OSHA 300A posting requirements
Published 2026-09-04 · 7 min read · updated 2026-10-18 · sources checked 2026-10-18
Three dates and one signature. Miss any of them and you have a posting violation that costs the same as a serious one — and unlike most citations, this is the one an inspector can confirm from the doorway.
The window: February 1 to April 30
1904.32: you must post the summary no later than February 1 of the year following the year the records cover, and keep the posting in place until April 30. Three months on the wall, every year, whether or not anything happened.
| Date | What is due |
|---|---|
| by Feb 1 | 300A posted where notices to employees are customarily posted |
| by Mar 2 | Electronic submission, for establishments that meet the thresholds |
| until Apr 30 | Posting stays up |
| 5 years | Retention of the log, summary, privacy list and 301 forms |
Read from 29 CFR 1904.32 and 1904.41 (with Appendices A and B to Subpart E) on 2026-10-18.
Notice
Who is allowed to sign
The certification is not a formality and not delegable to whoever is in the trailer. 1904.32 requires a company executive to certify that they have examined the OSHA 300 log and that they reasonably believe, based on their knowledge of the process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary is correct and complete.
The standard names who counts as a company executive, and the list is short — an owner, an officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official working at the establishment, or that official’s supervisor. A safety coordinator’s signature does not satisfy it.
Electronic submission by March 2
Separate from the posting, and on its own deadline. 1904.41: establishments required to submit must do so by March 2 of the year after the calendar year the forms cover.
- 20 to 249 employees at any time during the previous calendar year, at an establishment in an industry listed in Appendix A to Subpart E → submit the information from Form 300A. Construction (NAICS 23) is on that list, so this is the rule most contractors actually fall under.
- 250 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year, at an establishment required to keep records → submit the information from Form 300A.
- 100 or more employees at an establishment classified in an industry listed in Appendix B to Subpart E (it includes specialty trades such as NAICS 2381, foundation, structure and building exterior contractors) → submit the information from Forms 300 and 301, in addition to the 300A.
All three are establishment counts, not company counts, measured at any time during the year. A contractor with four establishments of 80 people each submits a 300A for each of them under the 20-249 rule, and a single establishment that peaked at 260 for two weeks in July falls under the 250 rule.
What getting it wrong costs
Posting violations carry the same maximum as serious and other-than-serious ones. For penalties assessed after January 15, 2026, that maximum is $16,550 per violation. A willful or repeated violation is $165,514.
Which is a strange trade for a piece of paper. The full penalty schedule, the abatement clock and the contest window are in OSHA penalties and citations, and the log the summary is built from is covered in OSHA 300 log requirements.
The rule text, section by section
Every paragraph cited above, in the words of the standard itself. Open a section number to read it; the wording is quoted from the current eCFR text of title 29, read on 2026-10-18; “…” marks text left out.
A company executive must certify that he or she has examined the OSHA 300 Log and that he or she reasonably believes, based on his or her knowledge of the process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary is correct and complete.
You must post a copy of the annual summary in each establishment in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted. You must ensure that the posted annual summary is not altered, defaced or covered by other material.
You must post the summary no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the records and keep the posting in place until April 30.
If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics informs you in writing that you must keep records under § 1904.41 or § 1904.42.
If your establishment had 250 or more employees at any time during the previous calendar year, and this part requires your establishment to keep records, then you must electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to OSHA or OSHA’s designee. You must submit the information once a year, no later than the date listed in paragraph (c) of this section of the year after the calendar year covered by the form.
Sources, with the date each was read
- 29 CFR 1904.32 — Annual summary (OSHA)read 2026-09-04
- 29 CFR 1904.41 — Electronic submission of injury and illness records (OSHA)read 2026-10-18
- 29 CFR Part 1904 Subpart E, Appendices A and B — designated industries (eCFR)read 2026-10-18
- 29 CFR 1904.1 — Partial exemption for employers with 10 or fewer employees (OSHA)read 2026-09-04
- OSHA Penalties — maximum amounts effective after Jan. 15, 2026read 2026-09-04