LOCAL RULES: LABOR CODE 409

Texas incident report requirements

Your Texas incident report has 7 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • The first report to the carrier by the 8th day after more than one day's absence
  • A copy of the report and the rights notice to the employee
  • The dates the report went to the carrier and the copy went to the employee
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Texas employers follow federal OSHA recordkeeping and add the state workers' compensation rules: an injury record kept five years, a first report of injury to the insurance carrier by the eighth day, and a copy plus the rights notice to the employee. Here is each Texas rule with a link to the Labor Code and the Division of Workers' Compensation rules, and what a Texas incident report should record.

Last reviewed October 15, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Incident reportTEXAS / 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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7 Texas rules on your checklist, including the injury record: cause, body part, equipment, supervisor, witnesses and treating provider.

Still to add

  • NeededType of incident
  • NeededCompleted by
  • RecommendedNotes for damage to property, equipment or the environment

Filled in for you

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 Texas requires

  • Every employer keeps a record of all injuries and fatal injuries to employees as reported or otherwise made known, including the employee's name, address, date of birth, sex, wage, length of service and occupation, the reported cause and nature of the injury, the body part affected and any equipment involved, the date, time and location, the immediate supervisor, any witnesses, the treating health care provider if known, and any voluntary benefits paid28 TAC 120.1 (a) · Texas Labor Code 409.006
  • The injury record is kept until five years from the last day of the year the injury occurred, or the period OSHA requires, whichever is longer, and is open to the Division's inspection on at least five working days' notice; failing to keep or show it can bring an administrative penalty of up to 500 dollars28 TAC 120.1 (b) to (d)
  • The employer reports to its insurance carrier each death, each occupational disease it has notice or knowledge of, and each injury causing more than one day's absence from work, no later than the eighth day after the absence passes one day or after it learns of the disease or death; the report carries the injury record's informationTexas Labor Code 409.005 (a), (b) · 28 TAC 120.2 (a) to (c) (amended eff. 2025-03-26)
  • When it reports to the carrier, the employer gives the injured employee a written copy of the report and a written copy of the Notice of Injured Employee Rights and Responsibilities, in English and Spanish or English and another language common to the employee, by personal delivery, mail, electronic submission or fax28 TAC 120.2 (d) · Texas Labor Code 409.005 (c), (g)
  • The employer keeps a record of the date the copy of the report and the Notice of Rights and Responsibilities were given to the employee, and the date the report was filed with the carrier; if the carrier never received it, the employer must prove it was filed on time28 TAC 120.2 (f), (g)
  • An employer without workers' compensation coverage files a report with the Division of each on-the-job injury that keeps an employee off work more than one day and each occupational disease it knows ofTexas Labor Code 411.032
  • The employee, or someone acting for them, notifies the employer (or a supervisor or manager) of an injury within 30 days after it occurs, or for an occupational disease within 30 days after learning it may be work-relatedTexas Labor Code 409.001
  • The injury report is not an admission or evidence against the employer or carrier where the facts are contradicted, and the injury record is not an admission that the injury occurred or that its facts are true; the carrier files the report with the Division within seven days of receiving itTexas Labor Code 409.005 (d), (f), 409.006 (d)
  • On written request of the employee, a doctor, the carrier or the Division, the employer says whether modified duty or a return-to-work program is available, and if so names its contact personTexas Labor Code 409.005 (j)

The employer's injury record

Keep a record of every injury an employee reports or you otherwise learn of: the employee's details, the reported cause and nature of the injury, the body part, any equipment involved, the date, time and place, the immediate supervisor, witnesses, the treating provider if known, and any voluntary benefits paid. Keep it five years from the end of the year of the injury, or longer if OSHA requires.

The first report to the carrier, by day 8

Report each death, occupational disease and injury that keeps the employee off work more than one day to your insurance carrier no later than the eighth day after the absence passes one day. The carrier files it with the Division within seven days. Employers without coverage report those injuries to the Division themselves.

The employee's copy and the rights notice

When you report, give the employee a copy of the report and the Notice of Injured Employee Rights and Responsibilities, in English and Spanish or another language common to them. Keep a record of the dates the copy and notice were given and the report was filed, because if the carrier never got it, you have to prove it went in on time.

Employee notice and modified duty

Employees have 30 days to tell the employer or a supervisor about an injury. When the employee, a doctor, the carrier or the Division asks in writing, say whether modified duty or a return-to-work program exists and who to contact.

From field notes to a finished Texas report

Note what happened, the body part, any equipment, the supervisor and witnesses, the treating provider, and the days missed. ReportDraft writes the incident up with the details the injury record needs and keeps fields for when the carrier report was filed and when the employee got the copy and rights notice.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting for a claim before reporting an injury with more than a day off.
  • Not giving the employee a copy of the report and the rights notice.
  • No record of when the report went to the carrier.
  • Leaving the treating provider and any equipment involved off the record.
  • Throwing out injury records before five years have passed.

Sources

Last reviewed October 15, 2026. Next review due January 15, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.