Topic · 6 guides
Not every employer has to keep OSHA injury and illness records. Two partial exemptions set the scope. Under 29 CFR 1904.1, a company that had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year does not need to keep the 300, 300A and 301. The count is company-wide, across every establishment, and is based on peak employment during the year. Under 29 CFR 1904.2, individual establishments classified in certain lower-hazard industries, listed by NAICS code in Appendix A to Subpart B, are also partially exempt.
~4 min average readUpdated
Partial is the important word. Every employer covered by the OSH Act, exempt or not, must still report fatalities, in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye under 29 CFR 1904.39. An exemption also ends when the government asks: if OSHA notifies you in writing under 1904.41, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics selects you for its annual survey under 1904.42, you must keep records for the year covered.
These guides explain company size versus establishment size, the difference between recording and reporting, partially exempt industries, BLS survey letters, and how the rules apply to small businesses such as restaurants.
Free tool
OSHA ITA Electronic Submission Checker
Headcount + NAICS → which forms you submit electronically.
Open the ita coverage checkerFree. No signup.
Scope & exemptions
6 guides
Full- and limited-service restaurants (NAICS 7221 and 7222) are partially exempt from routine OSHA logs; caterers and contract food service (7223) are not.
4 min readUpdated
If BLS sends you its Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, you must complete it, even if you are normally exempt from OSHA recordkeeping.
4 min readUpdated
Establishments in low-hazard industries on Appendix A to Subpart B, such as many retail, finance, and office-based services, skip routine OSHA logs.
4 min readUpdated
Recording puts a case on your 300 Log within 7 days; reporting notifies OSHA within 8 hours of a death or 24 hours of a severe injury.
4 min readUpdated
Company size decides the 10-employee exemption; establishment size decides electronic submission to the ITA.
4 min readUpdated
Companies with 10 or fewer employees at all times last year don't keep OSHA injury records unless OSHA or BLS asks in writing.
4 min readUpdated
Recordability22
Electronic submission18
Forms 300, 300A & 30112
Work-relatedness12
Covered employees9
DART & day counts9
Deadlines9
Severe injury reporting8
Employee access7
Retention & updates7
Audits & quality5
Incidence rates5
Multiple establishments5
Privacy cases5
Software5
300A certification4
AI & terminology3
Filing FAQs1
Penalties1From guide to log
300log turns each case into its OSHA 300 Log entry and 301 report, keeps privacy cases off the shared log, totals the 300A and files it with OSHA's ITA for you as soon as you authorize it.