OSHA Form 301: What It Means for Employers

What it means in practice

Where Form 301 fits. OSHA's recordkeeping rule names three forms: the OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, the 300-A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and the OSHA 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report (29 CFR 1904.29(a)). The Log gives each recordable case a one- or two-line entry, and the 300-A totals the Log at year end. Form 301 is the detailed, one-case-per-form report behind each Log entry. The form itself calls it "one of the first forms you must fill out when a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred." For the agency itself, see OSHA.

Who completes it, and for which cases. Only employers required to keep part 1904 records complete Form 301; companies with 10 or fewer employees all last year and establishments in certain low-hazard industries are partially exempt unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells them in writing to keep records (29 CFR 1904.1, 1904.2). A 301 is needed only for a recordable case: one that is work-related, new, and meets a recording criterion such as days away, restricted work, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness or a significant diagnosis (29 CFR 1904.4 to 1904.7). A case treated only with items on the complete first aid list in 1904.7(b)(5)(ii) needs no 301. The OSHA Form 300 entry explains these tests and whose injuries are recorded; for temporary or leased workers, the employer that supervises them day to day records the case (29 CFR 1904.31).

The 7-day clock. Each recordable case must be entered on both the 300 Log and the 301 within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(3)). The clock runs in calendar days, so weekends and holidays count. An employer that keeps records at headquarters or another central location may do so only if information about each case can reach that location within the same seven days, and the records can be sent back to the establishment in time to meet the access deadlines (29 CFR 1904.30(b)(2)).

Fields 1 to 5: the employee. The left side of the form begins with information about the employee: (1) full name; (2) street, city, state and ZIP code; (3) date of birth; (4) date hired; and (5) male or female.

Fields 6 to 9: treatment. The next block covers the physician or other health care professional: (6) the professional's name; (7) if treatment was given away from the worksite, the facility name and address; (8) whether the employee was treated in an emergency room; and (9) whether the employee was hospitalized overnight as an in-patient.

Fields 10 to 18: the case. The right side holds the case details: (10) the case number transferred from the Log; (11) date of injury or illness; (12) time the employee began work; (13) time of the event, with a box to check if the time cannot be determined; (14) what the employee was doing just before the incident, including tools, equipment or material, with examples such as "climbing a ladder while carrying roofing materials"; (15) what happened, for example "When ladder slipped on wet floor, worker fell 20 feet"; (16) the injury or illness, naming the body part and how it was affected, such as "strained back"; (17) the object or substance that directly harmed the employee, such as "radial arm saw," left blank if it does not apply; and (18) the date of death if the employee died. The form tells the preparer not to include personally identifiable information about workers involved, such as names, phone numbers or Social Security numbers, in fields 14 to 17. The bottom of the form records who completed it, with title, phone number and date.

Equivalent forms. An employer does not have to use OSHA's own layout. An equivalent form is one that has the same information, is as readable and understandable, and is completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(4)). The rule notes that many employers use an insurance form instead, or add the missing OSHA items to one, and the form says state workers' compensation or insurance reports may be acceptable only if they contain all the information the 301 asks for. Records may be kept on a computer if the system can produce equivalent forms when needed for employee access or a government request (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(5)), and OSHA's forms page says equivalent forms may be kept in any file format, such as Excel or CSV.

Privacy. The form carries a notice that it "contains information relating to employee health" and must be used in a way that protects employee confidentiality as far as possible. The privacy case rule, explained in the Form 300 entry, keeps certain employees' names off the Log (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(6)-(8)). If a privacy case could still be identified from the description, the employer may use discretion in describing it on both the 300 and the 301, as long as the cause and general severity are clear; the rule's examples are "injury from assault" and "lower abdominal injury" (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(9)). An employer that voluntarily shows the forms to anyone other than government representatives, employees, former employees or authorized representatives must remove names and other identifying information, except when disclosing to a safety auditor or consultant it hired, to the extent needed to process a workers' compensation or other insurance claim, or to a public health authority or law enforcement agency as allowed under 45 CFR 164.512 (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(10)).

Who can see a 301, and how fast. Under 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(2)(v), an employee, former employee or personal representative who asks for the 301 describing that employee's own injury or illness must receive a copy by the end of the next business day. A personal representative is someone the employee designates in writing, or the legal representative of a deceased or incapacitated employee. An authorized employee representative, meaning a collective bargaining agent, may ask for the 301s for an establishment where it represents employees and must receive them within 7 calendar days, but only the section of the form about the case; all other information must be removed. OSHA's 2023 final rule describes fields 1 through 9, the left side of the form, as the part not released to anyone but the injured employee and personal representatives. The first copy is free; later copies may carry a reasonable charge. A representative of the Secretary of Labor, NIOSH or a state plan agency conducting an inspection or investigation is entitled to copies within four business hours (29 CFR 1904.40).

A 301 is not a report to OSHA. A work-related fatality must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours (29 CFR 1904.39); the 301 is still completed for the case within 7 days. Employers must also give employees a reasonable way to report injuries and may not retaliate for reporting or for asking for these records (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1), 1904.36); see retaliation.

Retention and changes of ownership. The 301s are kept with the other part 1904 records for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover (29 CFR 1904.33(a)). The 300 Log must be updated during that period; the 301 may be, but need not be. If a business is sold, the seller records cases only for the part of the year it owned the establishment, transfers the part 1904 records to the buyer, and the buyer must keep them without correcting the prior owner's records (29 CFR 1904.34).

Electronic submission. Most employers keep 301s on file and never send them to OSHA. Since OSHA's 2023 final rule (88 FR 47254, effective January 1, 2024), establishments that had 100 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year and are classified in an industry listed in Appendix B to subpart E of part 1904 must submit information from their 300 and 301 forms once a year, by March 2 of the following year (29 CFR 1904.41(a)(2), (c)). Appendix B uses four-digit NAICS codes and includes, for example, grocery stores (4451), warehousing and storage (4931), general medical and surgical hospitals (6221) and nursing care facilities (6231). From the 301, the submission leaves out the employee's name (field 1), address (field 2), the health care professional's name (field 6) and the off-site treatment facility (field 7). Part-time, seasonal and temporary workers each count toward the 100, the rule applies in state plan states, and each submission includes the establishment's employer identification number (EIN). OSHA can also require any employer to submit records upon written notification (29 CFR 1904.41(a)(3)). In the 2023 rule, OSHA said it intends to publish information from the 300 and 301 after removing identifying details, and will not publish establishment-specific data from the left side of the 301. OSHA's Injury Tracking Application page gave March 2, 2026 as the 2025-data deadline.

Where states differ. States with OSHA-approved state plans must have recording and reporting rules that are substantially identical to part 1904 for which cases are recorded and how, but may be stricter or supplemental on other points (29 CFR 1904.37). As an example, California's Cal/OSHA uses its own Cal/OSHA Form 301 with the same 18 fields under Title 8 section 14300.29. Its Appendix F lists the items an equivalent form must contain, including the instruction to complete the form within 7 days. Cal/OSHA's comparison of state and federal rules says California spells out the information to delete before giving 301s to an authorized employee representative: name, address, date of birth, date of hire, gender, physician, treatment location, emergency room treatment and overnight hospitalization. Other state plans may differ.

Worked example: the deadline. A supervisor learns on Thursday, November 5, 2026, that a clinic diagnosed a fractured finger after a worker caught it in a door at work. A fractured bone is a significant diagnosed injury, so the case is recordable. Counting seven calendar days, the 300 Log entry and the 301 are due by Thursday, November 12, 2026. The 301 for this 2026 case is kept through December 31, 2031.

Worked example: access requests. On Friday, November 6, 2026, the injured worker asks for a copy of the 301. With Monday as the next business day, the copy is due by the end of Monday, November 9, free of charge. On Monday, November 9, the union that represents workers at the site asks for all 2026 301s. Those are due within 7 calendar days, by Monday, November 16, with only the case information left on each copy.

Worked example: electronic submission. A warehouse (NAICS 4931) had 130 employees at one point in 2026, counting part-time and seasonal workers. Because 4931 is listed in Appendix B and the establishment had 100 or more employees, it submits information from its 2026 300 Log and 301s, along with its 300A data, by Tuesday, March 2, 2027, leaving out 301 fields 1, 2, 6 and 7. Had it peaked at 80 employees, it would keep its 301s without routinely submitting them, but would still submit 300A data, because 4931 is also in Appendix A for establishments with 20 to 249 employees.

Penalties. OSHA can cite recordkeeping failures, with amounts based on the violation's classification, the size of the business, gravity, good faith and history (29 CFR 1903.15(b)). For 2026, the maximum is $16,550 per serious or other-than-serious violation and $165,514 per willful or repeated violation, because the Department of Labor cancelled the 2026 inflation adjustment and the amounts set for penalties proposed after January 15, 2025 still apply (29 CFR 1903.15(d); 91 FR 31358). Knowingly making a false statement in a required record is also a crime (29 U.S.C. 666(g)).

FAQ: Can our state workers' compensation "first report of injury" replace the 301? Yes, if it contains all the information the 301 asks for, is as readable and is completed under the same instructions; otherwise the missing items can be added to it (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(4)).

This entry describes what the OSHA rules and forms say about Form 301. It does not decide whether a specific case is recordable or how a particular form should be completed.

Why it matters and common mistakes

How Remindax helps

Related terms

See all terms in Tax Forms & Government Filings or browse the full HR Glossary.