LOCAL RULES: MINN. STAT. 176.231

Minnesota incident report requirements

Your Minnesota incident report has 5 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • A death or serious injury reported to DLI and the insurer within 48 hours
  • First Report of Injury to the insurer within 10 days if off work more than 3 days
  • The employee given a copy of the report and the Employee Information Sheet
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Minnesota layers its workers' compensation reporting deadlines on top of the federal OSHA recordkeeping rules its state plan follows, and many employers must also have a written plan for investigating accidents. Here is each Minnesota rule with a link to the official statute, and what a Minnesota incident report should record.

Last reviewed October 13, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Incident reportMINNESOTA / SAMPLE

Sample notes, 140 words

Company: Northgate Fabrication
Site: 1840 Industrial Pkwy, shipping dock 2
Date: 10/08/2026, about 2:15pm
Injured: Luis Romero, material handler, warehouse crew
Supervisor: Tom Reilly
...
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5 Minnesota rules on your checklist, including a death or serious injury reported to DLI and the insurer within 48 hours.

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Company or organizationNorthgate Fabrication
Site address or location1840 Industrial Pkwy, shipping dock 2
Date of the incidentOct 8, 2026
Employee or person involved (full name)Luis Romero, material handler, warehouse crew
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What Minnesota requires

  • When an employee dies or is seriously injured at work, the employer reports it to the commissioner of labor and industry and the insurer within 48 hours; the first report to the commissioner may be by telephone or in person, followed by a report to the insurer within seven days. Reporting a fatality to MNOSHA within 8 hours, or an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours, satisfies the 48-hour reportMinn. Stat. 176.231, subd. 1 (a), (d), subd. 2 (a) (2025)
  • Any other work injury that wholly or partly keeps the employee from working for more than three calendar days is reported to the insurer on the commissioner's form (the First Report of Injury) within ten days of the injuryMinn. Stat. 176.231, subd. 1 (a)
  • Each report of injury includes the date of injury and goes in the commissioner's format, with one copy to the insurer and one to the employee; the employer gives the employee the "Minnesota Workers' Compensation System Employee Information Sheet" with the copy of the first report of injuryMinn. Stat. 176.231, subd. 2 (a)
  • If an injury already reported later results in death, the employer reports the death to the commissioner and the insurer within 48 hours after learning of it; the insurer or self-insured employer reports the injury to the commissioner within 14 daysMinn. Stat. 176.231, subd. 1 (b), (c)
  • Employers in the industries the commissioner lists keep a written workplace accident and injury reduction (AWAIR) program that describes, among other things, how workplace accidents will be investigated and corrective action implemented, and review it in writing at least once a yearMinn. Stat. 182.653, subds. 8, 9 (2025)

Reporting deadlines

A death or serious injury goes to the Department of Labor and Industry and the workers' compensation insurer within 48 hours; the first notice to the department may be a phone call, and the insurer gets its report within seven days. A report to MNOSHA within the OSHA deadlines (8 hours for a fatality, 24 hours for an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye) also meets the 48-hour rule.

Any other injury that keeps the employee off work, fully or partly, for more than three calendar days goes to the insurer on the First Report of Injury within ten days. The employee gets a copy along with the Employee Information Sheet. If a reported injury later proves fatal, that death is reported within 48 hours of learning of it.

Investigating accidents

Employers in the industries on the commissioner's list keep a written AWAIR program. It has to say how workplace accidents are investigated and how corrective action is carried out, and the employer reviews the program in writing every year. An incident report that names causes and corrective actions is the evidence that the program works.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting for the 10-day deadline on a serious injury that needed a 48-hour report.
  • Not counting partial days off when deciding whether the three-day threshold is met.
  • Forgetting the Employee Information Sheet with the employee's copy.
  • An AWAIR program with no written accident investigation procedure.
  • Incident reports with no corrective action recorded.

Sources

Last reviewed October 13, 2026. Next review due January 13, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.