Injury and illness recordkeeping exemption

No — if your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you are not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics notifies you in writing that you must keep records under 1904.41 or 1904.42. See 1904.1(a)(1).

• Even if exempt from routine recordkeeping, you still must report certain serious incidents to OSHA (fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye) as required by 1904.39 and noted in 1904.1(a)(1).

Yes — if your company had more than ten (10) employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records unless your establishment qualifies as a partially exempt industry under 1904.2. See 1904.1(a)(2).

• To determine whether your establishment is partially exempt, review 1904.2 and the applicable industry lists in the regulation.

The partial exemption for size is based on the number of employees in the entire company, not an individual establishment. See 1904.1(b)(1).

• That means you count employees across the whole employer entity to see if you qualify for the 10-or-fewer employee exemption described in 1904.1(a).

You determine size by finding your company’s peak employment during the last calendar year — if you had no more than 10 employees at any time during that year, you qualify for the size-based partial exemption. See 1904.1(b)(2).

• Peak employment means the largest number of employees you had at any one time during the last calendar year.
• If at any point your peak exceeded 10, the exemption does not apply and you must keep records unless your establishment is partially exempt under 1904.2.

Yes — all employers covered by the OSH Act, including those exempt from routine recordkeeping due to size, must report any work-related incident that results in a fatality, an in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees, an amputation, or an employee loss of an eye. See 1904.1(a)(1) and 1904.39.

• Reporting requirements apply even if your company qualifies for the 10-or-fewer employee exemption described in 1904.1(a).
• Make the report to OSHA as required by 1904.39 (follow the reporting procedures in that section).

If OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics notifies you in writing that you must keep records under 1904.41 or 1904.42, you must begin maintaining the required OSHA injury and illness records even if you otherwise would be exempt due to size. See 1904.1(a)(1).

• Notification overrides the automatic size exemption — keep the OSHA forms and comply with any electronic submission instructions in 1904.41.
• Failure to submit required electronic records can result in enforcement action; see OSHA’s enforcement guidance on electronic record submission (memorandum) at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16.

Count all employees of your company when determining peak employment for the last calendar year; temporary and seasonal workers you employ count toward peak employment if they are employed by your company. See 1904.1(b)(2).

• The regulation bases the size test on your company’s peak employment during the last calendar year.
• If you use staffing agencies or independent contractors, determine whether they are employees of your company under usual legal tests; the regulation’s text addresses company employee counts but does not prescribe how to treat third-party workers — consult OSHA or legal counsel if unclear.

It means that even if your company has more than 10 employees, your establishment may still be exempt from keeping OSHA injury and illness records if its industry is listed as partially exempt in 1904.2. See 1904.1(a)(2).

• To determine partial exemption, check the industry codes and lists in 1904.2.
• If your industry is on the partially exempt list, follow the instructions in 1904.2 for whether you must keep records.

Employers with establishments that meet certain employee-count and industry criteria must electronically submit OSHA Form 300A data to OSHA: specifically, establishments with 250 or more employees must submit Form 300A; establishments with 20–249 employees in certain higher-hazard industries listed in Appendix A to 1904.41 must submit Form 300A; and larger establishments in certain industries (see 100+ in Appendix B) have additional submission duties. See the enforcement memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16 and 1904.41.

• The memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16 summarizes who must submit and the March 2 annual deadline for prior-year data.
• Establishments with fewer than 20 employees at all times during the year do not have to routinely submit Form 300A data (see the same memorandum).

You must electronically submit required injury and illness records (e.g., Form 300A) by March 2 for the preceding calendar year, and OSHA may issue citations for failure to submit up to six months after that date (i.e., by September 2). See the enforcement memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16 and 1904.41.

• Example from the memorandum: calendar year 2023 records were due March 2, 2024; OSHA may issue citations for non-submission up to September 2, 2024.
• The memorandum also explains which establishments (by size and industry) must submit Form 300A, Form 300 and Form 301 data.

Yes — because your company had more than 10 employees at some point during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records unless your establishment is partially exempt under 1904.2. See 1904.1(a)(2) and 1904.1(b)(2).

• The rule looks at peak employment during the prior calendar year; any peak over 10 removes the size exemption.

Yes — you may use software-generated forms as substitutes for OSHA Form 300 and Form 300A if the documents meet the equivalency requirements in the recordkeeping regulation (i.e., they contain the same information, are as readable and understandable, and are completed using the same instructions). See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-04-29 and the general recordkeeping requirements in 1904.

• The LOI explains that equivalent forms that meet 1904.29(b)(4) and (b)(5) requirements can be maintained electronically and must be available for inspection and access by employees and OSHA (see the LOI at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-04-29).
• Maintain the electronic system so it can produce equivalent forms on request and provide access as required by recordkeeping access provisions.

Yes — electronically stored equivalent OSHA records (including software-generated Form 300/300A equivalents) must be available for inspection and copying by authorized government representatives and must be provided to employees, former employees, and their representatives consistent with recordkeeping access rules. See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-04-29 and the general 1904 obligations.

• The LOI confirms equivalent electronic forms must meet the readability and content standards and be producible on request for access and inspection (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-04-29).

OSHA may pursue enforcement, including issuing citations, for failure to submit required electronic records — Area Offices use the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) to identify non-responders and may direct full recordkeeping audits when there is evidence of systemic issues. See the enforcement memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16 and 1904.41.

• The memorandum explains the agency’s analytic approach to finding non-submitting employers and the six-month citation window following the March 2 submission deadline.

Generally no — if your company qualifies for the 10-or-fewer employee exemption in 1904.1(a)(1), you are not required to maintain OSHA Forms 300/300A/301 unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics notifies you in writing under 1904.41 or 1904.42. See 1904.1(a)(1).

• Independent of recordkeeping, you still must report serious incidents per 1904.39.

OSHA continues to enforce applicable recordkeeping and reporting requirements under Part 1904, but the memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-02-05 announces that OSHA will not, effective immediately, enforce certain COVID-19 recordkeeping and reporting requirements adopted under the Healthcare ETS. For Part 1904 obligations, continue to follow 1904 and related reporting rules.

• The memorandum clarifies enforcement posture for COVID-19-related ETS requirements but confirms ongoing enforcement of Part 1904 recordkeeping obligations (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2025-02-05).

No — an employer must make an accurate, good-faith determination about recordability and cannot simply assume the common cold or flu exception applies without investigation; if illness meets the regulation’s recordability criteria, it must be recorded. See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2023-11-15 and 1904.1.

• The LOI explains the employer should apply the same evaluation steps used for other illnesses, including checking work-relatedness and whether the case meets the general recording criteria in Part 1904 (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2023-11-15).

If OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics sends written notice that you must keep records under 1904.41 or 1904.42, the notice governs which establishments must comply; the size exemption in 1904.1(a)(1) is overridden for those establishments included in the notice. See 1904.1(a)(1) and the electronic submission guidance at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16.

• If the written notice targets specific establishments, follow the notice’s instructions and the electronic submission rules for those establishments.

Not always — injuries and deaths that occur while an employee is on travel status are presumptively work-related if the employee was performing activities "in the interest of the employer," but there are exceptions (for example, when the employee has established a "home away from home" at a temporary residence). See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-06-12 and 1904.

• The LOI explains the geographic presumption of work-relatedness and details exceptions such as the "home away from home" rule in travel situations (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-06-12).
• Apply the work-relatedness tests in Part 1904 to determine whether a travel-related death must be recorded.

Yes — injuries caused by an unforeseen third-party criminal act that occur in the work environment are generally presumed to be work-related unless a specific exception applies; the regulation treats work as a causal factor even if the event was outside the employer's control. See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2023-05-17 and 1904.

• The LOI explains the geographic presumption and that work need only be a causal factor for an injury to be work-related; examples include injuries from events at work outside employer control (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2023-05-17).
• Use the Part 1904 work-relatedness rules to analyze specific facts of the incident.

If the only treatment for a work-related musculoskeletal injury is first aid (including hot or cold therapy, or exercises/stretching), the case is generally not recordable — but it becomes recordable if any other recordability criterion is met (e.g., restricted work, days away, or medical treatment beyond first aid). See the enforcement guidance at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-05-02 and 1904.

• The memo clarifies that first aid treatments listed in [1904.7(b)(5)(ii)] are not recordable by themselves, but if the case also results in restricted work or medical treatment beyond first aid, it becomes recordable (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-05-02).

If heated paraffin wax is used alone to treat a work-related injury or illness, it is considered hot therapy (first aid) and the case is not recordable; however, if paraffin wax is used in combination with treatments that constitute medical treatment beyond first aid (e.g., prescription drugs, physical therapy), the case may be recordable. See the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-10-22 and 1904.

• The LOI explains that hot/cold therapy is listed as first aid in [1904.7(b)(5)(ii)(E)], so paraffin used alone is first aid and not recordable; combinations with other medical treatments can change recordability (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-10-22).

If you need clarification about whether your company qualifies for the size exemption or whether a written notice requires you to keep records under 1904.41 or 1904.42, contact your local OSHA Area Office for guidance and, if needed, seek legal counsel. See 1904.1 for the exemption rules and the 2024 electronic submission memorandum at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2024-04-16 for enforcement details.

• OSHA Area Offices can clarify whether a written notice applies and explain submission and recordkeeping obligations.