ASTM F2413 is the U.S. performance standard for safety-toe footwear, and the ASTM F2413 boot specifications set a pass-fail floor for impact and compression resistance plus optional ratings for metatarsal, puncture, electrical, and slip hazards. Every compliant boot carries a label showing which of those tests it passed. OSHA points to this standard as the recognized benchmark whenever employers must provide foot protection against falling objects, sole punctures, or electrical exposure.1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.136 – Foot Protection The most recent revision, ASTM F2413-24, added slip resistance designations for the first time.
The Two Mandatory Tests Every Certified Boot Passes
Impact resistance (I) and compression resistance (C) are the baseline. No boot carries an F2413 label without passing both, and everything else on the label is optional.
The impact test drops a weight onto the toe area to simulate a heavy object falling on your foot. The toe cap has to withstand 75 foot-pounds of impact energy, roughly a 50-pound weight dropped 18 inches. After the strike, the interior of the toe box must still measure at least 12.7 millimeters of clearance in men’s sizes and 11.9 millimeters in women’s. Anything less and the boot fails.
Compression testing checks a different threat: a sustained crushing load, like a pallet or a piece of equipment settling on your foot. The toe cap must hold up under 2,500 pounds of static force while keeping the same interior clearance minimums. Earlier versions of the standard offered lower protection tiers rated at 50 and 30, but ASTM eliminated those in the 2018 revision. The highest level is now the only level, so every certified boot meets the same impact and compression thresholds no matter what brand or price it carries.
Optional Protection Codes on the Label
Beyond I and C, F2413 defines several optional ratings. If a code is not printed on the boot’s label, the boot was not tested for that hazard, regardless of what the marketing copy claims.
Metatarsal Protection (Mt)
A toe cap protects only the toe box. A pipe or tool that lands an inch higher hits unprotected bone. Metatarsal guards cover the long bones running across the top of the foot and can be built in or strapped over the outside of the boot. Testing drops a weight onto the metatarsal zone; the guard must preserve at least one inch of interior clearance for men’s footwear and 0.94 inches for women’s. Construction, heavy manufacturing, and foundry work are the settings where Mt-rated boots show up most.
Puncture Resistance (PR)
PR boots contain a plate or insert running through the sole to stop nails, screws, and metal shards from penetrating upward. The insert must resist at least 270 pounds of downward force on a small point, and it also has to survive 1.5 million flex cycles in lab testing without cracking. That second test catches inserts that would fracture after a few months of walking.
Traditional inserts are stainless steel, but composite and woven-textile alternatives now dominate the market. The synthetic versions are flexible enough to extend to the edges of the sole, while steel plates tend to leave small unprotected gaps along the perimeter. Both types pass the same ASTM threshold, but the coverage difference matters on demolition sites and anywhere loose fasteners scatter unpredictably.
Electrical Ratings: Cd, EH, and SD
The three electrical designations serve opposite purposes, and wearing the wrong one in the wrong environment creates a hazard instead of preventing one.
Conductive (Cd) footwear drains static electricity from the body into the ground as quickly as possible. Resistance runs between zero and 500,000 ohms, so charge flows through the sole almost freely. This matters where a small spark could ignite flammable vapors or explosive dust, such as fuel handling or munitions work. Conductive boots should never be worn near exposed electrical circuits; they offer zero insulation.
Electrical Hazard (EH) footwear does the opposite. It insulates the wearer from the ground to reduce the risk of accidental contact with live circuits. The sole and heel must withstand 18,000 volts at 60 hertz for one full minute without allowing more than one milliampere of current through. EH protection is a secondary defense that assumes lockout/tagout procedures and insulated tools are also in use. Wet, damaged, or contaminated soles compromise the insulation faster than most workers realize.
Static Dissipative (SD) footwear falls between the two. Resistance sits between one megohm and 100 megohms, high enough to protect against shock but low enough to bleed off static that could damage sensitive electronics. Clean rooms, electronics manufacturing floors, and server facilities are the typical applications.
Slip Resistance (SR and SRO)
The 2024 revision added slip resistance to F2413 for the first time. Before that, slip testing lived under a separate standard, and manufacturers had no way to put a slip rating on the F2413 label itself.
- SR: the sole achieves at least a 0.40 coefficient of friction on dry and wet quarry tile, covering warehouses, kitchens, retail floors, and similar hard surfaces.
- SRO: the sole meets the SR thresholds and also hits a 0.33 coefficient of friction on oily wet quarry tile, targeting food processing, automotive shops, and anywhere grease coats the floor.
Reading the Boot Label
Every F2413-compliant boot carries a rectangular label on the tongue, shaft, or interior lining. The current format runs across a few short lines:
- Line 1 shows the standard and revision year, such as “ASTM F2413-24.”
- Line 2 shows the gender designation (M or F) followed by the mandatory impact (I) and compression (C) ratings. Because the 2018 revision eliminated lower tiers, you no longer see “/75” after each letter; the marking alone means the boot meets the highest level.
- Lines 3 and 4 list any optional codes the boot was tested for: Mt, PR, Cd, EH, SD, SR, or SRO.
A label reading “ASTM F2413-24 / M I C / EH PR” describes a men’s boot that passed impact and compression testing and also carries electrical hazard and puncture resistance ratings. The label is the only proof that counts.
Steel Toe or Composite Toe
F2413 is a pass-fail standard. It does not care what the toe cap is made of, only whether it survives the tests. Steel, composite (fiberglass or carbon fiber blends), and newer carbon-fiber caps all qualify as long as they hit the 75-foot-pound impact and 2,500-pound compression marks.
Steel is the traditional choice and slightly cheaper to manufacture. It conducts temperature quickly, which makes cold-weather work less comfortable, and a severe enough impact can dent the cap permanently inward. Composite caps absorb and disperse energy differently and tend to bounce back rather than deform, which extends their functional lifespan after repeated impacts. Composite caps also will not set off metal detectors and will not corrode in wet environments, making them a better fit for food processing, meatpacking, or any facility with screening. Weight differences between the two are marginal, despite marketing claims.
Who Pays for the Boots
OSHA’s general rule is that employers must provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to employees.2eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.132 – General Requirements Safety-toe footwear has a specific carve-out that catches many workers off guard.
Under 29 CFR 1910.132(h)(2), employers do not have to pay for “non-specialty” safety-toe boots as long as they let employees wear them off the job site.2eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.132 – General Requirements OSHA defines non-specialty safety-toe footwear broadly: leather uppers, oil-resistant and non-skid soles, and standard impact and compression ratings. That description covers most safety boots on the market. The fact that an employer requires them daily does not by itself make them specialty equipment.3Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employer Personal Protective Equipment Workplace Hazard Assessment for Footwear
The employer does have to pay when the hazard assessment calls for something beyond a basic safety toe. Electrical hazard-rated boots selected because of shock risks in the workplace, for example, fall outside the non-specialty exception and must be provided at no cost.3Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employer Personal Protective Equipment Workplace Hazard Assessment for Footwear The same logic applies to metatarsal protection: if the employer supplies strap-on external guards but an employee prefers boots with built-in metatarsal caps, the employer is not required to reimburse the difference.2eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.132 – General Requirements Replacement PPE has to be employer-funded unless the employee lost or intentionally damaged the equipment.
Employers who skip the hazard assessment or fail to enforce proper footwear face OSHA citations under 29 CFR 1910.136, and penalties are adjusted annually for inflation.4Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Penalties1eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.136 – Foot Protection