Notice

OSHA 300 vs 300A vs 301

Published 2026-10-18 · 7 min read · sources checked 2026-10-18

Three forms, one set of facts, three different jobs. The 301 is written once per case, the 300 collects every case in a line, and the 300A is the year’s totals on a sheet a company executive signs and the crew can read on the wall.

The running record

Form 300 — the log

One line per recordable case, all year, for each establishment.

The public summary

Form 300A — the summary

Year-end totals, certified by a company executive and posted February 1 to April 30.

The case file

Form 301 — the incident report

One per case: what happened, how, and what the injury was. An insurer's form can stand in.

The three forms, line by line

Line300300A301
What it isLog of work-related injuries and illnessesAnnual summary of the logIncident report, one per case
Filled inWithin 7 calendar days of learning of a recordable caseAt year end, from the log totalsWithin 7 calendar days, same clock as the log
Signed byNobody specificA company executive certifies itNobody specific
PostedNoFeb 1 – Apr 30, where notices are postedNo
Employee accessCopy by end of next business dayPosted for all to seeOwn case: end of next business day; union rep: 7 calendar days, case section only
Kept for5 years after the year it covers, updated5 years5 years
E-filed by March 2100+ employees in Appendix B industries20–249 in Appendix A industries (construction included); 250+ everywhereWith the 300, same group
Equivalent form allowedYesYesYes — commonly an insurance form

Read from 29 CFR 1904.29, 1904.32, 1904.33, 1904.35 and 1904.41 on 2026-10-18.

Form 301 first, in practice

The rule lists the log first, but the job goes the other way. Someone is hurt, the case meets a recording criterion, and within seven calendar days of learning about it you complete a 301 and enter the case on the 300. The 301 holds the story of the case; the 300 gets a one- or two-line description.

Many employers use an insurance first-report form instead of the 301, which 1904.29(b)(4) allows if it has the same information, is as readable, and is completed with the same instructions. Our incident report form is laid out as a 301 equivalent, with room for the investigation a site needs.

Caution

Recordable is not the same as reportable. A fatality must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours — on top of the forms. See recordable vs reportable.

Form 300, the log

One log per establishment, one line per recordable case, kept current during the year and updated for five years afterwards if a case changes or a new one comes to light. Employees, former employees and their representatives can ask for a copy and must get it by the end of the next business day — with the names left on, except for privacy concern cases. The column rules and the case-classification traps are in OSHA 300 log requirements; keep the log itself in the 300 log template.

Form 300A, the summary

At year end you total the log columns, add the annual average employee count and the total hours worked, and a company executive certifies it — an owner of a sole proprietorship or partnership, a corporate officer, the highest-ranking official at the site, or that person’s immediate supervisor. It goes on the wall by February 1 and stays until April 30. The hours figure is the same denominator the TRIR calculator uses, so the two should agree.

Construction establishments with 20 to 249 employees at any time in the year are in Appendix A to Subpart E, so they file the 300A electronically by March 2. The full posting and filing picture is in OSHA 300A posting requirements.

The rule text

Quoted from the current eCFR text of title 29, read on 2026-10-18.

You must enter each recordable injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven (7) calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred.

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 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.

You must save the OSHA 300 Log, the privacy case list (if one exists), the annual summary, and the OSHA 301 Incident Report forms for five (5) years following the end of the calendar year that these records cover.

Sources, with the date each was read

Related on HardHatKit