OSHA 300 Log Entry

This template is used to record a single work-related injury or illness case in a structured way. It captures the incident summary, affected person details, body part, treatment, lost time, and the recordable-case decision. Use it as the entry-level record for your OSHA log process, not as a replacement for your full incident investigation file.

It is usually completed by HR, safety, EHS, or a manager trained on recordkeeping rules. The person entering the case should be able to confirm the facts, classify the outcome, and route the entry for review if needed. If the details are unclear, use conditional logic or follow-up fields to gather only the missing information before finalizing the record.

Use it each time a work-related injury or illness meets your reporting or recordkeeping threshold. It should be completed as soon as practical after the incident is known, then updated if treatment, restricted work, or days away from work change. A delayed entry can create gaps in the audit trail and make classification harder.

No. It is intended for employers and cases that fall under OSHA recordkeeping requirements, including non-exempt industries and employers that meet the employee-count threshold. If your workplace is exempt or the event is not recordable, you may still use the template internally, but you should not treat every entry as an OSHA-recordable case without review.

Common mistakes include marking every field required, writing vague incident descriptions, and using free-text where a date picker or numeric input would be more accurate. Another frequent issue is skipping the classification notes, which makes it hard to explain why a case was or was not recordable. Missing the report date or reporter also weakens the audit trail.

Collect only the fields you need for recordkeeping and case review, following the minimum-necessary principle. If you are collecting PII, add clear disclosure language about who can view the record and why it is being collected. Avoid unnecessary sensitive fields, and use access controls so the log is not broadly visible to people who do not need it.

Yes. You can add department-specific incident categories, site location options, or conditional logic for hospitalization and restricted duty follow-up. Keep the core OSHA fields intact so the log remains usable across locations, and use progressive disclosure to hide fields that do not apply to a given case. That keeps the form shorter and easier to complete accurately.

An ad-hoc email thread is harder to search, harder to audit, and more likely to miss required fields. This template gives you a consistent field structure, clearer validation, and a cleaner audit trail for review and follow-up. It also makes it easier to route the case to the right reviewer and keep the record complete over time.