Accident Book Rules: Who Needs One and How Long to Keep It

If you normally have 10 or more people at work at the same time on or about the same premises, the law requires you to keep an accident book where injuries can be recorded, and to keep each entry for at least three years. Factories, mines and quarries need one whatever their size. The book can be paper or electronic. It is a separate duty from reporting serious incidents to HSE under RIDDOR, and smaller employers who are not covered by it still have RIDDOR records to keep.

The rule surprises people because it does not come from health and safety law at all. It sits in the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, regulation 25, because an accurate record of a workplace injury can matter later if the injured person claims a social security benefit for it.

What the law actually says

Regulation 25 requires employers in scope to:

• keep readily accessible a means of recording accidents, "whether in a book or books or by electronic means"
• let the injured employee, or someone acting on their behalf, record the details of any accident causing them personal injury
• preserve every record for at least three years from the date of the entry

It also requires employers to look into the circumstances of accidents that employees report to them and to record any discrepancies they find.

HSE's own guidance puts it simply: if you have more than 10 employees you must keep an accident book, and you can buy one from HSE or record the details in your own system.

Accident book, RIDDOR record or near miss log?

These three get mixed up more than anything else in workplace safety paperwork.

The accident book

• Legal source: social security law (the 1979 regulations)
• Who must keep it: employers with 10 or more people normally at work at the same time on or about the same premises, plus factories, mines and quarries
• What goes in: any accident causing personal injury to an employee
• Keep for: at least three years

RIDDOR records

• Legal source: RIDDOR 2013, regulation 12
• Who must keep them: every employer and self-employed person who has a reportable incident or an over-three-day injury
• What goes in: reportable incidents, plus injuries that keep a worker off normal duties for more than three days
• Keep for: at least three years

A near miss log

• Legal source: none; it is good practice
• Who keeps it: anyone who wants to prevent the next accident
• What goes in: events that could have caused harm but did not
• Keep for: as long as it is useful

A minor cut treated with a plaster goes in the accident book. A broken arm goes in the accident book and is reported to HSE as a specified injury. A pallet that falls where someone was standing a minute earlier goes in the near miss log. Our RIDDOR guide sets out exactly which incidents are reportable and by when.

What to record for each accident

The aim is a factual record someone could understand three years later. Capture:

1. Date and time of the accident
2. Exact location, specific enough to find again ("warehouse aisle 3, by the roller door", not "warehouse")
3. The injured person's full name and occupation, or their status if they are not an employee (visitor, customer, contractor)
4. The injury and the part of the body affected
5. What happened, in order, sticking to facts rather than blame
6. First aid given and by whom, and what happened next (back to work, went home, went to hospital)
7. Who recorded it and when

If the incident needs reporting under RIDDOR, add the date you reported it and the reference HSE gives you. Our free accident report form asks for all of this, checks whether the incident is reportable, and produces a record you can print, save as a PDF or download as a Word document. Nothing you type is sent to us.

Keep personal details private

Accident records contain names, contact details and health information, which is personal data and, for the injury details, health data under data protection law. HSE's guidance is to store records confidentially in a secure place. In practice that means:

• not leaving a shared book open where anyone can read earlier entries
• limiting who can see completed records, typically the manager responsible for health and safety and HR
• deleting or destroying records securely once they are no longer needed, and not before three years

A simple approach that works for most small sites: keep blank forms by the first aid kit, collect completed forms into a locked file or a restricted folder, and keep the book itself free of other people's details.

Use it, not just keep it

An accident book that is filled in and never read only does half its job. Ten minutes a month looking for patterns often finds the same trip hazard, the same task or the same time of day behind several entries. That is the evidence that should feed your risk assessment and your first aid needs assessment.

It also tells you whether your first aid cover is right. If entries show injuries going untreated on late shifts, or first aid given by someone whose certificate has lapsed, that is a gap to close.

A note on what is coming: in spring 2026 HSE consulted on updating RIDDOR, including the reporting form. Until any change is made, the current rules apply, and the accident book rule is unaffected either way.

Make sure someone is there to treat the injury

Recording an accident properly starts with someone competent dealing with it. We train teams on site in Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work for up to 12 staff, all-inclusive, across London and England.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Request a free quote and we will confirm within 24 hours.