What Are OSHA 300 Forms?
OSHA's recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR Part 1904) requires covered employers to track work-related injuries and illnesses using three interconnected forms:
- OSHA Form 300 — Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. A running log of every recordable case throughout the calendar year.
- OSHA Form 300A — Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. An annual summary of total counts from the 300 Log, posted for employees to see.
- OSHA Form 301 — Injury and Illness Incident Report. A detailed account of each individual recordable incident — what happened, where, how, and what treatment was provided.
These forms are the backbone of OSHA's injury and illness tracking system. Employers must record cases within 7 calendar days of learning about a recordable incident. The records don't go to OSHA automatically — they stay on-site unless OSHA requests them or the establishment is covered by electronic reporting requirements.
OSHA 300 recordkeeping requirements are governed by 29 CFR Part 1904. Penalties for failure to maintain or certify records can reach $16,131 per violation as of 2026, with willful or repeated violations up to $161,323.
Who Must Keep OSHA 300 Records?
Most private-sector employers with 11 or more employees in industries not classified as partially exempt must maintain OSHA 300 records. The partial exemption applies to establishments in certain low-hazard industries — primarily retail, finance, insurance, real estate, and service sectors.
Industries that are always covered regardless of size include:
- Manufacturing (NAICS 31–33)
- Construction (NAICS 23)
- Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (NAICS 11)
- Mining (NAICS 21)
- Transportation and Warehousing (NAICS 48–49)
- Utilities (NAICS 22)
If you have multiple establishments, each location with 11+ employees typically requires its own separate OSHA 300 log. You cannot consolidate multiple sites onto one form.
Some employers incorrectly combine multiple facilities onto one log. Each physical establishment must maintain its own OSHA 300 Log separately — even if they share a parent company or EIN.
What Counts as a Recordable Incident?
A work-related injury or illness is recordable if it results in any of the following:
- Days away from work (DAFW)
- Restricted work activity or job transfer
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Loss of consciousness
- Diagnosis of a significant injury/illness by a healthcare professional (e.g., cancer, chronic irreversible disease, fractured or cracked bone, punctured eardrum)
First aid only cases are not recordable. OSHA defines first aid as a specific list of treatments including OTC medication at non-prescription strength, wound closures (butterfly bandages, Steri-Strips), non-prescription eye patches, and similar non-invasive care.
The "work-related" determination is also important: an event or exposure in the work environment must be a discernible cause of the injury or illness, or a significant aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
The 7-Day Recording Rule
Once you determine a case is recordable, you must enter it in the OSHA 300 Log within 7 calendar days of receiving information about it. This clock starts when you become aware of the case — not when treatment is complete or when the employee returns to work.
OSHA 300 Deadlines — 2026 Calendar
The OSHA recordkeeping calendar has three critical dates every year:
| Deadline | Action Required | Who It Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| February 1 | Post completed OSHA Form 300A (Summary) in a conspicuous location visible to employees. Must remain posted through April 30. | All covered employers required to keep records |
| March 2 | Submit 300A data electronically via OSHA's ITA (Injury Tracking Application) | Establishments with 20–249 employees in high-hazard industries; all establishments with 250+ employees |
| April 30 | Remove posted Form 300A from employee-visible location | All covered employers who posted |
| Within 7 days of learning of case | Record each new work-related recordable injury or illness on Form 300 and complete Form 301 | All covered employers |
| Within 8 hours | Report work-related fatality to OSHA (call 1-800-321-OSHA) | All employers, including partially exempt ones |
| Within 24 hours | Report work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA | All employers |
2026 Electronic Reporting Mandate — Expanded Rules for 100+ Employee Establishments
The most significant change for 2026 is the expanded electronic submission requirement affecting establishments with 100 or more employees in high-hazard industries. Under the 2023 final rule (29 CFR 1904.41), these establishments must now electronically submit both their Form 300 Log and Form 301 incident reports — not just the Form 300A summary.
This is a significant change from prior years, when electronic submission was limited to the 300A summary for most employers.
Electronic Submission Tiers (2026)
- Establishments with 250+ employees — Submit Form 300A electronically via OSHA ITA. (This requirement has been in place since 2017.)
- Establishments with 20–249 employees in high-hazard industries — Submit Form 300A electronically. High-hazard NAICS codes are listed in Appendix A to Subpart E of 29 CFR 1904.
- Establishments with 100+ employees in high-hazard industries — Submit Form 300, Form 300A, and Form 301 electronically. This is the expanded 2026 mandate from the 2023 final rule.
If your facility has 100 or more employees in a high-hazard NAICS code, audit your current process now. You are now required to submit individual Form 301 records — not just aggregate summaries — to OSHA's ITA by March 2, 2026.
What Data Gets Submitted Electronically?
OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA) at injurytracking.osha.gov accepts submissions in three formats: manual data entry, CSV file upload, and API. For most industrial facilities with multiple incidents per year, CSV upload or API integration is the practical path.
The ITA requires: establishment name, EIN, NAICS code, annual average number of employees, total hours worked, and the recordkeeping data. The system validates format on submission and provides a confirmation receipt.
Form 300A Certification Requirement
Before posting Form 300A for the February 1 deadline, a company executive must certify its accuracy. OSHA specifies the certifying official must be:
- An owner of the company
- An officer of the corporation
- The highest-ranking company official working at the establishment
- The immediate supervisor of the highest-ranking official at the establishment
The certification language reads: "I certify that I have examined this document and that to the best of my knowledge the entries are true, accurate, and complete." Falsifying OSHA records is a federal crime under Section 17(g) of the OSH Act.
Recordkeeping Retention
OSHA requires employers to retain the completed OSHA 300 Log, the privacy case list (if applicable), the 300A annual summary, and the 301 incident reports for 5 years following the end of the calendar year they cover.
Former employees, their representatives, or OSHA inspectors may request access to records at any time during the retention period. You must provide the Form 300 Log by the end of the next business day following a request. The Form 301 must be provided within 7 business days to an employee, former employee, or their personal representative; within 24 hours to a healthcare provider treating the employee.
Employees have the right to view and copy the current and three prior years' Form 300 Logs and the current year's Form 300A. They do not have the right to see other employees' Form 301 records (which contain personally identifiable medical information).
Privacy Case Rules
OSHA protects employee privacy for certain sensitive injury types. In privacy cases, you must not enter the employee's name on Form 300. Instead, enter "privacy case" in the name column and keep a separate, confidential list of the case numbers and employee names. Privacy cases include:
- Injuries or illnesses to an intimate body part or the reproductive system
- Injuries or illnesses resulting from a sexual assault
- Mental illness diagnoses
- HIV infection, hepatitis, or tuberculosis
- Needlestick injuries and cuts from sharps contaminated with blood or OPIM
- Any other illness if the employee independently requests privacy
Form 300 vs. 300A vs. 301 — Key Differences
The three OSHA forms serve different purposes and audiences:
- Form 300 (the Log) — Internal running record maintained throughout the year. Lists each case individually with classification, days away/restricted, and case type. Not posted publicly — kept on-site and provided to OSHA inspectors on request.
- Form 300A (the Summary) — Year-end aggregate totals from the 300 Log. Posted for all employees to see from February 1 through April 30. Submitted electronically to OSHA ITA for covered establishments.
- Form 301 (the Incident Report) — Detailed narrative for each individual case. Answers what happened, where, how, and what treatment was provided. Most information is analogous to a workers' comp first report of injury. Retained confidentially on-site; submitted electronically for 100+ employee high-hazard establishments under 2026 rules.
Common OSHA 300 Violations and Penalties
OSHA citations for recordkeeping violations fall into two categories: failure to record (not logging a recordable case) and falsification (intentionally misclassifying or omitting cases).
- Failure to record cases: Up to $16,131 per violation (2026 figures). Each unrecorded case is a separate violation.
- Failure to post Form 300A: Up to $16,131. If OSHA conducts an inspection in February–April and the summary isn't posted, this is a citation-ready violation.
- Failure to submit electronically: Same per-violation penalty applies to missed ITA submissions for covered establishments.
- Falsification: Criminal penalties under OSH Act Section 17(g); also federal criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements to federal agencies).
OSHA conducts programmed inspections targeting high-hazard industries and records audits during any on-site inspection. The agency may request up to 5 years of prior records.
How SafeOps Handles OSHA 300/300A/301 Automatically
Manual OSHA recordkeeping is error-prone. Safety managers track incidents across paper forms, spreadsheets, and email threads — then scramble before February 1 to compile the annual summary. The 2026 expanded electronic reporting requirement makes manual processes even harder to sustain.
SafeOps incident tracking automates the entire OSHA recordkeeping workflow:
- Incident logging with structured fields — every field OSHA requires (incident type, severity, body part, days away/restricted, corrective actions) is captured at the time of the incident in a standardized format
- Automatic OSHA classification — the system flags whether each incident is OSHA-recordable based on your inputs, reducing misclassification risk
- One-click PDF generation — generate inspector-ready OSHA Form 300, 300A, and 301 PDFs directly from incident data, pre-filled and properly formatted
- Annual summary automation — Form 300A is auto-calculated from your logged incidents at year-end, ready for executive sign-off and posting
- Electronic submission prep — export in ITA-compatible format for OSHA's Injury Tracking Application
See the SafeOps Incident Tracker →