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Penalty estimator

What a citation is likely to cost

MSHA does not set a fine by feel. It scores the violation on the six criteria in the Mine Act, adds the points, and converts them to dollars with the table in 30 CFR 100.3(g), then applies the statutory minimum for the section it issued. Set the facts of a citation below and the rule produces the number, next to what MSHA actually proposed for that same standard last year.

Excavators working a mining area

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Set the facts of one citation

Kind of mine

Sets the size table and which standards apply

Section issued

Negligence

How far the operator fell below the standard of care

Likelihood of the event

How likely the hazard was to hurt someone

Severity if it happened

The worst injury the hazard could cause

Miners potentially affected

People exposed to the condition

Mine or contractor ID

Pulls this operation's own violations and inspector days out of MSHA's files and fills in the two history figures below.

Likely proposed penalty

$505

75 penalty points convert to $561 on MSHA's table, less $56 for fixing it inside the inspector's deadline.

Score negligence as high instead and the same citation comes to $1,679.

Where the points come from

75 of up to 208

Negligence

20

Likelihood of the event

30

Severity of the injury

5

Miners potentially affected

2

Size of the mine

6

Size of the controlling entity

5

Violation history

5

Repeat violations

2

What MSHA actually proposed

In 2025 MSHA proposed a median of $151 and an average of $747 across 2,830 citations written under 30 CFR 56.14107. Half of them came in at or under the median.

This scores a regular assessment the way 30 CFR 100.3 does. MSHA's Office of Assessments can substitute a special assessment, and a conference or a contest can move the number either way. It is an estimate of the rule, not a prediction of an outcome.

Points come from tables in 30 CFR 100.3: negligence up to 50, gravity up to 88 (likelihood, severity and miners affected together), size of the mine and its controlling entity up to 25, and 15 months of violation history up to 45. Dollar figures use the 2025 inflation adjustment, a minimum of $168 and a maximum of $90,649 per regular assessment. Print or save the estimate as a PDF and it comes out on the Synergy sheet, with the training offer that keeps the next one off the books.

Next step

Get your crew current before the next inspection window.