Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Forms 300, 300-A, and 301
The Regulation
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR 1904), most businesses with more than ten employees are required to submit an annual report of work-related incidents. An “incident” is described as an injury or illness and must be recorded if it results in one or more of the following:
- Death
- Days away from work
- Restricted work or transfer to another job
- Medical treatment beyond first aid (a list of what is considered first aid can be found here)
- Loss of consciousness
- A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional
Additional circumstances, such as hearing loss, a new known case of occupationally acquired tuberculosis, and needlestick/sharps injuries, must also be reported.
Some businesses in “Partially Exempt Industries” do not have to submit the annual injury and illness report. OSHA organizes these industries by NAICS code. Businesses operating in one of those industries are not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless they are asked in writing to do so by OSHA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or a state agency operating under the authority of OSHA or the BLS.
*NOTE: All employers, including those partially exempted because of company size or industry classification, must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
Forms 300, 300-A, and 301 – What Is the Difference?
To satisfy OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, employers must use OSHA 300, 300-A, and 301 forms (or equivalent forms) for recordable injuries and illnesses. The OSHA 300 form is called the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (300 Log), 300-A is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (300-A Summary), and the OSHA 301 form is called the Injury and Illness Incident Report (301 Incident Report).
When a recordable incident occurs, employers must fill out the 301 Incident Report within seven days. This form documents the details of the incident, and then a brief description of the incident should be recorded on the 300 Log. Lastly, employers must summarize all incident information on the 300-A Summary at the end of the year. Employers must fill out the 300-A form even if no work-related injuries or illnesses occurred during the year.
Additionally, form 300-A is required to be posted in the workplace by February 1 of the year following the year covered by the form, and it must be kept posted until April 30 of that year.
All three forms must be submitted to OSHA by March 2 (for example, forms recording 2024 incidents must be submitted by March 2, 2025) via the Injury Tracking Application (ITA). This is a secure website provided by OSHA that allows users to manually enter their data, upload a CSV file, or transmit data electronically. OSHA does not accept paper forms by mail or email.
A fillable pdf of all three forms can be found here.
Summary and Other Recordkeeping Requirements
For employers with multiple businesses, a separate 300 Log needs to be kept for each establishment that has been in operation for one year or longer. Employers may keep one 300 Log for all short-term establishments (less than one year).
In summary, at the end of each calendar year, all employers covered by this regulation must:
- Review the OSHA 300 Log to verify that the entries are complete and accurate
- Create an annual summary of injuries and illnesses recorded on the 300 Log (form 300-A)
- Certify the summary
- Post the summary in the workplace
- Submit all forms to OSHA via the ITA
All forms must be maintained on site for at least five years.
Need help ensuring that your operation is in compliance with OSHA requirements? Contact Walden’s experienced EHS team at 516-789-2972 today!