LOCAL RULES

Wisconsin incident report requirements

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

  • A record of every accident causing disability: time, causes, nature and extent
  • A work death: the Department and the carrier within one day
  • Disability past the 3rd day or unpaid medical bills: the carrier within 7 days
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Wisconsin employers follow federal OSHA recordkeeping and add the Worker's Compensation Act's record (Wis. Stat. 102.37) and the Department's reporting rule (DWD 80.02): a death reported within one day, and the insurance carrier told within 7 days once disability passes the 3rd day. Here is each Wisconsin rule with a link to the Statutes and the Administrative Code, and what a Wisconsin incident report should record.

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

Incident reportWISCONSIN / 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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We sorted 5 items into 4 sections and flagged 1 to fix first.

5 Wisconsin rules on your checklist, including a record of every accident causing disability: time, causes, nature and extent.

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 Wisconsin requires

  • Every employer under the Act keeps a record of all accidents causing death or disability of an employee in the course of employment, giving the employee's name, address, age and wages, the time and causes of the accident, and the nature and extent of the injuryWis. Stat. 102.37
  • An employer reports the death of an employee from a compensable injury to the Department and to its insurance carrier within one day, by telephone, letter, fax or another means the Department authorizesWis. Admin. Code DWD 80.02 (1)
  • An insured employer notifies its insurance carrier of a compensable injury within 7 days after the accident when disability continues beyond the 3rd day after the employee leaves work (counting Sunday only if the employee usually works Sundays), or when the carrier is primarily liable for unpaid medical treatmentWis. Admin. Code DWD 80.02 (1) (a), (b)
  • The insurer or self-insured employer files the first report of injury (form WKC-12) with the Department by the 14th day after the accident, or within 7 days of hearing of it if the employer told the carrier late, followed by the supplementary report (WKC-13) by the 30th dayWis. Admin. Code DWD 80.02 (2) (a), (b)
  • Reports furnished to the Department under the record and payment sections are not admissible as evidence in any action or proceeding arising out of the death or accident reportedWis. Stat. 102.40
  • A claim needs actual notice to the employer, an officer, a manager or a designated representative within 30 days after the injury (or after the employee knew or ought to have known it was work-related); if no representative is designated by posters where notices are customarily posted, notice to any superior is enoughWis. Stat. 102.12

The employer's accident record

Keep a record of every accident that causes an employee's death or disability: the employee's name, address, age and wages, the time and causes of the accident, and the nature and extent of the injury. Reports based on it are not admissible as evidence in proceedings over the accident.

Who to tell, and when

Report a work-related death to the Department and your carrier within one day. For other injuries, an insured employer tells its carrier within 7 days of the accident when the disability lasts beyond the 3rd day after the employee leaves work (counting Sunday only if they usually work Sundays) or when the carrier owes unpaid medical bills.

The carrier, or a self-insured employer, then files the first report of injury (WKC-12) by the 14th day and the supplementary report (WKC-13) by the 30th.

The employee's 30-day notice

Employees give actual notice within 30 days to the employer, an officer, a manager or a designated representative. If you have not posted who that representative is, notice to any superior counts.

From field notes to a finished Wisconsin report

Note the time and causes of the accident, the nature and extent of the injury, and every day of disability. ReportDraft writes the incident up with those details and keeps fields for the disability days and the carrier notice.

Common mistakes

  • Counting a Sunday the employee never works toward the 3 days.
  • Waiting more than a day to report a work-related death.
  • Not telling the carrier when only medical bills are owed.
  • Leaving the causes or the extent of the injury out of the record.
  • No posted designated representative for injury notices.

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.