Someone in the safety office asks, "Have we done our OSHA 300 reporting yet?" and three people answer three different things. One means the log is up to date. One means the summary is posted on the wall. The third means the annual electronic filing has gone through. All three are right, because "300 reporting" is not one obligation. It is a family of duties under 29 CFR Part 1904, and each has its own form, its own clock and its own audience.
This guide maps the whole family in one place. It explains what you keep, what you post, what you file electronically and what you report to OSHA as it happens, and it gives the dates that matter. Where the rule is clear we say so. Where it depends on your industry or size, we name the test rather than guess.
This article is general information about federal 29 CFR Part 1904 and is not legal advice.
What does "300 reporting" cover?
Most of the confusion comes from the word "reporting". In the rule it means four different things, and only one of them involves a form going to OSHA on a schedule.
| Duty | What you produce | When | Who it applies to | Goes to OSHA? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep the 300 Log | A running record of each recordable case, one line per case | Entries made as cases are recorded, within seven calendar days of learning of one | Most employers with more than ten employees, unless exempt by industry | No, held on site |
| Post the 300A summary | An annual totals page | Displayed 1 February to 30 April | Same employers that keep the log | No, posted for employees |
| File electronically through the ITA | Annual data from the 300A, and the 300 and 301 for some establishments | Once a year, by 2 March for the prior calendar year | Establishments in designated industries, and larger establishments | Yes, through the Injury Tracking Application |
| Report an event | A single notification about one serious event | Fatality within 8 hours; in-patient hospitalisation, amputation or eye loss within 24 hours | Every employer covered by Part 1904, including small and exempt ones | Yes, by phone, in person or online |
The first two are internal records. The third is an annual filing. The fourth is a one-off event report and has nothing to do with the log's annual rhythm. Treating them as one "reporting" task is how a site ends up with a perfect summary on the wall and a missed phone call after a serious injury.
Keeping the 300 Log
The OSHA 300 Log is the working record. Under 1904.29 it lists every recordable injury and illness, one row per case, with the employee's job title, the date, where it happened, what happened, and whether the case involved death, days away, restricted work, job transfer or medical treatment beyond first aid. The Privacy Case rules in 1904.29(b)(6) through (b)(9) let you keep the employee's name off the log for certain sensitive cases, so the log can be shared with employees and their representatives without exposing protected details.
Entries must be made within seven calendar days of receiving information that a recordable case has occurred. Log entries can be amended, and 1904.33 requires you to keep the forms for five years following the year they cover. If you are not sure whether a particular case belongs on the log at all, the OSHA recordable definition and the what is OSHA recordable guide walk through the determination before it reaches the form.
Two things make the log easier to keep. First, record cases as they close rather than at year end, because the days-away count changes every day. Second, keep the supporting 301 incident report for each case. The OSHA 301 guide explains why the 301 is the source document behind each log line, and OSHA 300 log explained covers what each column takes.
Posting the 300A summary
At the end of each year, the 300 Log is totalled into the OSHA 300A summary. The summary is not the log. It shows only the annual counts of cases and days, and it carries the company's name, the establishment, and the signature of a company executive who certifies that the figures are correct.
Under 1904.32, the 300A must be posted in a visible location where employees will see it, from 1 February to 30 April of the year after the covered calendar year. It stays up for those three months even if you have no cases to report. The 300A posting requirements cover the placement and certification details, and the 300A summary guide shows how the totals are built.
The annual electronic filing
This is the part most people mean when they say "OSHA reporting". Under 1904.41, certain establishments must send their injury and illness data to OSHA each year through the Injury Tracking Application, usually called the ITA. The rule sorts establishments into groups.
- Establishments with 250 or more employees, that are subject to the recordkeeping rule, must submit the 300A.
- Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in one of the designated industries listed in Appendix A to Subpart E must submit the 300A.
- Establishments with 100 or more employees in certain designated industries must submit the 300 and 301 data as well as the 300A.
The industry list is what decides most cases, so check Appendix A to Subpart E against your NAICS code before assuming you are out. The rule's text is on Cornell's copy of 29 CFR 1904.41, and OSHA's own ITA information page carries the current coverage questions and deadlines.
The deadline is 2 March each year, covering the calendar year before. The 2026 cycle closed on 2 March 2026, and OSHA's page says late filers must still submit. The ITA deadline for 2026 post sets out the dates in more detail, and the ITA submission guide walks through the account, establishment and upload steps.
The ITA accepts three methods: typing data into a web form, uploading a CSV file, or sending data through an API. A CSV upload suits sites that already keep their log in a spreadsheet or system, because it avoids retyping every row.
Reporting an event as it happens
The event report under 1904.39 is the duty that cannot wait for February. It is triggered by what happened, not by the calendar.
- A work-related fatality must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours of the death.
- A work-related in-patient hospitalisation of one or more employees, an amputation, or the loss of an eye must be reported within 24 hours of the event.
Reports can be made by phone or in person to the nearest OSHA area office, by calling the OSHA 800 number, or through the online reporting application. The rule's text is at Cornell's copy of 29 CFR 1904.39. A voicemail to an area office after hours does not satisfy the rule, so the 800 number or the online form is the reliable route out of hours.
This duty applies to every employer covered by Part 1904, including those that are exempt from keeping the 300 Log because they have ten or fewer employees or work in an exempt industry. The recordable versus reportable distinction is the most important thing to get right here: a case can be reportable to OSHA within 24 hours and still be non-recordable on the log, or the reverse. The two tests are separate.
A worked example: one year, four duties
Take a 180-person fabrication plant in a designated industry. During the year it has nine recordable cases. Seven are medical treatment or days-away cases logged in the normal way. One is an in-patient hospitalisation of a welder after a burn, and one is an amputation of a fingertip on a press.
The site's obligations run on different clocks. The hospitalisation and the amputation each trigger a 1904.39 event report within 24 hours of the event, made to the 800 number, because it happened on a Saturday shift and the area office was closed. Both cases still go on the 300 Log within seven calendar days. Through the year the 300 Log is kept current, with each entry linked to its 301.
On 1 February the 300A is printed, totalled, certified by the plant manager and posted in the break room, where it stays until 30 April. Before 2 March the following year, the site submits the 300A through the ITA, and because the plant is above the 100-employee threshold in its industry, it also submits the 300 and 301 data. Four separate duties, one incident year, and each had to be done at a different time.
Common mistakes in 300 reporting
- Treating the 300A as the whole job. The summary is posted for employees. It does not replace the log, and it does not satisfy the ITA filing on its own where that filing applies.
- Waiting for the annual filing to report a serious case. A hospitalisation or amputation reported late is a violation in its own right, however neat the year-end filing is.
- Assuming a small site is out of reporting altogether. Exemption from keeping the log does not remove the event-reporting duty under 1904.39.
- Checking the industry against the wrong code. Appendix A is keyed to NAICS codes, and a site's primary code can differ from the one on a parent company's records.
- Filing the 300A without the 301 data. For establishments in the 100-employee designated-industry group, the 301 data is part of the ITA filing, not an optional extra.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to electronically file the OSHA 300 log every year?
Not every employer does. Under 1904.41, the requirement depends on establishment size and industry, using the Appendix A list. Establishments with 250 or more employees that are covered by the recordkeeping rule must submit the 300A. Smaller establishments in designated industries also submit, and some submit the 300 and 301 data as well. Check the list against your NAICS code, and if you are unsure, the ITA coverage application on OSHA's site gives an answer.
What is the difference between the OSHA 300 log and the 300A?
The 300 Log records each recordable case individually, with the details of every row. The 300A is a one-page annual summary of totals, certified by a company executive and posted between 1 February and 30 April. The log is kept on site, while the summary is posted for employees and is the part that goes into the ITA filing.
How quickly must I report a fatality or hospitalisation to OSHA?
A fatality must be reported within 8 hours of the death. An in-patient hospitalisation of one or more employees, an amputation, or the loss of an eye must be reported within 24 hours of the event. Use the 800 number or OSHA's online reporting application if the area office is closed.
Do small employers with exempt industries still have to report events?
Yes. Exemption from keeping the 300 Log under 1904.1 does not exempt an employer from the event-reporting duty in 1904.39. Fatalities and in-patient hospitalisations, amputations and eye losses must still be reported to OSHA, whatever the size of the site.
Is a 300 reporting failure the same as a recordkeeping failure?
Not always. A missed log entry or a missing 300A is a recordkeeping issue under Part 1904. A late event report under 1904.39 is a separate reporting issue, and it can attract a different citation even when the log itself is complete. Track both, because a clean log does not prove the event reports were made on time.
