This page is the overview. If something has just happened, go straight to the RIDDOR checker, which works through the questions in order.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1471). They apply in Great Britain and replaced the 1995 regulations of the same name. The reports go to the enforcing authority, which for most workplaces is HSE or the local authority, and they feed HSE's official injury statistics. Northern Ireland has its own regulations, and incidents there are reported to HSE Northern Ireland.
RIDDOR is a reporting law. It does not tell you how to prevent an incident or how to investigate one. Those duties sit elsewhere, mainly in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Six kinds of event, if they arise out of or in connection with work:
There are separate reports for certain flammable gas incidents and dangerous gas fittings, which mainly concern gas suppliers and Gas Safe registered engineers.
RIDDOR captures the events whose severity made them obvious. Almost everything before them is left to the site to notice.
The responsible person. HSE's guidance sets it out by role:
Injured employees and members of the public do not report under RIDDOR. HSE asks them to tell their employer, and to raise a concern with HSE if they think a report has not been made.
Online, using the forms at hse.gov.uk/riddor: report of an injury, of a dangerous occurrence, of a case of disease, and the two gas forms. You can download a copy when you submit.
For fatal accidents and specified injuries to workers only, you can also phone HSE's Incident Contact Centre on 0345 300 9923. HSE notes that it is not an emergency service.
Offshore incidents go through the offshore regulator's own form, and incidents at nuclear sites to the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
| Event | Notify | Written report |
|---|---|---|
| Death | without delay | within 10 days |
| Specified injury to a worker | without delay | within 10 days |
| Non-worker taken to hospital for treatment | without delay | within 10 days |
| Dangerous occurrence | without delay | within 10 days |
| Over-seven-day incapacitation | — | within 15 days of the accident |
| Over-three-day incapacitation | — | record only, keep 3 years |
| Occupational disease (listed) | — | without delay on written diagnosis |
RIDDOR 2013, regulations 4–9 and 12, Schedule 1.
The report does not wait for your investigation. You report what you know, and the investigation follows.
Usually not. A near miss where nobody is hurt is reportable only if it is one of the dangerous occurrences in Schedule 2, such as the overturning or failure of lifting equipment, contact with overhead power lines, or an unintended collapse of a structure or load.
That leaves most near misses outside the regulations entirely, which is exactly why they are worth recording internally. A near-miss log that captures where and when is the simplest way to start.
A record of every reportable injury, over-seven-day injury, disease and dangerous occurrence, plus over-three-day injuries, kept for at least three years. A saved copy of the online report will do. If you do not keep one, HSE says the record must include the date and method of reporting; the date, time and place of the event; personal details of those involved; and a brief description. Employers who keep an accident book can use it for injuries, but diseases need a separate record.
RIDDOR is made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and failing to comply with health and safety regulations is an offence under section 33 of that Act.
The reports are also what HSE's national injury statistics are built from, so each one adds to the picture the whole profession works from.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. The current version is RIDDOR 2013 (SI 2013/1471), which applies in Great Britain and replaced the 1995 regulations.
Work-related deaths; specified injuries to workers such as most fractures, amputations, serious burns and crush injuries; injuries that keep a worker off normal duties for more than seven consecutive days; and injuries to non-workers who are taken directly to hospital for treatment.
Deaths, specified injuries, non-workers taken to hospital and dangerous occurrences must be notified without delay and reported within 10 days. Over-seven-day injuries must be reported within 15 days of the accident. Listed occupational diseases are reported once a doctor's written diagnosis is received.
Yes. The seven days do not include the day of the accident, but they do include weekends and rest days. A worker who cannot do their normal duties, including one placed on light duties, counts as incapacitated.
No. Only the responsible person, such as the employer, the person in control of the premises or a self-employed person, should report. HSE asks injured employees to tell their employer, and to raise a concern with HSE if they believe a required report has not been made.
No. HSE says information in a RIDDOR report is not passed on to your insurance company. If your insurer needs to know about an incident, you have to tell them separately.
RIDDOR tells you which events to report. Which events on your site happen before them, and does anyone see those? Safety Mapping: a free two-week trial on one camera.
By Hao Zheng, CEO at RoboK · Published 31 October 2026 · Last updated 31 October 2026