Incident Report Template (Word)

Name: Incident Report Template (Word)
Brand: Plain Standards
Price: 29.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Incident Report Template (Word)

$29

Add to cart, $29

A ready-written document you adapt to your business. Instant download.

Every incident costs you something. This incident report template makes sure it only costs you once.

Used properly, this is what it does for your business:

✓More customers: problems fixed for good, so customers see fewer delays, mistakes and damage.
✓More profit: fewer repeat incidents, fewer days lost and fewer costly claims.
✓Less stress: a clear, calm process to follow when something goes wrong, instead of panic.
✓Look the part: a written record to show any insurer, inspector or customer who asks what happened and what you did about it.

Why not a free incident report template? Many are a one-page form that records what happened and stops there. This one adds the evidence, who must be told and by when, three levels of cause, and actions checked until they work, with a worked example, written by a former company director of over 30 years.

Director-built, not auditor-built

Plain English, no jargon

Instant download, yours to keep

"Plain Standards have continually under-promised and over-delivered. Outstanding service." Paul J, ATM Security

A slip in the kitchen, a near miss in the yard, a van backed into a gatepost, a break-in over the weekend. When something goes wrong at work, the facts fade within days, the same problem tends to come back, and if the authorities or your insurer ask questions later, you need a written record made at the time.

In over 30 years running companies at director level, I learned that the incidents that cost the most are the ones that happen twice. This template is the way I would record an incident in any business: the facts written down the same day, the evidence gathered before the scene is cleaned up, the real cause found rather than someone blamed, and an action with a name and a date that is checked until it works.

Who this is for

Any business that wants a clear, written record when something goes wrong at work: a shop, a café, a warehouse, a building site, a workshop, an office, a care provider or a security team. It suits a business with no health and safety specialist, and you don't need any experience of investigations to use it.

It doesn't replace the official reports some incidents legally need, such as a RIDDOR report to the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, or the OSHA injury records in the US. It helps you gather the facts and reminds you which reports are due, and when.

See an example

The worked example inside the template follows a small café with eight staff, after a kitchen assistant slipped near the dishwasher. Here is its report in brief:

What happened: at 7.40pm she slipped on water by the dishwasher while carrying a tray of glasses, fell and cut her hand on a broken glass.
Immediate action: first aid given; the floor dried and coned off; the broken glass cleared; the area photographed; the dishwasher switched off.
Must anyone outside be told? No. First aid only, and she was back at work on her next shift. The café still kept this report.
Causes: water from a leaking dishwasher hose (immediate); the leak had been mentioned twice but nobody owned the repair (underlying); no simple way to report and track repairs (root).
Actions: hose replaced within two days; a repairs book by the kitchen door, checked every Monday; a non-slip mat by the dishwasher.
Did it work? Checked a month later: two more repairs reported and fixed within the week, and no more water on the floor.

The template walks you through the same report for any incident, section by section.

View full details

This is a ready-made incident report template in Microsoft Word. It gives you everything you need to record an incident at work, decide who must be told, find out why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again.

It is laid out in the order you would use it: what kind of incident it was (injury or ill health, near miss, damage, a dangerous occurrence, a security incident or a spill); when and where; who was involved; what happened, step by step; the immediate action taken; the evidence collected, including photographs, video and a sketch or plan of the scene; who must be told, with the UK and US reporting rules side by side; why it happened, at three levels of cause; the actions, each with an owner, a due date and a check that it worked; lessons shared and records updated; and the key words explained.

It also comes with a removable Start here page, a short note on writing reports that change things, and a worked example you can copy. Use a fresh copy for each incident and number them in order, so you can spot the same problem coming back.

The facts, written while they are fresh

Guided questions take you through what the person was doing, what happened step by step, what caused the harm and what treatment was given. Facts only: what was seen, heard and said, written the same day.

Evidence before it disappears

A checklist for photographs, video, witness statements, maintenance and training records, plus a full-page box for a sketch or plan of the scene with measurements. Once the floor is mopped and the van is repaired, the evidence has gone.

Who must be told, and by when

Some incidents must be reported to the authorities within days, or even hours. The template sets out the UK rules (the Health and Safety Executive, under RIDDOR) and the US rules (OSHA) side by side, plus your insurer and your customer, with a place to record when each was told.

Find the real cause, not someone to blame

The report works through three levels of cause: what directly caused the harm, why that condition was there, and the gap in how the business is run that let it happen. Fix the last one and the same incident is far less likely to come back.

Actions that are checked until they work

Every action has an owner, a due date and a "did it work?" check. The report is closed when the fix is proven, not when the paperwork is filed.

Ready if you ever go for certification

ISO 9001:2026 asks a business to react when something goes wrong, find the cause, act on it, check the action worked, and update its risks if needed (clause 10.2). This report covers each of those steps. You don't need any of that to get value from it today.

Where this leads

How to write an incident report: the free Learn page on writing a report that changes things.
Root Cause Analysis Template: for a serious or repeated incident, dig deeper into why it happened.
Risk Register Template: list what could go wrong, before the next incident.

Why buy from us

✓Built by a company director, not an auditor. Written by someone who ran real businesses before building management systems, so what you get works in the real world, not just on paper.
✓Written in plain English. No jargon, no clause-speak. If you are new to ISO 9001, it will make sense on day one.
✓The Operator's Take, in every document. Look inside any Plain Standards document and you will find a boxed note called The Operator's Take: a short, plain comment from someone who has run businesses, explaining why this document actually matters to yours, and how to get real value from it, not just tick a box for an auditor. No other provider gives you this, because it comes from having sat in the chair.
✓Honest, unaccredited, and clear about it. A genuine route to a working system, with no false claims and nothing hidden.

What is an incident report template?

An incident report template is a ready-made form for recording something that went wrong, or nearly went wrong, at work: what happened, who was involved, what was done straight away, why it happened and what will stop it happening again. Instead of starting from a blank page, you answer questions already in the right order.

Does it include a worked example?

Yes. The example on this page follows a café kitchen assistant who slipped on water from a leaking dishwasher, from first aid through to the repairs book that fixed the cause. The full worked example is inside the template, ready to copy.

Is this incident report template in Word?

Yes, it is a Microsoft Word file (.docx) that you download straight away and edit like any other Word document. It also opens in Google Docs and other word processors that read .docx files, though a few layout details may shift slightly outside Word.

Can I use it for near misses?

Yes, and you should. A near miss is an incident where nobody was hurt but someone could have been. Recording near misses is one of the cheapest ways to stop a serious injury, and the template has a tick box for them.

Can I use it for security incidents?

Yes, for theft, break-ins, violence or threats at work. It has a tick box for security incidents, an evidence checklist that includes CCTV, and a "who must be told" table where you can record when your insurer and the police were told. For IT and cyber security incidents, your IT provider may need its own technical report as well.

Is this the same as OSHA Form 301?

No. OSHA Form 301 is the US government's injury and illness report, and some employers must keep it for recordable injuries. This template helps you gather the facts, reminds you when OSHA must be told, and goes further by finding the cause and fixing it. If your business must keep OSHA records, complete those as well.

Is there a free incident report template?

Yes, there are free ones online, and some are fine for recording the basics. Many, though, stop at what happened. This template also covers evidence, who must be told and by when, the causes and actions checked until they work.

Is there an Excel version?

No, it is a Word document. An incident report is mostly written answers, a sketch and signatures, which suit Word better than a spreadsheet. If you want to track incidents over time, list each report's number, date and type in a simple spreadsheet.

Written by Mike Armstrong, senior ISO consultant, former company director, and founder of Plain Standards. In over 30 years running companies at director level, Mike built his own management systems to drive profit long before he adopted ISO 9001, so he comes at this from the owner's side, not the auditor's. Plain Standards helps small and medium sized businesses get ISO certified without a consultant.

Add to cart, $29