Software-generated OSHA injury recordkeeping forms

April 29, 2025

Lauren Mink, CEM

Veoci, Inc.

[Recipient address omitted]

Dear Ms. Mink:

Thank you for your letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding the recordkeeping regulation contained in 29 CFR Part 1904 – Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Specifically, you request clarification concerning the acceptability of documents generated by software to be used as a substitute for the OSHA recordkeeping forms.

In your letter, you state that your company is a provider of software solutions designed to streamline emergency management, continuity planning, and workplace safety operations for clients in various industries. You state that your solution allows users to track accidents, injuries and illnesses in real-time, and store that information digitally. You also state that the solution can generate documents that mirror the format and content of the OSHA Form 300 and Form 300A.

Question: Would OSHA accept the documents generated by our software as a substitute for the OSHA Form 300 and Form 300A to meet the requirements of OSHA's recordkeeping regulation at 29 CFR Part 1904?

Response: If the forms generated by your company's software meet the requirements for equivalent forms at 29 CFR 1904.29 and 1904.32, then these forms could be used by employers to satisfy OSHA recordkeeping requirements for maintaining OSHA Form 300 and Form 300A. These requirements are further described below.

Section 1904.29(a) of OSHA's recordkeeping regulation directs employers who are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records to use three forms to record all recordable occupational injuries and illnesses: Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 3011, Injury and Illness Incident Report, or equivalent forms. Section 1904.29(b)(4) provides that an equivalent form is one that has the same information, is as readable and understandable, and is completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces. In addition, section 1904.29(b)(5) states that employers may keep their Part 1904 records on a computer system, provided the system can produce equivalent forms when they are needed to comply with the access to records requirements in section 1904.35, Employee involvement, and 1904.40, Providing records to government representatives.

Sections 1904.29(b)(4) and (b)(5) make clear that employers are permitted to record required injury and illness information on electronic media or on paper forms that are different from the OSHA forms, provided that the electronic record or paper forms are equivalent to the OSHA forms they replace. The provisions in sections 1904.29(b)(4) and (b)(5) ensure uniformity of the injury and illness data recorded and provide employers flexibility in meeting OSHA's recordkeeping requirements. See, the discussion in the preamble to OSHA's January 19, 2001, Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements final rule, published in the Federal Register at 66 FR 5916, 6023. Also, employers may maintain equivalent forms, in any file format (e.g. Excel, CSV) provided that the requirements in paragraph 1904.29(b)(4) are met. See, OSHA's Recordkeeping Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) 29-8.

All of the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping forms (OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301), including equivalent forms, must be available for inspection and copying by authorized government representatives as described in section 1904.40(b). The forms must also be provided to employees, former employees and their representatives in accordance with the access to records requirements in section 1904.35. Individuals with a right of access under the recordkeeping regulation have the option to request, and the employer must provide, copies of Part 1904 information in paper form. See, OSHA's July 27, 2018, letter of interpretation to Eric Weinberger. In addition, as noted above, section 1904.29(b)(5) allows the employer to keep records on computer equipment only if the computer system can produce paper copies of equivalent forms when access to them is needed by a government representative, an employee or former employee, or an employee representative, as required by section 1904.35 or 1904.40, respectively. Of course, if the individual requesting access to the information agrees to receive it by e-mail or through some other electronic format, it is acceptable under OSHA's recordkeeping regulation. See, 66 Federal Register at 6023.

Additionally, at the end of each calendar year, section 1904.32 requires employers to review their OSHA 300 log for completeness and accuracy and prepare an annual summary of the OSHA 300 log using the Form 300A, or an equivalent form. The summary must be certified for accuracy and completeness by a company executive and posted in the workplace by February 1 of the year following the year covered by the summary. The summary must remain posted until April 30 of the year in which it was posted.

Again, an equivalent form may be used as a substitute for the Form 300A, provided the alternate form meets the requirements in section 1904.29(b)(4). An equivalent form used as a substitute for the Form 300A must also be certified and physically posted annually in the workplace as required by section 1904.32. See, OSHA FAQ 32-4. Section 1904.32(b)(2)(iii) goes on to provide that if an equivalent form is used as a substitute for the Form 300A, the alternate form must include the employee access to records and employer penalty statements found on the OSHA Form 300A annual summary. Additional information about OSHA's recordkeeping regulation can be found on OSHA's website at https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping.

Furthermore, each year, certain establishments are required by section 1904.41 to electronically submit to OSHA information about the recordable injuries and illnesses entered on their recordkeeping forms. Please know that OSHA does not accept completed paper forms by mail or electronic forms by email to fulfill the data submission requirement in section 1904.41. Instead, covered establishments must electronically submit their recordkeeping data to OSHA through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA). Technical requirements for the annual electronic submission of Part 1904 data to the ITA are posted on our main ITA page at https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/.

Finally, please note that OSHA does not approve, endorse, recommend or certify any product or process. It has been OSHA's longstanding policy and practice not to endorse any commercial products, so OSHA will not certify software purporting to help employers meet OSHA recording and reporting requirements. Therefore, we are unable to evaluate your product or provide an endorsement.

We hope you find this information helpful. OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards, and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules.

Sincerely,

Lee Anne Jillings, Director

Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management

1 Your letter mentions that your software is designed to generate forms that mirror the OSHA Forms 300 and 300A, but covered employers would also need to maintain OSHA Forms 301 for all recordable workplace injuries and illnesses in order to be in compliance with OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation.