Free Incident Report Template
Pick the type of incident, then fill in when and where it happened, who was involved, what happened, the witnesses, the cause and what will be done about it. The report builds next to the form, ready to print for signatures, save as a PDF or copy into an email.
What an incident report includes
Type, date, time and place
Injury, near miss, property damage, vehicle, customer or visitor, or security. The date and time it happened, the date of the report, the site and the exact spot.
Who reported it and who was involved
The person reporting, their job and contact, the supervisor who was told, and everyone directly involved, with their role or company.
What happened, in order
A plain description, then the sequence: what was being done before, what went wrong, and what happened next. Facts, not opinions.
Injury or damage and immediate actions
What happened to people, equipment, vehicles or property, and what was done straight away: first aid, the area made safe, who was called.
Witnesses
Each witness's name, contact and what they saw, in their own words. Add as many as you need.
Root cause, actions and sign-off
Why it happened (with the 5 whys if you want them), corrective actions with an owner and a due date, and signature lines for the reporter and the supervisor.
How to write an incident report
First make the scene safe and get help: first aid, emergency services, the area closed off. The report comes after that, but on the same day, while people still remember the details and the scene has not been cleaned up.
Write what you saw and did, not what you think someone was thinking. Put events in order, note the time, and take witness statements one at a time, in their own words, before they compare stories. Photos and a quick sketch of the scene help more than long paragraphs.
Then ask why it happened until you reach something you can change: a wet ramp, a missing guard, a rushed schedule. Each corrective action gets an owner and a due date, and the report stays open until the actions are done.
Talk the incident through with the crew at the next toolbox talk. The safety meeting topics generator has talking points and a sign-in sheet.
Something needs repairing? Raise it with the work order template and quote the incident report number.
Incident report, accident report, near-miss report, OSHA Form 301
- Incident report
- Any unplanned event at work: injuries, near misses, damage, vehicle incidents, visitor falls and security events. The broadest of the four.
- Accident report
- An incident where someone was hurt or something was damaged. Many companies use the two names for the same form.
- Near-miss report
- An incident where no one was hurt and nothing was damaged, but could have been. Pick Near miss as the type on this template.
- OSHA Form 301
- The US Injury and Illness Incident Report for work injuries that must be recorded under OSHA's recordkeeping rule. Your own form can replace it only if it has all the same information.
Tips for incident reports that lead to a fix
Write it the same day
Details fade and the scene changes. A short report today is worth more than a perfect one next week.
Facts, not blame
"The ramp was wet from the roof drain" helps fix the problem. "He was careless" does not, and stops people reporting next time.
Report near misses too
A near miss is the same incident without the injury. Reporting it is the cheapest way to prevent the real one.
Close every action
An action with no owner or date rarely happens. Check open actions at the next safety meeting until each one is done.
More for site and safety records: the construction daily report, safety committee meeting minutes.
Say what happened while it is fresh.
Right after an incident you are busy making the area safe, and the details slip away. Dictate your own account into ParrotNotes on your phone on the spot: what you saw, in order, and who was there. Then paste the transcript and summary into this form. Free for 100 minutes of recording a month.
Get Started FreeRelated tools
- Safety Meeting Topics GeneratorPick a safety meeting or toolbox talk topic by trade and season, with talking points, crew questions, a sign-in sheet and a 52-week plan.Open the tool
- Work Order TemplateFill in a work order with the customer, job site, tasks, labor, parts and sign-off, then print it or save it as a PDF.Open the tool
- Service Report TemplateFill in a field service report with the job, work done, parts, time and sign-off, then print it or save it as a PDF for the customer.Open the tool
- Punch List TemplateMake a punch list for a walk-through with location, item, trade, priority and status on each line, to print, copy or export as CSV.Open the tool