The Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is the title printed at the top of OSHA Form 300. People search for the long name when they have a form in front of them and want to know whether a particular case belongs on it. The short answer is that the log holds every recordable case, one line per case, and nothing else. The longer answer depends on the order in which you ask the questions, and that is where most logs go wrong.
What the form is called and what it holds
OSHA's own form package names the document the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, Form 300. It is a separate record from the Summary, Form 300A, which is the only part you post at year end. The 300 is the working log: business information goes at the top, and each recordable case gets a short description on its own line. Each case also needs a 301 Incident Report, which gives the detail behind the line, as covered in our guide to the 300, 300A and 301 forms.
Part 1904 allows an equivalent form, provided it holds the same information, is as readable and understandable, and is completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces. A spreadsheet or software export can therefore be a valid log. A spreadsheet that leaves out the columns, or that is completed differently from the instructions, is not.
The seven-day clock
The rule in 29 CFR 1904.29 says each recordable injury or illness must be entered on the 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable case has occurred. The clock starts when the employer learns of the case, not on the day the injury happened. A supervisor who hears about a strain on Monday and is told about its clinic visit on Thursday has to meet the deadline from Monday.
OSHA's own instructions treat the same seven days as the time to decide whether the case is recordable at all. That matters, because an undecided case is not yet a line on the log, and an undecided case can run out of time. The practical rule is to decide inside the window, and to record the reasons when the answer is still open. The decision tree sets out the order of questions that makes the decision quick.
Which cases go on the log
A case goes on the log only when it is work-related, is a new case and meets at least one recording criterion under 1904.7. The criteria are death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness and a significant diagnosed injury or illness, plus several specific case rules. Our criteria checklist lists each one. A case needs one trigger, not all of them.
The list is short, but the boundaries are where people go wrong. Two of the most common are the first-aid line and the work-relatedness presumption. The 14-item first-aid list in 1904.7(b)(5) decides whether a treatment counts. Gate one in the decision tree decides whether the event is work-related at all, and the nine exceptions can take a case off the log entirely.
A worked example from the engine's own test suite
Job13's recordability engine is built around these gates, and its test suite pins the verdict for each important edge. The table below uses those pinned verdicts. Each row lists the facts the engine was given, the verdict it returns, and the reason. The facts are the test inputs, not a real employer's records, so the table shows how the engine reasons, not what any one site logged.
| Facts entered | Verdict | Why the engine returns it |
|---|---|---|
| Work-related case, treatment is butterfly bandages or steri-strips only | Not recordable | Wound coverings of that kind are first aid under the 1904.7(b)(5) list |
| Same wound, treated with sutures, staples or surgical glue | Recordable | Closing a wound with these is medical treatment beyond first aid |
| Work-related case, massage only | Not recordable | Massage is on the first-aid list |
| Work-related case, physical therapy or chiropractic care | Recordable | Those are medical treatment, not first aid |
| Days away from work recorded, loss of consciousness unknown | Recordable | One met criterion is enough; the unknown cannot unmake it |
| Work-related, no criterion met, significant diagnosis unknown | Needs review | An unknown could still make the case recordable, so the engine will not guess |
| Hearing loss: standard threshold shift yes, total hearing level 25 dB or more no | Not recordable | The hearing test needs both prongs |
| Employee choking on their own lunch, days away recorded | Not recordable | Exception (iv) takes the case out of work-relatedness, whatever the outcome |
Two rows deserve a closer look. The first is the day-away case with an unknown loss of consciousness. A supervisor might wait for every fact before logging anything. The rule does not require that. A met criterion settles the case, and the log line can go in within the seven days even while another field is still open. The second is the unknown significant diagnosis. Here the honest output is needs review, not a confident no. The worker may still get a diagnosis that turns the case into a recordable one, so the entry should carry the open question with it.
What the verdict does not decide
A verdict tells you whether a line belongs on the log. It does not tell you how to write the line. The privacy-case rules in 1904.29(b)(6) to (9) can remove the employee's name from the log for certain sensitive cases, such as a sexual assault or a mental illness. The engine's tests pin one example: a contaminated needlestick is recordable whatever the treatment, and the result carries a caveat to check the privacy-case obligation. Confirm the handling of the 301 before you complete it, because the name is treated differently there too. For the full list of cases, read privacy cases explained.
The log is also a current record, not a one-time form. When a case is amended, such as a worker moving from first aid to a clinic visit, the entry should be updated and the change dated. A log that shows the first verdict and never the later one is hard to defend.
Keeping a log that holds up
A reliable log is a short chain of facts, one per field. For each case, keep the date of the event, the event and exposure, the treatment record, the restriction or days-away dates, the decision and the rule that produced it. A useful decision note reads something like: “Clinic note dated 14 September: no lifting above 15 pounds; lifting is routine twice daily; restricted work, 1904.7(b)(4).” That one line shows the path from fact to entry.
Many teams use a template because it saves time. The template review explains where the common templates fall short of the form's required columns, and the 300 log explained walks through each column in order. If you are comparing a spreadsheet with dedicated recordkeeping software, the same column test applies to both.
Where the rule is unclear
Part 1904 does not settle every case. Where it does not, the honest approach is to say so. A log entry that names the ambiguity and cites the rule it turns on is more useful than one that guesses. If a case is still open at the seven-day mark, record it as open, record why, and decide as soon as the missing fact arrives. OSHA's letters of interpretation, indexed on osha.gov, are the next place to check.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses the same as the OSHA 300A?
No. The log, Form 300, is the working record of every recordable case. The Summary, Form 300A, totals the year's cases and is the only part you post. The 300A is completed from the 300 at year end.
How quickly must a case be entered on the log?
Within seven calendar days of learning that a recordable injury or illness has occurred. The clock starts when the employer receives the information, not on the date of the injury.
Can a spreadsheet be used instead of the printed form?
Yes, if it holds the same information, is as readable and understandable, and is completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces. A spreadsheet that drops columns or changes the instructions does not meet the rule.
What should I do if a case is still undecided after seven days?
Record the case with the open question stated and the rule it depends on. Decide as soon as the missing fact arrives. The engine's answer for such a case is needs review, not a guess, and that is the correct state to log.
