The OSHA 300 log: the complete guide.
Recordable cases go on the log within 7 calendar days. The 300A posts Feb 1 – Apr 30 and e-files by March 2.
Everything the recordkeeping rule actually requires — what's recordable, how days are counted, who's exempt — plus a free Excel working file that calculates 300A totals and creates the Form 300A ITA upload row. No email required.
Yes. Sutures are medical treatment beyond first aid, so this case is recordable.
- Treatment
- Three sutures at the clinic
- Recordability
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Next action
- Complete the 300 and 301 within 7 days
The incident evidence is assembled for the qualified reviewer; restricted-day tracking is open.
What is the OSHA 300 log?
The OSHA 300 log is the running record of work-related injuries and illnesses that meet the criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7 — kept per establishment, with each case entered within 7 calendar days of learning about it (1904.29(b)(3)). It feeds the 300A summary you post every February, and you retain both for 5 years (1904.33).
| Deadline | What's due | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| 7 calendar days | Enter each recordable case on the 300 log + complete the 301 | 1904.29(b)(3) |
| Feb 1 – Apr 30 | Post the certified 300A at each establishment | 1904.32 |
| March 2 | E-submit 300A data — plus 300/301 case data when the 100+ Appendix B rule applies | 1904.41 |
| 5 years | Retain the 300, 300A, and 301s (and keep the 300 updated) | 1904.33 |
| 8 hours / 24 hours | Report fatalities / hospitalizations, amputations, eye loss — exempt or not | 1904.39 |
300A posting window opens in 195 days · ITA e-submission deadline in 224 days
Last reviewed · by Ben Sleeman · Credentialed safety reviewer · Recording criteria, first-aid list, day-count rules, privacy cases, and deadlines checked against 29 CFR 1904 and the OSHA recordkeeping pages. Pulled forward from Phase 3 to accrue authority ahead of the Feb–Mar recordkeeping season.
Changelog
- Final credentialed content review completed by Ben Sleeman.
- Material regulatory and workbook corrections applied before final review.
- Chapter published (pulled forward from the December slot). Verified the 1904.7(b)(5)(ii) first-aid list, 1904.29(b)(7) privacy cases, 7-calendar-day entry rule, 180-day cap, 5-year retention, and the Feb 1 / Mar 2 deadlines. Workbook v1 released.
Who has to keep a 300 log?
Two exemptions exist — company size and low-hazard industry — and construction only ever qualifies for one of them.
The size exemption (1904.1): if your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year — company-wide, every jobsite and the office counted together, not per site — you're exempt from routine recordkeeping unless OSHA or the BLS asks in writing.
The industry exemption (1904.2) never applies here: construction (NAICS 23) is not on the low-hazard list. And no exemption touches 1904.39 reporting — fatalities in 8 hours, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and eye losses in 24 — which binds every employer.
The construction wrinkle: establishments. The log is kept per establishment. Short-lived jobsites (under a year) are normally covered by one log at the home office or a central location — you don't open a new 300 log for every project, but the cases from every site have to land on the log that covers them.
What counts as recordable?
A case is recordable when it's work-related, new, and involves at least one of: death · days away from work · restricted work or job transfer · medical treatment beyond first aid · loss of consciousness · a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a licensed professional (1904.7). The first-aid list below is exhaustive — anything not on it is medical treatment.
A quick triage, not a ruling — borderline cases turn on the details. The full recordable-vs-reportable decision guide is a coming chapter of the OSHA field guide.
| First aid (not recordable by itself) | Watch out |
|---|---|
| Non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength | OTC drugs at prescription strength ARE medical treatment |
| Tetanus immunizations | Other vaccines (e.g., hepatitis B post-exposure) are medical treatment |
| Cleaning, flushing, or soaking surface wounds | — |
| Wound coverings: bandages, Band-Aids, gauze, butterfly bandages, Steri-Strips | Sutures, staples, and surgical glue ARE medical treatment |
| Hot or cold therapy | No limit on repeat use — still first aid |
| Non-rigid means of support (elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts) | Rigid splints and orthopedic devices ARE medical treatment |
| Temporary immobilization devices used while transporting (splints, slings, neck collars, backboards) | Only during transport of the victim |
| Drilling a fingernail/toenail to relieve pressure; draining fluid from a blister | — |
| Eye patches | — |
| Removing foreign bodies from the eye using only irrigation or a cotton swab | Anything more invasive is medical treatment |
| Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs, or other simple means | — |
| Finger guards | — |
| Massages | Physical therapy and chiropractic treatment ARE medical treatment |
| Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress | IV fluids ARE medical treatment — a common heat-case trap |
Restricted work is a recording criterion on its own — no medical treatment needed. Check column I, count restricted days in column L.
Prescription-strength medication is medical treatment even if the drug is available OTC — a classic miss.
Irrigation to remove a foreign body from the eye is on the first-aid list. Log it internally — it's still a leading indicator.
How do you fill out each column?
Seven identification fields, four classification checkboxes, two day counts, six illness types. The classification and day-count columns are where logs go wrong.
| Column | What goes in it | The trap |
|---|---|---|
| A – C | Case number, employee name, job title | Privacy cases: write “Privacy Case” instead of the name (1904.29(b)(7)) |
| D – E | Date of injury/onset · where it happened | Use the injury date, not the report date |
| F | Describe the injury, body part, and what caused it | Specific enough to be useful, no private details in privacy cases |
| G – J | Check ONE: death · days away · job transfer/restriction · other recordable | Check the single most severe outcome, and update it if the case worsens |
| K – L | Count of days away (K) and days restricted/transferred (L) | Calendar days, day of injury excluded, capped at 180 per case |
| M (1–6) | Injury · skin disorder · respiratory · poisoning · hearing loss · other illness | These six totals must reconcile with G–J on the 300A — the ITA rejects mismatches |
300 vs 300A vs 301 — what's the difference?
| Form | What it is | Rules that bite |
|---|---|---|
| 300 — the log | Running list of every recordable case for the establishment | Entries within 7 days · must be kept updated through the 5-year retention (1904.33) — the 300A and 301 don't require updating |
| 301 — incident report | One detailed report per case, same 7-day clock | An “equivalent form” — most workers' comp first reports — is acceptable (1904.29(b)(4)) |
| 300A — annual summary | Totals of the log: cases (G–J), days (K–L), types (M1–M6), plus average employment and total hours | Certified by a company executive, posted Feb 1 – Apr 30 even with zero cases (1904.32) · e-submitted by Mar 2 for covered establishments (1904.41) |
Privacy cases (1904.29(b)(7)): for an injury to an intimate body part or from sexual assault, a mental illness, HIV/hepatitis/tuberculosis, a contaminated needlestick or sharps injury — or any other illness where the employee asks — enter “Privacy Case” instead of the name and keep a separate confidential list. You still record the case; you just protect the identity.
The free 300 log workbook — log to totals to ITA.
OSHA ships PDFs. Template sites gate their spreadsheets behind your email. This one is free, built for construction, and does the February math for you.
- Form 300 working worksheet with Form 301 completion and per-case QA checks
- 300A totals calculate automatically for transfer to OSHA’s official posting form
- Form 300A ITA upload row plus a 100+ Appendix B case-data warning
- TRIR / DART calculated from the same entries, with the construction benchmark
- Multi-establishment workflow — use a separate workbook copy for each establishment
- Examples isolated on a separate, non-calculating reference sheet
The calculated 300A worksheet is not a substitute for OSHA's official Form 300A. Use its totals to complete the official form, including the certification statement, executive signature, title, phone, and date, and post that official form from February 1 through April 30.
The ITA sheet follows OSHA's current Form 300A CSV template, including EIN, filing year, peak-employment size class, and injury/no-injury codes. Its exact 28-field header is the first row and the establishment record is the second, so save just that sheet as CSV without inserting title or note rows. Then run the file through OSHA's sandbox validator. The workbook flags missing Form 301/equivalent completion, incomplete case classifications, inconsistent outcomes/day counts, and totals that do not reconcile. Establishments with 100 or more employees in an Appendix B industry may also have to submit Form 300 and 301 case data; the Start Here sheet links OSHA’s Coverage Application.
The log is downstream of the incident report.
Every recordkeeping citation starts the same way: a case the field knew about that never reached the log. The 7-day clock starts when ANY of you knew.
- Incident reports for every case — recordable or not — the source document for the 300 entry, the 301, and the not-recordable defense
- First-aid and near-miss logs — proves the borderline calls were made deliberately, not missed
- Day counts with return-to-work dates — column K/L math is the first thing checked against the 300A
- Hours worked + average employment by establishment — the 300A and every rate calculation need them — February's scramble is usually this
Common questions.
What is the OSHA 300 log?
Who is exempt from keeping an OSHA 300 log?
What counts as a recordable injury on the 300 log?
How do you count days away from work on the 300 log?
What is the difference between the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301?
When does the 300A have to be submitted electronically?
This guide is educational information for construction teams, not legal advice. Regulations change and states differ — confirm requirements with the current 29 CFR text, your state plan, or counsel.
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Educational reference · reviewed quarterly · not legal advice