29 CFR § 1904.29

What does 29 CFR § 1904.29 require?

29 CFR 1904.29 is the OSHA recordkeeping forms requirement — the rule that tells you WHICH forms to use for work-related injuries and illnesses. Three forms: the Form 300 Log (running list of recordable cases), the Form 300A Annual Summary (year-end totals, posted Feb 1 - April 30 under 1904.32), and the Form 301 Incident Report (one form per case, with the narrative details). Each recordable case must be entered on the 300 and 301 within 7 calendar days of when you learn it happened. You can use your own equivalent forms (or a workers' comp first-report-of-injury) IF the form contains the same data, is as readable, and is filled out using the same instructions — but most employers find it easier to use OSHA's free templates from osha.gov/recordkeeping. Forms must stay at the establishment for 5 years following the calendar year covered and must be available within 4 business hours to OSHA inspectors, employees, former employees, and employee representatives. Common citations: late entries (past the 7-day rule), missing 301 reports, illegible handwritten logs, and refusal/delay providing forms to an employee on request.

Who must comply with 29 CFR § 1904.29?

Most private-sector employers with 10+ employees who are not on OSHA's partial exemption list (most retail, finance, insurance, real estate, and many services are partially exempt). State-plan jurisdictions (Cal/OSHA, MIOSHA, OR-OSHA, WA-DOSH, etc.) impose equivalent or stricter parallel requirements. Federal, state, and local government employers in state-plan states are covered. The forms requirement applies establishment-by-establishment: each physical location (with limited exceptions for short-term construction sites under 1904.30) maintains its own 300/300A/301 set. Multi-establishment companies do NOT consolidate across locations.

What happens if you violate 29 CFR § 1904.29?

Recordkeeping-forms violations are typically classified other-than-serious with 2025 inflation-adjusted civil penalties up to $16,131 per violation under 29 CFR 1903.15. Repeat or willful citations escalate to $161,323 per violation. Common citations under 1904.29: (1) late entry on the Form 300 beyond the 7-calendar-day rule; (2) missing or incomplete Form 301 incident reports; (3) using an employer-designed equivalent form that is missing required data fields or that fails the 'as readable / as understandable' test; (4) failing to make the forms available within 4 business hours to OSHA, the affected employee, a former employee, or an employee representative on request; (5) illegible handwriting that defeats the recordkeeping purpose. Multi-violation patterns trigger broader inspection scope and can escalate forms citations into willful classification. Forms citations are often paired with §1904.7 (recording criteria), §1904.32 (annual summary), and §1904.35 (employee involvement / reporting) citations during the same inspection.

How to comply (implementation checklist)

1. 1Designate a recordkeeper at each establishment responsible for the 300/300A/301 set.
2. 2Use OSHA's free Form 300, 300A, 301 templates (osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html) OR a documented equivalent form that meets the 1904.29(b)(4) test.
3. 3Implement a workflow that captures every reportable injury within 7 calendar days of the employer learning the case occurred.
4. 4Complete a Form 301 (or equivalent) for EVERY case entered on the Form 300 — the 300 line item and the 301 narrative must match.
5. 5Cross-reference workers' compensation first-reports-of-injury, medical bills, and incident investigation reports against the 300 monthly to catch missing entries.
6. 6For privacy cases (intimate body part, sexual assault, mental illness, HIV/HBV/HCV/TB, needlestick involving another person's blood, employee request), omit the name from the 300 and maintain a separate confidential list.
7. 7Store the 300/300A/301 set at the establishment in a location where it can be produced within 4 business hours to OSHA, employees, former employees, and employee representatives.
8. 8Retain the completed forms for 5 years following the end of the calendar year that the records cover, per 29 CFR 1904.33.
9. 9Update the Form 300 when new information about a case changes the entry (case classification, days away count, restricted-work days). Annual review under 1904.32 confirms accuracy.
10. 10Train HR / safety staff on the difference between Form 300 (the running log), Form 300A (the annual summary), and Form 301 (the per-case incident report) — common confusion source.

Common misinterpretations

• Misinterpretation: 'A workers' comp first-report-of-injury counts as a Form 301.' Reality: Only IF the workers' comp form contains all the same information as OSHA Form 301, is as readable and understandable, AND is completed using the same instructions. State workers' comp first-report-of-injury forms vary widely — many omit fields OSHA requires (treating physician's name and address, location of treatment, time employee began work, specific body part affected, specific object/substance that injured the employee). When the workers' comp form is missing fields, the employer must complete an OSHA 301 or an employer-designed equivalent that fills the gaps. 'We use workers' comp forms' is not automatic compliance.
• Misinterpretation: 'The 7-day rule starts when the injury happened.' Reality: 29 CFR 1904.29(b)(3) starts the 7-calendar-day clock when the employer (or anyone acting on the employer's behalf, including a supervisor) RECEIVES INFORMATION that a recordable case occurred. Late reporting by the employee shifts the clock — but does not eliminate the obligation. Once the employer knows, the entry must be made within 7 calendar days regardless of when the injury physically happened.
• Misinterpretation: 'We can keep the 300 Log in a binder in the safety manager's office.' Reality: Forms must be available within 4 BUSINESS HOURS to OSHA inspectors, current employees, former employees, employee representatives, and personal representatives upon request (1904.35). The location is the employer's choice — but the 4-business-hour rule applies regardless. Logs locked in an executive office, stored offsite, or kept by a third-party administrator who needs to drive across town do NOT satisfy the 4-hour rule and have generated citations.
• Misinterpretation: 'We can record cases on a spreadsheet — paper Form 300 isn't required.' Reality: 1904.29(b)(2) allows electronic equivalents IF the electronic form contains all the same data, can be produced when needed (printout or display) in a format equivalent to the OSHA form, and meets the readability and access requirements. Many employers run into trouble when the spreadsheet column layout omits required fields, lacks the case classification box (death / days away / job transfer / other recordable), or cannot be printed in a format that matches the OSHA form. Document the equivalence before relying on a spreadsheet.
• Misinterpretation: 'Privacy concerns let me leave employee names off the 300.' Reality: 29 CFR 1904.29(b)(6)-(b)(10) defines a narrow PRIVACY CASE category — injuries involving an intimate body part, sexual assault, mental illness, HIV/hepatitis/TB, needlestick/sharps with another person's blood, or any case the employee requests be treated as private and the employer accepts. For privacy cases, the employee name is omitted from the Form 300 and replaced with 'privacy case' — but the case is still recorded with all other data, and a separate confidential list of privacy-case names with case numbers must be maintained. Privacy classification does NOT eliminate the recordkeeping obligation.

Real enforcement examples

Anonymized from public FMCSA enforcement summaries. Penalty amounts reflect assessed and final settled values where disclosed.

Frequently asked questions

Related regulations

Related guides

• → osha 300 log complete guide
• → osha 300 log guide