Skip to content

Free template

Updated

OSHA 300 log workbook

An OSHA 300 log is the record an employer keeps of each work-related injury or illness that meets the recording rules in 29 CFR Part 1904, the part of the Code of Federal Regulations that covers OSHA recordkeeping. The 300A is the summary of that log for one calendar year. A company executive certifies it, and it is posted from February 1 to April 30 of the following year. This workbook lays the log out like Form 300, with the same columns A to L, the six injury and illness type boxes, and drop-downs for the X boxes. The Form 300A sheet totals itself from the log, and the Rates sheet works out the total recordable incident rate (TRIR) and the DART rate from your hours. A Recordable decision sheet takes one case at a time through the questions in 1904.4 to 1904.11 and answers Record it, Do not record or Check first. The PDF has a one-page decision guide with the section of the rule beside each step, a page on the three forms with dates and retention, and a page of sources. For records covering 2026, the 300A goes up by February 1, 2027 and stays up until April 30, 2027. The workbook is an aid. It is not an OSHA form and it is not legal advice.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the OSHA 300 log workbook guideA flow of five boxes, covered, work-related, new case, meets a recording criterion and record it, each with the section of 29 CFR 1904, beside lists of the work-relatedness exceptions and the first aid treatments.
Log laid out like Form 300Drop-downs for the X boxes180-day flagPrivacy case ruleRow check on every case300A that totals itselfTRIR and DART ratesHours and employees worksheetsIs it recordable? walkChecks sheetExample logDecision guide PDF

When to use it

When to use an OSHA 300 log workbook

  • When you keep the 300 log in a spreadsheet and want the columns, the X boxes and the year-end totals to match the OSHA form.
  • When you are not sure a case is recordable and want to go through the rule step by step before you decide.
  • In January, when you total the year, check the log, and prepare the 300A for a company executive to certify.
  • When you need TRIR and DART for a safety meeting or a customer questionnaire and want them worked from the same log the 300A uses.
  • When you cover several plants as a consultant or corporate EHS lead and want one layout for every establishment's log, one workbook per site.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Set up the year and the establishment

    Type the calendar year, the company and establishment details, the NAICS code, the annual average number of employees and the hours worked on the Establishment sheet. The worksheets there help if you do not have the average or the hours.

  2. 2

    Decide whether the case is recordable

    Answer the questions on the Recordable decision sheet. It follows 1904.4: is the person covered, is it work-related, is it a new case, and does it meet a criterion in 1904.7 to 1904.11. Treat Check first as a stop sign and read the section.

  3. 3

    Enter the case within 7 calendar days

    One row on the Log: case number, name or privacy case, job title, date, where it happened, and a one or two line description. 1904.29(b)(3) gives you seven calendar days from learning of the case.

  4. 4

    Classify it once

    Choose X in only one of G to J, the most serious outcome, and in one injury or illness type. Enter days away in K and days of job transfer or restriction in L, counted in calendar days from the day after the injury.

  5. 5

    Watch the flags

    The 180-day flag and the row check beside each case catch the common slips as you type. The Checks sheet counts them: no classification, two classifications, duplicate case numbers, dates outside the year.

  6. 6

    Total the year on the 300A sheet

    Review the log, fix what Checks flags, then read the totals on Form 300A. A company executive certifies it. Print it, post it by February 1 and leave it up until April 30.

  7. 7

    Work out the rates

    The Rates sheet gives TRIR and DART. It shows the cases, the 200,000 base and the hours side by side, so you can check each rate by hand.

The 300A boxes

Where each 300A box comes from

Every box on the Form 300A sheet is a count or a sum of the Log, so nothing is typed twice. Each case sits in one of G to J only, the most serious outcome.

  • G Deaths

    What it counts
    Cases with a work-related death
    On the Log
    Count of X in column G
  • H Days away from work

    What it counts
    Cases with one or more days away
    On the Log
    Count of X in column H
  • I Job transfer or restriction

    What it counts
    Cases with restricted work or a job transfer and no days away
    On the Log
    Count of X in column I
  • J Other recordable cases

    What it counts
    Recordable cases with none of those outcomes, for example medical treatment beyond first aid only
    On the Log
    Count of X in column J
  • K Days away from work

    What it counts
    Calendar days away, counted from the day after the injury
    On the Log
    Sum of column K
  • L Days of job transfer or restriction

    What it counts
    Calendar days on job transfer or restriction
    On the Log
    Sum of column L
  • M (1) to (6)

    What it counts
    Injuries, skin disorders, respiratory conditions, poisonings, hearing loss, all other illnesses
    On the Log
    Count of X in each type column

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): ten made-up cases at a fictional plant with 200 employees and 410,000 hours worked. The Example sheet in the Excel file holds them all. Every name, date and number is invented.

  • Cases: 3 with days away (H), 3 with job transfer or restriction (I), 4 other recordable (J) and no deaths, so 10 recordable cases.
  • Days: 196 days away (4 + 12 + 180) and 59 days of job transfer or restriction (10 + 21 + 20 + 3 + 5). One long absence is entered at the 180-day limit in 1904.7(b)(3)(vii).
  • Types: 7 injuries, 1 skin disorder, 1 hearing loss and 1 other illness, which add up to the 10 cases.
  • One of the ten is a privacy case, a cut from a sharp contaminated with another person's blood. Its row shows privacy case where the name goes.
  • TRIR = 10 x 200,000 / 410,000 = 4.88. DART = (3 + 3) x 200,000 / 410,000 = 2.93.

The Example sheet also shows three decisions. A hand cut that is cleaned and covered with a bandage is first aid and is not recorded. The same cut closed with sutures is medical treatment beyond first aid and goes in column J. Back pain that started at home and does not get worse at work is not work-related. The numbers are made up to show the formulas, not a benchmark.

Common mistakes

  • Ticking more than one of G to J

    Choose the most serious outcome only. A case with both days away and restricted days is column H, with days in K and in L.

  • Counting the day of injury

    Days are counted from the day after, in calendar days. Weekends and days off count if the person could not have worked.

  • Getting first aid wrong

    The first aid list in 1904.7(b)(5)(ii) is complete. Sutures, prescription-strength medicine and rigid supports are not on it, and a visit for observation, counseling or diagnostic tests alone is not medical treatment.

  • Putting a name on a privacy case

    For the cases listed in 1904.29(b)(7), type privacy case where the name goes and keep a separate confidential list of case numbers and names.

  • Using the wrong hours

    Hours worked leave out paid vacation, sick leave and holidays. A payroll figure that includes them understates the rate.

  • Sharing the file with names in it

    The log holds health information. Employees and their representatives may see it with names. For anyone else, remove names and other identifying details first (1904.29(b)(10)).

  • Not updating a case

    If a case gets worse or the outcome changes, change the entry, including the classification and the days (1904.33(b)(1)), not only a note.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite near miss reporting lets anyone log a near miss, unsafe act or unsafe condition on their phone in seconds, and it tracks each corrective action until it is closed.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

OSHA 300 log workbook: common questions

  1. OSHA allows equivalent forms: the same information, as readable and understandable, completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(4)). OSHA's forms page says equivalent forms may be kept in any file format, Excel included, as long as that test and the 300A statement requirement in 1904.32(b)(2)(iii) are met. A computer system must be able to produce equivalent forms when they are asked for (1904.29(b)(5)). This workbook is laid out like the OSHA forms, but it is not an OSHA form, and whether it is equivalent for your establishment is your decision.

  2. It covers one calendar year. Post it no later than February 1 of the next year and keep it up until April 30 (1904.32(b)(6)). For the 2026 records, that is February 1 to April 30, 2027. A company executive must certify it first. You post the 300A summary only, not the log. Keep the log, the privacy case list, the 300A and the 301 incident reports for five years following the end of the year they cover (1904.33(a)): for 2026 records, until the end of 2031, updating the log for newly discovered cases and changed classifications (1904.33(b)(1)).

  3. TRIR = recordable cases x 200,000 / hours worked. DART = (cases with days away from work + cases with job transfer or restriction) x 200,000 / hours worked, which is boxes H and I of the 300A. 200,000 is the hours of 100 full-time employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks (OSHA's forms package and BLS). OSHA's worksheet adds columns H, I and J for the total, and BLS counts nonfatal cases, so deaths are shown on their own in the workbook.

  4. The words privacy case, not the name. The cases are an injury or illness to an intimate body part or the reproductive system, a sexual assault, a mental illness, HIV infection, hepatitis or tuberculosis, a needlestick or a cut from a contaminated sharp, and another illness if the employee asks for the name to be left off. The list is complete. You keep a separate, confidential list of the case numbers and names (1904.29(b)(6) to (8)).

  5. Not if your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times in the last calendar year, or the establishment is in an industry on OSHA's partially exempt list (1904.1, 1904.2). No manufacturing industry is on that list. Every employer must still report a death, in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye (1904.39). Only three categories of establishment submit data every year (1904.41(b)(1)), by March 2 of the next year: those with 250 or more employees that must keep records, those with 20 to 249 employees in the industries listed in Appendix A to Subpart E, and, for the 300 and 301 as well, those with 100 or more employees in the Appendix B industries. Other establishments submit only if OSHA tells them to. State Plan states can differ.

More free templates

All templates
Browse all 205 templates

Can't find the template you need?

Tell us what you're looking for. We'll make it and send it to your inbox, free.

A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.

By sending this form you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Pass it on

We want LeanSuite to be the best place on the internet for lean help. If this was useful, send it to someone on your team or in your network who needs it.