Incident report template
A free template to copy into Word, an email or your company form, followed by how to fill it in, a near miss version, and a worked oil and gas example. It works for any workplace: a site, a plant, a warehouse or an office.
INCIDENT REPORT Report number: Date and time of incident: (as recorded; write "approx." if estimated) Location: (site, unit, well or area) Reported by: (name, role, phone) Date and time of this report: TYPE OF EVENT [ ] Injury [ ] Near miss [ ] Spill or release [ ] Equipment damage [ ] Fire [ ] Vehicle [ ] Security [ ] Other: ____________ PEOPLE INVOLVED Name, role, company, and whether injured: WHAT HAPPENED Facts only, in the order they happened. Include times, quantities and readings exactly as observed. INJURIES, DAMAGE OR RELEASE What, how much (estimated or measured?), and where: IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TAKEN What was done, by whom, and when: NOTIFICATIONS Who was told (supervisor, client, regulator, emergency services), by whom, and when: CAUSE Confirmed: Suspected, not yet confirmed: WITNESSES Names and contact details: FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS Action / owner / due date: ATTACHMENTS Photos, permits, readings, statements: Signed: Date:
Rather fill it in inside ABCcount? This template, a near miss report, a daily field report, a demand letter, a client update letter and a medical referral letter are ready in New Project → Professional, with worked examples. Free with an account.
How to write an incident report
- 1
Write it the same day
Memory fades fast and details blur together. Write while it is fresh, even in rough notes, and tidy it later.
- 2
Record times and figures exactly as observed
If the time was "around 1100", write "around 1100", not "1100". If a volume is estimated, say so. A precise-looking number nobody measured is a claim someone can check against the logs.
- 3
Keep facts and opinions apart
What you saw goes under What happened. What you think caused it goes under Cause, marked confirmed or suspected. Mixing the two is how a guess ends up recorded as a finding.
- 4
Say what you do not know
"Volume unknown" and "source not yet confirmed" are useful facts. Leaving them out makes the report look surer than the people who wrote it were.
- 5
Describe, do not blame
Write what each person did, not what they should have done. Blame language makes people stop reporting, and the next near miss goes unrecorded.
- 6
List every notification with a time
Who was told, by whom, and when. Regulators and clients often ask for this first.
- 7
Re-read it against your notes before you send it
Especially if anyone, or any tool, has rewritten it. Check every time, figure and "suspected" is still exactly what it was.
Example: an oil and gas incident report
Most reports start as a few lines written at the end of a shift. Here is one, and the same facts set out in the template.
The crew's note
Crew reported a sheen on the water near the platform leg around 1100 hrs. Volume unknown, appears minor. Possibly from the transfer hose but we have not confirmed. Notified USCG at 1215.
In the report
WHAT HAPPENED Around 1100 hrs, the crew reported a sheen on the water near the platform leg. The volume is unknown, and it appears to be minor. CAUSE Suspected, not yet confirmed: it may have originated from the transfer hose. This has not been confirmed. NOTIFICATIONS The USCG was notified at 1215.
Every fact survives: the time is still “around” 1100, the volume is still unknown, and the hose is still a suspicion, not a cause.
The mistake that makes a report unreliable
Asked to make the same note “clearer and more concise”, a general-purpose AI assistant returned this (run on 30 September 2026, copied exactly):
At 1100 hrs, the crew spotted a minor, unconfirmed sheen near the platform leg, possibly from the transfer hose. The USCG was notified at 1215.
It reads better, and it now reports three things the crew never said:
- An exact time. “Around 1100” became “at 1100”, a time nobody took.
- A size. “Volume unknown, appears minor” became “minor”. If it turns out larger, your own report already called it minor.
- A different doubt. The crew saw the sheen; what they could not confirm was its source. The rewrite made the sheen “unconfirmed” instead.
Tidy a report without changing its facts
ABCcount's Energy mode turns rough field notes into a clean report and then checks the result against what you wrote: times, figures, units, “approx” and “suspected” come back exactly as they went in, and field abbreviations keep their meaning. Try it free: 7 days of Pro for one person, or a 14-day pilot for your whole crew. No card.
Near miss report template
A near miss is something that nearly caused harm but did not: a dropped object that landed clear, a valve found in the wrong position before start-up. Reporting them is how the cause gets fixed before it hurts someone. Keep the form short, so people actually use it.
NEAR MISS REPORT Date and time: Location: Reported by: What happened: (what was being done, and what nearly went wrong) What could have happened: (the injury, release or damage that was avoided) Why it did not happen: (luck, a barrier that worked, someone stepping in) Immediate action taken: Suggested fix: (so it cannot happen again) Can be reported anonymously: [ ] yes [ ] no
Frequently asked questions
What should an incident report include?
When and where it happened, who was involved, what happened in order, any injuries, damage or release, the immediate actions taken, who was notified and when, the confirmed and suspected causes, witnesses, and follow-up actions with owners and dates.
What is the difference between an incident report and a near miss report?
An incident report records something that did happen: an injury, a release, damage. A near miss report records something that nearly happened but did not. Near misses are reported so the cause can be fixed before it causes an incident.
How soon should an incident report be written?
As soon as it is safe to, and the same day if possible. Many companies and regulators set their own deadlines for serious incidents, so check yours.
Can I use AI to write an incident report?
To tidy the wording, yes, but check the result against your notes. General AI tools tend to make reports read more confidently than the facts allow: an approximate time becomes exact, "suspected" becomes "caused by", an unknown volume disappears. In a report that may be read later by a client, an insurer or a regulator, each of those is a change of fact.
Also free: a demand letter template and a medical referral letter template.