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    Recordable Incident

    Definition

    A work-related injury or illness that meets the applicable recording criteria, including qualifying outcomes or diagnoses, and so enters the injury log.

    Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/recordable-incident

    Scope: Under US OSHA rules, first-aid treatment alone does not decide recordability: other criteria may still apply.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    How OSHA decides what must be recorded

    In the US, 29 CFR 1904.4 says an employer covered by the recordkeeping rules records every fatality, injury and illness that is work-related, is a new case, and satisfies at least one of the general recording criteria in 1904.7 or the criteria for specific cases in the sections that follow. Those specific cases are needlestick and sharps injuries, medical removal, hearing loss and tuberculosis; the wording of 1904.4 also mentions musculoskeletal disorders, but the rule has no current section 1904.12 setting criteria for them. Work-relatedness, new cases and the general criteria each have their own section, so a case is tested against three questions in turn.

    Under 1904.5, a case counts as work-related when an event or exposure at work caused or contributed to the condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing one, and work-relatedness is presumed for events in the work environment unless an exception applies. The exceptions include an employee who was there as a member of the public, symptoms that surface at work but come solely from a non-work event, injuries that result solely from voluntary participation in a wellness programme or a recreational activity, and a few others. Under 1904.7 the case must also meet one of six outcomes: a death, time away from work, restricted duties or a job transfer, treatment that goes beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant condition that a licensed health care professional has diagnosed.

    Medical treatment, in the rule's terms, means managing and caring for a patient in order to fight a disease or disorder, and it excludes visits made solely for observation or counselling, diagnostic procedures and first aid. First aid is a defined list, and a recommendation to take a non-prescription medication at prescription strength counts as medical treatment. Under 1904.29 the case goes on the OSHA 300 Log and the 301 incident report, or equivalent forms, within seven calendar days of the employer learning that it is recordable. Reporting duties such as the eight-hour fatality report are separate. This page is general information on the US rules, not legal advice, and other countries use their own reporting criteria.

    Sources opened :

    What a recordable-incident record holds in software

    • The event, date, place, person and body part or illness, with the narrative of what happened.
    • The work-relatedness decision, with the exception considered, if any, and who decided.
    • The new-case decision, including any earlier case of the same type that was checked.
    • The recording criterion met, such as days away, restricted work, care beyond first aid or loss of consciousness.
    • Treatment details that separate first aid from medical treatment, and the clinician's recommendations.
    • The date the employer learned the case was recordable and the date it was entered.
    • The privacy flag where a case qualifies, with the confidential list of names kept separately.
    • Later changes in classification, with the reason and the date.

    Recordable, reportable and first aid

    Recordable means the case enters the injury and illness log. Reportable describes a duty to notify an authority, and under the US rules the eight-hour fatality report is separate from recording. First aid has a defined list, so a case treated only with first aid is not recordable on that ground, though other criteria such as days away or loss of consciousness can still make it so. The word incident in everyday safety use also covers events that harm nobody, which this term does not.

    A hypothetical example: four events in one week

    The four events below are invented and describe no real person or site. A worker cuts a finger and the cut is cleaned and bandaged on site. That is first aid, so the case does not meet the medical-treatment criterion, and the reviewer notes that no other criterion applies. A second worker strains a back at work, and a physician advises a non-prescription pain medication at prescription strength. That is medical treatment, so the case is recordable. A third worker turns an ankle in a voluntary after-work exercise class. The reviewer records the decision that this is not work-related because the injury results solely from voluntary participation in a recreational activity.

    The fourth worker slips on a wet floor and is off for three days on a physician's advice. Counting starts the day after the injury, and the case is entered with the number of calendar days. For each case the record shows the work-relatedness check, the new-case check, the criterion met or the reason none was, who decided and the date. The two recordable cases are on the log within seven calendar days of the employer learning they qualified.

    Common misunderstandings about recordable incidents

    • Recordable is not the same as serious. The criteria set thresholds such as days away or treatment beyond first aid, so a case that crosses one is recorded whether or not anyone would call it serious.
    • Treatment with first aid does not settle the matter by itself. A case treated with first aid can still be recordable if another criterion, such as days away, applies.
    • An injury at work is not automatically work-related for recording. The exceptions in 1904.5 take some cases out, and the employer has to consider them.
    • A first decision is not always final. A case with days away is entered with an estimated count that is updated when the actual number is known, so the record has to allow revision.
    • A rule on recording is not a rule on reporting. The recordkeeping rules and the duty to notify the authority after a fatality are separate provisions.

    How recordable incidents relate to other glossary terms

    The log of recordable cases feeds the rates and the reviews built on them.

    • TRIR: the rate that counts every recordable case over hours worked.
    • DART rate: the subset with days away, restricted work or transfer.
    • Incident investigation: looks at why an event happened, whether or not it is recordable.
    • Serious injury or fatality: a severity view that the recordable count does not give.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for recordable incidents

    • The OSHA 300 Log, the 301 incident reports or equivalent forms.
    • Clinical or treatment records that separate first aid from medical treatment.
    • The reasoning for borderline classifications, with date and decision-maker.
    • The confidential privacy-case list, where one exists.
    • The annual summary and its certification.
    • Retention arrangements that follow the period the rule sets for these records.

    What a software tool needs to capture for recordable incidents

    • A guided decision on work-relatedness, new case and recording criterion, with the answers stored.
    • A treatment field that distinguishes first aid from medical treatment.
    • A clock for the seven-calendar-day entry from the date the employer learned of the case.
    • Privacy handling for qualifying cases and role-based access to names.
    • Reclassification with history, so a changed outcome keeps the earlier entry visible.
    • Output of the log, the incident report and the annual summary in the required layout.
    • Retention settings that follow the period the rule sets.

    Catalog profiles documenting incident recording and reporting

    A profile recording incident handling does not show that it applies the US criteria. Test how work-relatedness and first aid are decided.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Incident Management” or “Incident Reporting”, with a sourced incident reporting or management capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 56 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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    Frequently asked questions

    Is every injury at work recordable?

    No. Under OSHA's rules a case must be work-related, new and meet a recording criterion such as days away or medical treatment beyond first aid. Defined exceptions also take some cases out of work-relatedness.

    How soon must a recordable case be entered on the log?

    OSHA's forms rule gives seven calendar days from the point the employer learns that a case is recordable. Fatality and other reports to OSHA follow separate provisions.

    Do these criteria apply outside the United States?

    No. They are US rules. Other countries set their own reporting criteria, so confirm which regime applies before using the term in a contract or a report.

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