# Safety bulletin

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/safety-bulletin
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> A safety bulletin is a guideline for a specific on-set hazard, written by the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee of guild, union, and management representatives and posted by Contract Services. Productions attach the relevant bulletins to call sheets on days with firearms, stunts, fog, water, heights, vehicles, or animals, and discuss them at the safety meeting.

## Who writes them and where they live

The Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee is made up of guild, union, and management representatives, and Contract Services posts the bulletins on its [safety bulletins page](https://www.csatf.org/production-affairs-safety/safety-bulletins/). The page says bulletins may be reproduced and attached to call sheets or otherwise given to affected employees, which is how most crews see them.

They're numbered. A sampling from the list:

| # | Subject |
|---|---|
| 1 | Firearms, blanks, and dummy rounds |
| 4 | Stunts |
| 9 | Working in and around base camps |
| 10 | Artificially created atmospheric fog and haze |
| 16 | Pyrotechnic special effects |
| 17 | Water hazards |
| 20 | Motorcycles |
| 33 | Infant actors |
| 35 | Prevention of outdoor heat illness |
| 36 | Unmanned aircraft systems (drones) |
| 41 | Gimbals |
| 45 | Long or successive takes |

The full list runs past 40 bulletins and the committee revises them, so pull current copies rather than reusing a PDF from a past show.

## How they get onto the call sheet

The [2nd AD](https://storiara.com/roles/second-assistant-director) goes through the day's scenes looking for hazards. Scene 31 on our diner shoot has rain towers at night in a parking lot and a picture car driving past camera. That's water on the ground near cables (#23 covers portable power distribution and electrical equipment), a moving vehicle near crew, and possibly a camera car (#8). A line on the front of the call sheet reads:

```
SAFETY: Rain effects and moving picture vehicle, sc. 31. Safety Bulletins #8 and #23 attached.
Safety meeting on set before first rehearsal of sc. 31.
```

The printed bulletins go behind the call sheet, and the [1st AD](https://storiara.com/roles/first-assistant-director) covers them at the [safety meeting](https://storiara.com/glossary/safety-meeting) before the work starts.

## Making the bulletins count

Attaching a bulletin nobody reads is the common failure. Mention the specific points that apply ("nobody crosses the car path after 'rolling'"), and have the stunt coordinator or effects supervisor lead that part of the meeting. Other problems: forgetting bulletins on days when the hazard isn't obvious from the scene heading, like heat on an exterior summer day, and missing them on company moves when the new location adds water or heights.

## Related paperwork

Hazards should show up first in the [script breakdown](https://storiara.com/glossary/script-breakdown) as stunts and effects elements, so the bulletins can be planned in prep. On the day, they ride with the [call sheet](https://storiara.com/glossary/call-sheet). Any incident goes on the [daily production report](https://storiara.com/glossary/daily-production-report) with the time and who was notified.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are safety bulletins legally required?

The bulletins themselves are recommended guidelines, not laws. Separate workplace safety laws and union agreements still apply, and productions that ignore a relevant bulletin will have a hard time explaining it after an accident.

### Which safety bulletin covers firearms?

Safety Bulletin #1 covers the use of firearms, blanks, and dummy rounds, and #2 covers prohibitions and restrictions on live ammunition. Check the Contract Services site for the current versions.

### How do I know which bulletins to attach to a call sheet?

Go through the day's scenes and breakdown elements. Stunts, fog, water, open flame, drones, camera cars, gimbals, animals, heat, and cold all have bulletins. Attach every one that applies, and flag them on the front of the call sheet.

## Sources

- [Contract Services: Safety Bulletins](https://www.csatf.org/production-affairs-safety/safety-bulletins/)