driven by visible fading, damage to retroreflective tape, and the manufacturer's stated maximum wash cycles on the care label. Crews that work outdoors daily often replace vests annually; occasional-use vests can last several years if they stay clean and unfaded.

Can I wear a Class E pants-only setup?

No. Class E is supplemental by design. A Class E item must be paired with a Class 2 or Class 3 top. Class E pants or bibs combined with a Class 3 top give full-body conspicuity and are a strong choice for night highway work.