OSHA 300A Posting Deadline 2026: the full compliance calendar.
Form 300A must be certified by January 31, posted from February 1 through April 30, and electronically submitted through OSHA's ITA by March 2, 2026. Miss any one of those and the citations stack fast. This is the complete calendar for covered employers, including the expanded 100+ high-hazard rule that now requires full 300 and 301 submission.
Automate Your OSHA CalendarFeb 1
posting begins annually
Mar 2
e-submission deadline
Apr 30
posting must remain up through
5 years
record retention requirement
- OSHA 300A Summary must be posted in the workplace from February 1 through April 30 each year.
- Employers with 250+ employees - and many in high-hazard industries with 20–249 - must also electronically submit via the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) by March 2.
- Posting a blank 300A is still required even if you had zero recordable injuries.
- Common mistakes include missing the ITA deadline, posting only digitally, and under-counting part-time employees in the average employee count.
- ExpiryEdge automates the annual timeline - reminders, document storage, and audit history - so the deadline never surprises you.
The 2026 OSHA recordkeeping timeline
Every date you need for calendar year 2025 records - and what has to happen on it.
Finalise your 2025 records
Complete your OSHA 300 log of work-related injuries and illnesses for calendar year 2025. Reconcile with HR and workers' comp records. Complete any outstanding OSHA 301 incident reports. Every recordable incident must be in the log before you compute the 300A summary.
Calculate and certify Form 300A
Form 300A is the annual summary of the 300 log. It aggregates totals by case type (death, days away, restricted/transferred, other recordable) and body part. A company executive - owner, officer, highest-ranking on-site manager, or their immediate supervisor - must certify the form is true, correct, and complete. Not HR. Not the safety coordinator. An officer.
Post Form 300A
Post the signed Form 300A in a conspicuous location where employee notices are customarily posted - break room, time clock, common entry. Must be visible throughout the posting period. One location per physical establishment with 11+ employees.
Electronically submit via ITA
Establishments with 250+ employees in any industry, and establishments with 100+ employees in designated high-hazard industries (construction, manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, transportation, retail), must electronically submit 300A data via OSHA's Injury Tracking Application (ITA). For calendar year 2025 data, the 2026 deadline is March 2.
E-submit 300 and 301 for designated high-hazard
Establishments with 100+ employees in designated high-hazard industries must also electronically submit the full 300 log and all 301 incident reports (with personal identifiers redacted per rule). This is the expanded electronic submission rule effective since 2024.
Keep Form 300A posted
The posting must remain up for three months - through April 30. Do not remove it earlier, even if the year's 300 log is finalised and submitted.
Remove and retain
Remove the posted 300A. Retain all records (300 log, 301 forms, 300A summary) for five years from the end of the calendar year they cover. So 2025 records must be retained through end of calendar year 2030.
Who must post and who must e-submit
The rules are tiered by employee count and industry. Identify which tier applies to each establishment you operate.
Must keep 300 log + 300A summary
Any employer with 11+ employees at any time during the year, unless in a partially-exempt low-hazard industry (select retail, finance, insurance, real estate, some service industries - see 29 CFR 1904 Appendix A).
Must electronically submit 300A
Establishments with 250+ employees in any covered industry, plus establishments with 20-249 employees in designated high-hazard industries.
Must electronically submit 300 + 301 + 300A
Establishments with 100+ employees in designated high-hazard industries (construction, manufacturing of various kinds, healthcare, utilities, transportation, warehousing, retail). This rule took effect in 2024 and continues for the 2026 filing.
Exempt establishments
Employers with 10 or fewer employees year-round, and certain partially-exempt low-hazard industries (see Appendix A to Subpart B). Exempt employers still must report fatalities and severe injuries directly under 1904.39.
This is a general compliance summary. State-plan states may impose different or additional requirements; confirm with your state agency.
Six mistakes that turn into citations
These are the recordkeeping failures OSHA finds most often in inspections and recordkeeping reviews. None are intentional. All are preventable.
Posting an unsigned 300A - the executive certification is part of the form; unsigned is non-compliant.
Counting "first aid only" cases as recordable - non-recordable if first aid only and no other recordable criteria met.
Taking down the posting before April 30 - entire three-month window is required.
Forgetting the electronic submission - a posted 300A is not a substitute for the ITA filing.
Missing the expanded 100+ high-hazard rule - many construction and manufacturing firms under 250 employees still must submit the full 300 and 301.
Failing to retain 301 incident reports for 5 years - the retention requirement applies to each form, not just the 300A summary.
How to automate the annual OSHA cycle
The deadlines repeat every year. A compliance tracker should capture them once and run them forever.
Yearly cycle reminders
Lock the deadlines into a recurring annual compliance calendar that renews automatically every year. Jan 31 certification, Feb 1 posting, Mar 2 e-submission, Apr 30 posting end, record retention through end-of-year plus 5.
Multi-establishment visibility
If you operate multiple establishments, each with its own 300 log and 300A posting, a tracker shows posting status per location. One dashboard, many sites.
Record retention reminders
In 2030, the 2025 records can be retired - but not before. A tracker marks the retention window on each annual record set so nothing is disposed of prematurely or kept indefinitely.
Who certifies reminders
The executive signatory for 300A is a small group of people. A tracker prompts the right person each year instead of waiting for HR to find them in January.
Adjacent deadlines in the same calendar
OSHA 300A is one of several annual EHS deadlines - EPA TRI (July 1), SARA Tier II (March 1), ACA 1094/1095 (January 31), EEO-1 (typically early summer). One tracker per organisation beats five per role.
Frequently asked questions
What EHS and HR leaders ask us about OSHA 300A every January.
What is OSHA Form 300A?
Form 300A is the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. It is the annual summary version of the OSHA 300 log - aggregating totals by case type and body part for a calendar year. Covered employers must post Form 300A from February 1 through April 30 of the following year in a location visible to employees, and many covered establishments must also submit the data electronically through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application.
What are the exact 2026 deadlines?
Form 300A must be signed and certified by January 31, 2026. The signed 300A must be posted beginning February 1, 2026, and remain posted through April 30, 2026. Covered establishments must electronically submit calendar year 2025 data through OSHA's ITA by March 2, 2026.
Who must electronically submit?
Establishments with 250+ employees in any covered industry must e-submit Form 300A. Establishments with 20-249 employees in designated high-hazard industries must also e-submit 300A. Establishments with 100+ employees in designated high-hazard industries must e-submit the full 300 log, every 301 incident report, and 300A.
What happens if we miss the deadline?
Failure to post can lead to citation at up to $16,550 per violation (2026 Other-Than-Serious maximum, subject to annual adjustment). Failure to submit electronically, or submitting incomplete data, is a separate potential violation. OSHA also treats willful or repeated recordkeeping failures more seriously, including increased penalties.
Do partially-exempt industries still need Form 300A?
Establishments in partially-exempt low-hazard industries (per 29 CFR 1904 Appendix A) are not required to maintain the 300 log or post the 300A unless specifically asked by OSHA, BLS, or a state agency. They still must report severe injuries and fatalities to OSHA per 1904.39.
What about multiple establishments under one company?
OSHA recordkeeping applies per establishment, not per company. If you have 6 establishments, each with its own workforce, you keep 6 separate 300 logs and 6 separate 300A summaries. Each gets posted at its own establishment. Electronic submission applies per establishment too.
Related guides
More guides to help you pick the right compliance tool.
Sources & further reading
Authoritative references consulted for this article.
- OSHA - Recordkeeping Requirements (29 CFR 1904) - Official authoritative reference for 300, 300A, and 301 forms.
- OSHA - Injury Tracking Application (ITA) - Federal electronic submission portal with current requirements, industry list, and NAICS thresholds.
- OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301 (PDF) - Current versions of the official recordkeeping forms.
- OSHA - Recordkeeping Tutorial - Step-by-step federal guidance on filling out each form.
- BLS - Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities Program - US Bureau of Labor Statistics data on workplace injuries and illnesses.
- 29 CFR 1904.41 - Electronic Submission Rule - Federal regulation governing who must submit 300A data electronically.
OSHA 300A is an annual deadline. Treat it like one.
ExpiryEdge tracks your OSHA 300A cycle per establishment with posting and e-submission reminders - and the other annual EHS deadlines that hit the same calendar.
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