Posting your OSHA 300A summary on the wall is one thing. Sending your injury and illness data to OSHA online is another. Many employers confuse the two, and some don’t realize they’re required to submit at all.
Key dates: OSHA’s annual deadline is March 2. Data for 2025 was due March 2, 2026, and the 2025 submission period opened January 2, 2026. Data for calendar year 2026 is due March 2, 2027, so now is a good time to prepare.
Who has to submit?
Requirements are based on each establishment (a single physical location), not just on the company as a whole. For federal OSHA, the rules are:
| Your establishment | Must submit | Notes |
| 250 or more employees, in an industry that must routinely keep OSHA injury records | Form 300A summary data | Industries that are partially exempt as low hazard are not included |
| 20 to 249 employees, in a designated industry listed in Appendix A to Subpart E | Form 300A summary data | Check your NAICS code against the list |
| 100 or more employees, in a designated industry listed in Appendix B to Subpart E | Form 300A plus case data from Forms 300 and 301 | You don’t need to submit 300/301 data if you had no cases |
| Fewer than 20 employees, and not in an Appendix B industry | Usually nothing | OSHA can still notify you to submit |
Not sure where you fit? OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA) includes a coverage tool that tells you if you need to submit, based on your industry and employee count.
What you submit
- 300A summary data: your totals, annual average employees and hours worked, for every covered establishment.
- 300 and 301 case data (Appendix B industries with 100+ employees): the detail from each case on your log and incident report.
OSHA’s system won’t process your 300/301 case data until the matching 300A submission has been processed, so submit them in order.
How to submit
Submissions go through OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application. You can enter data on a web form, upload a CSV file, or use an API connection if you have many establishments. You need an ITA account, and your submission must include your legal company name.
Common slip-ups
- Counting by company instead of establishment. Each location is evaluated on its own.
- Assuming small means exempt. A 20–249 employee establishment in a designated industry still files the 300A.
- Waiting for the last week. Gather hours worked, average employees and your 300 totals in January.
- Posting but not submitting. The February 1 to April 30 posting requirement is separate from electronic submission.
- Mixing it up with severe injury reporting. Calling OSHA within 8 hours of a fatality, or within 24 hours of an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, is a different requirement.
- Ignoring state rules. If you’re in a state with its own OSHA-approved plan, check that state’s requirements as well.
Prepare now
The strongest 300A submission comes from a clean 300 Log. Review your 2026 cases before year end, check classifications and day counts, confirm hours worked and employee numbers, and decide who will complete the submission.
| Join the webinar
Our webinar explains the submission rules, who files what and when, and how to get your 2026 records ready before the deadline. Register for “OSHA 300 Logs: Reporting & Recordkeeping Requirements for 2026”. |
Related reading: OSHA 300 vs 300A vs 301 • OSHA Recordkeeping Checklist.
This article is general information, not legal advice. OSHA updates its rules and industry lists from time to time, so confirm current requirements at osha.gov before you act.