What is a near miss?
A near miss is an event that could have hurt someone and did not, often by luck; OSHA also calls it a close call.
Also called close call
What it means.
OSHA's guide to incident investigation defines a close call as an incident that could have caused serious injury or illness but did not, also called a near miss. OSHA strongly encourages employers to investigate close calls as well as incidents where someone was hurt. That is encouragement, not a recording duty.
Near misses do not go on the OSHA 300 log. The general recording criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7 start from death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant diagnosed injury or illness, and a near miss has none of those. OSHA's recommended practices tell employers to let workers report near misses without fear of retaliation. Reports tend to stop when they are treated as discipline.
An incident that could have caused serious injury or illness but did not
Where it shows up on a job.
A load swings close to a worker during a lift, a forklift stops a foot from a pedestrian, a tool drops from height into an empty walkway. Written down the same day with what happened and where, a near miss shows where the next injury is likely to come from.
Where this comes from.
Each source was read on 22 October 2026. Guidance is advice; a regulation is the rule.
- Incident Investigation: A Guide for Employers (December 2015)Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA guidance, advisory. Close calls, and corrective actions as the end of an investigation.
- Incident InvestigationOccupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA guidance, advisory. Why OSHA says incident rather than accident, and close calls.
- OSHA 3885, Recommended Practices for Safety and Health ProgramsOccupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA guidance, advisory. What workers should be able to report, and how.
- 29 CFR 1904.7Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29. Regulation. Why a near miss is not a recordable case.
A plain-language definition, not legal advice. For a decision on your site, read the standard that applies to it.
Related terms
- incident
An incident is an unplanned event at work that hurt someone or could have: a fatality, an injury, an illness or a close call.
- safety observation
A safety observation is a note that someone saw a condition or a behavior, safe or unsafe, usually written before anyone is hurt.
- corrective action
A corrective action is the specific fix assigned after a hazard, near miss or incident, with a person responsible, a due date and a check that it was actually done.
- recordable injury or illness
A recordable injury or illness is a work-related case serious enough, under OSHA's recordkeeping tests, that it must be entered on the OSHA 300 log.
In PanoraIncident reports: One incident log for injuries, near misses, good catches and safety events, with photos.