A 300A on a Desk on January 28
It is January 28, and an operations manager at a three-site distribution business has just finished the year's OSHA 300 Log for each site. One of the three sites had no recordable cases last year. She wonders whether that site still needs a posting, whether the summary goes in the break room or the front office, and how long it stays up. Her executive has not yet signed anything.
These are ordinary questions, and the rule answers them. The answers are short, but they depend on details that are easy to get wrong: the establishment, the dates, and who certifies. This article walks through the OSHA 300A posting requirements in 29 CFR 1904.32 so you can name the window, the location, the zero-case rule, and where California adds its own wording.
What the rule says about the posting window
Reference material with citations, not legal advice. You decide recordability and compensability, and you file.
The posting duty is stated in 29 CFR 1904.32. An employer must post the annual summary no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the records, and keep it posted until April 30. The employer posts it at each establishment, and the summary covers that establishment's records for the year (29 CFR 1904.32, checked 2026).
NC DOL reproduces the rule this way:
"You must post the summary no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the records" — NCDOL, reproducing 29 CFR 1904.32 (February 2026)
Here is how the dates fit together for the 2025 records:
| Item | Trigger | Unit | Recipient | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post the 300A | Records for calendar year 2025 | Calendar date: no later than February 1, 2026 | Employees, at each establishment | 29 CFR 1904.32, checked 2026 |
| Keep it posted | Posting date | Calendar date: through April 30, 2026 | Employees, at each establishment | 29 CFR 1904.32, checked 2026 |
The posting is a separate step from certification. The summary must be reviewed, and a company executive must certify it, before it goes up. For who qualifies, see OSHA 300A certification by a company executive.
Where it goes and what is posted
The rule treats the establishment as the unit. Each establishment that keeps a 300 Log has its own 300A. A multi-site employer therefore posts one summary per establishment, not one summary for the company. OSHA's separate-log rule is that an employer keeps a separate OSHA 300 Log for each establishment expected to operate for one year or longer (29 CFR 1904.30, checked 2026).
As a plain-language reading of 1904.32, the summary goes where employee notices are normally posted, so workers at that establishment can see it. Check the exact wording of the location requirement against the eCFR text, since this article paraphrases it rather than quoting it.
Two practical points follow from reading the rule:
- Post the 300A, not the 300 Log. The posted document is the annual summary. The log is a separate record with its own access rules, which are covered in OSHA 300 vs 300A vs 301.
- Post it at the establishment it covers. A summary for the Ohio warehouse belongs at the Ohio warehouse.
OSHA's blank forms are free, so you do not need software to produce the posted page. The work is in getting the totals right and the certification signed.
What you decide
The 300A totals come from the 300 Log, and the log depends on recordability decisions. The rule says which cases are recordable and cites its tests. You decide whether each case meets them, including work-relatedness and whether treatment went beyond first aid. ClaimsIntake does not make that decision, and it does not make the compensability decision either.
Before posting, the summary also needs the establishment's annual average number of employees and the total hours worked, which come from your payroll and timekeeping records. The employer also decides who signs. The certifier must be one of four persons: an owner (sole proprietorship or partnership only), an officer of the corporation, the highest-ranking company official working at the establishment, or that official's immediate supervisor (29 CFR 1904.32, checked 2026).
Years with no recorded injuries
A year with no recordable cases still has a 300A. The rule does not make the posting optional when the log is empty. Under 1904.32(b)(5)–(6), the employer completes the summary, certifies it, and posts it for the same February 1 to April 30 window. In a zero-case year the case-count lines show zero, and the establishment's employee and hours figures are still entered.
This matters for the search many readers run, "osha 300a no injuries". The short answer is that the posting duty follows the establishment and the calendar year, not the case count. Confirm the exact treatment of a zero-case summary against the eCFR text of 1904.32.
A related point is partial exemption. A company with 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year is partially exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records, though it must still report severe injuries and fatalities under 1904.39 (29 CFR 1904, checked 2026). Whether an establishment is partially exempt by industry is a separate question, and the list of exempt industries is in 1904.2. Check it with OSHA before assuming you are out.
California: what changes and what to confirm
California is a State Plan state, so Cal/OSHA enforces its own recordkeeping regulations. The search "osha 300a california posting" usually arises because Cal/OSHA's Title 8 recordkeeping rules sit in §14300 and following sections, and §14300.32 is the section on the annual summary.
In this article we do not restate California's posting text, because we cannot give you a verified quote of it here. Treat these as the points to confirm with Cal/OSHA directly:
- the exact posting window and location wording in Title 8 §14300.32;
- whether California requires its own form or accepts the federal Form 300A;
- how State Plan penalties apply to a missed posting, since State Plans set their own penalties.
California also runs separate injury-reporting duties, which are a different subject from the 300A. For the first-report clocks, including the DWC-1 and Cal/OSHA's serious-injury notice, see California employer injury reporting requirements.
Where posting sits with the rest of the annual cycle
The posting window overlaps with the electronic submission step. Covered establishments must submit their data through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application by March 2 of the year after the covered year. For calendar-year 2025 data, that date is March 2, 2026 (ITA user guide, checked 2026). Posting does not satisfy submission, and submission does not satisfy posting. The employer does both, and ClaimsIntake submits nothing to anyone. See the Injury Tracking Application for who must submit.
On enforcement, OSHA's penalty memo lists failure to meet posting requirements as an item with a maximum of up to $16,550 per violation, effective in the 2026 adjustment dated 2026-05-21. That is a federal OSHA figure. State Plans set their own penalties (OSHA 2026 annual adjustments).
Records matter after the posting comes down too. OSHA 300 Logs, 300A summaries and 301 Incident Reports must be kept for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover (29 CFR 1904.33, checked 2026). The employer remains responsible for that retention.
Where tools fit
Most employers handle the posting with a printed form and a calendar reminder. That works when one person owns the process and the dates are written down with their source. It is harder when several sites roll up to one owner, because the year-end totals, certification, posting and submission all land in the same few weeks.
The OSHA Annual Close-Out, 300A Hours Worksheet and Electronic Submission Workbook is built around those year-end outputs: the 300A totals that roll up from the log, the hours worksheet, and a check on which establishments are covered for electronic submission. You still decide recordability, your executive still certifies, and you still post and file. You can see it on the store page. A smaller single-state employer will usually find the store route the better fit than a subscription.
For the summary itself and how its lines are calculated, read the OSHA 300A annual summary.
Next steps before February 1
Confirm each establishment's recordability decisions are final, get the certifier named, and put February 1 and April 30 on the calendar for every site. For California sites, confirm the Title 8 §14300.32 text with Cal/OSHA. If the date has passed, check with OSHA on how to proceed rather than backdating anything.
Reference material with citations, not legal advice. You decide recordability and compensability, and you file.
