Key Takeaways
- OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping runs on three forms: the 300 Log, the 301 Incident Report, and the year-end 300A Summary.
- Construction is a designated high-hazard industry, so you keep these records no matter your headcount, even though many low-hazard industries are partially exempt.
- Recording a case on the log is separate from reporting a severe injury. You record within seven days, but you have to call OSHA within 8 hours of a fatality and within 24 hours of a hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
- Keep the forms for five years, post the 300A from February 1 to April 30, and submit electronically through the Injury Tracking Application by March 2 if your establishment is covered.
What Are OSHA 300 Forms?
OSHA’s 300 forms are how employers document and track work-related injuries and illnesses. Three documents do the work, and getting them right keeps you compliant while giving you a clear picture of what’s actually hurting your crews.
On a busy job site, though, filling them out cleanly is easier said than done. An injury interrupts the day, the crew gets back to the task, and the paperwork can slip until someone is back at the trailer desk hours later. That lag is where errors and omissions tend to creep in, and it’s exactly what an inspector or a plaintiff’s attorney looks for.
The three forms each capture a different level of detail. The 300 Log is the running record for the year, the 301 Incident Report documents each case in depth, and the 300A Summary totals everything up at year-end.
Take a typical case. An equipment operator falls from an excavator, strikes their head, and needs hospital treatment. You’d fill out the 301 Incident Report with the details, add the case to the 300 Log, and roll it into the 300A Summary at year-end.
Who Is Required to Keep OSHA 300 Records?
Most employers with more than 10 employees have to keep the OSHA 300 forms, and OSHA partially exempts certain low-hazard industries based on their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.
Construction isn’t one of the exempt industries. Along with manufacturing, warehousing, and other higher-hazard sectors, construction employers keep these records regardless of company size. If you run crews on a job site, assume you’re covered.
What Counts as a Recordable Injury or Illness?
A case is recordable when it’s work-related, it’s a new case, and it meets at least one of OSHA’s criteria. Near-misses don’t go on the log, but the following do:
- Death
- Days away from work
- Restricted work or a job transfer
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Loss of consciousness
- A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, such as a fractured bone, a punctured eardrum, cancer, or a chronic irreversible disease
A common sticking point is the phrase “beyond first aid.” Treatment such as prescription-strength medication, stitches or surgical glue, a rigid splint or cast, or removing an embedded object from the eye makes a case recordable. First aid alone does not, which covers things like a butterfly bandage, over-the-counter medication at non-prescription strength, hot or cold therapy, an elastic bandage, or flushing an eye to remove debris.
Breaking Down Each Form: 300, 300A, and 301
Each form asks for a specific set of details.
Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The log is the running record of cases through the year. For each one, you enter a case number, the employee’s name and job title, the date and location, and a description of the injury or illness (the body part affected, the object or substance involved, and what happened). You then classify the case, whether it involved death, days away, restricted work or transfer, or another recordable outcome, and enter the day counts and whether it’s an injury or an illness.
Form 300A: Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
The 300A totals the year’s cases from the 300 Log. It reports the number of cases by outcome (deaths, days away, job transfer or restriction, and other recordable cases), the total days away and on restriction or transfer, and the injury and illness types, broken into categories like skin disorders, respiratory conditions, poisonings, and hearing loss.
Form 301: Injury and Illness Incident Report
The 301 is the detailed record for each case, and it should be one of the first forms you complete when a recordable injury or illness occurs. It captures information about the employee, about the health care professional and facility that treated them, and about the case itself, including the time the employee started work, what they were doing before the incident, what happened, and the object or substance involved.
Deadlines: Recording, Reporting, and Posting
Two different clocks run here, and mixing them up is a common mistake.
Recording a case on the 300 Log has to happen within seven calendar days of learning that a recordable injury or illness occurred.
Reporting a severe event to OSHA is a separate, faster requirement. You have to report a work-related fatality within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours, by phone or through OSHA’s online reporting form.
Posting the 300A is the third deadline. You post the certified summary at each establishment from February 1 to April 30 every year, even if you had no recordable cases the year before.
Electronic Submission Through the ITA
Some employers also have to submit their records to OSHA electronically through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) by March 2 each year. Whether you’re covered depends on your establishment’s size and industry:
- Establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep records submit their 300A data.
- Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in designated higher-hazard industries, which includes construction, submit their 300A data.
- Establishments with 100 or more employees in the highest-hazard industries also submit their 300 and 301 data, a requirement that took effect in 2024.
Establishments with 19 or fewer employees, and those in partially exempt low-hazard industries, generally don’t submit electronically. OSHA’s coverage tool can confirm whether a specific establishment has to file.
How Long Do You Need to Keep OSHA 300 Records?
Keep all three forms for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover. Current and former employees, and their representatives, have a right to access the records, and you generally have to provide a copy by the end of the next business day when they ask.
Common OSHA 300 Recordkeeping Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them
Accuracy and timeliness are what keep these records defensible. A few mistakes show up more than they should:
- Late entries. Work resumes after an injury and the log waits, then the details get fuzzy. A consistent process for capturing cases the same day is the fix.
- Wrong classification. When you’re unsure whether a case is recordable or how to classify it, work it through against OSHA’s criteria rather than guessing.
- Missing 301s. The case-level report is easy to skip in the rush after an incident. Tie it to your incident response so it gets done every time.
- An unposted 300A. Assign one person to own the February posting each year.
For more on turning incident records into something that protects the company, see our guide to construction incident management.
Cut the Paper Burden Without Losing Compliance
Timeliness matters, accuracy matters, and getting the injured worker care comes first. But there’s rarely time to gather incident details on paper and hold them until you’re back at a desk to type them up, which is exactly when details go missing.
Capturing the information at the scene solves that. Safety Mojo’s Conversational Forms let crews record incident details by voice, in English or Spanish, right where the event happened, so the data lands in one system instead of waiting on a second trip to the trailer.
If OSHA recordkeeping is eating your team’s time, request a demo and we’ll show you how Safety Mojo fits into your existing process.
OSHA 300 Forms FAQ
Which employers are required to keep OSHA 300 logs? Most employers with more than 10 employees, plus employers of any size in designated high-hazard industries like construction. Many low-hazard industries are partially exempt based on their NAICS code.
What is the difference between the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 forms? The 300 is the running log of cases through the year. The 301 is the detailed report for each individual case. The 300A is the year-end summary of everything on the 300 Log.
How long do you have to record an injury on the OSHA 300 log? Within seven calendar days of learning that a recordable case occurred. Reporting a severe event to OSHA is separate and faster: 8 hours for a fatality, 24 hours for a hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
What injuries and illnesses are recordable on the OSHA 300 form? Work-related cases that involve death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a health care professional. First-aid-only cases and near-misses are not recordable.
How do you submit OSHA 300 records electronically? Through OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA) by March 2 each year, if your establishment meets the size and industry criteria for electronic submission.
How long must employers keep completed OSHA 300 forms on file? Five years following the end of the calendar year the records cover.
