Rule 7 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 7 is the reporting rule for workplace accidents. It tells an employer whom to inform, in what form and how quickly, when an accident kills someone, keeps an injured person off work for forty-eight hours or more, or when one of 27 listed dangerous occurrences happens, with or without injury.
A death must be notified forthwith in Form XI to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator, with electronic and telephone intimation to the other authorities and the victim's family. An injury that prevents work for 48 hours or more is reported in Form XI within 12 hours after those 48 hours are complete. A dangerous occurrence is reported within 12 hours, whether or not anyone is hurt. Late death after a notice needs a fresh notice forthwith and written confirmation within 12 hours.
How rule 7 fits the Code
Sections 10 and 11 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (the OSH Code) require notice of certain accidents and dangerous occurrences to "such authorities, in such manner and within such time, as may be prescribed". Rule 7 prescribes them for establishments where the Central Government is the appropriate Government. Where the State Government is the appropriate Government, the State's own OSH rules apply, and their timelines and forms may differ. Our sections 10 and 11 explainer covers the Code text; under the Code, an accident causing death in a plantation, construction work or other establishment must be inquired into within two months of receipt of notice.
Reporting lapses are a recurring source of trouble in inspections. If you want a systematic incident-reporting procedure built around rule 7, see our labour law compliance service.
The three triggers
| Trigger | Who is informed | How and when |
|---|---|---|
| Accident resulting in death (r.7(1)) | Inspector-cum-Facilitator; also, electronically and by telephone, the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator(s), Inspector-cum-Facilitator(s), District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer, the officer-in-charge of the jurisdictional police station, and the family members or kin of the victim | Notice in Form XI forthwith |
| Accident causing bodily injury that prevents work for 48 hours or more immediately after the accident (r.7(2)) | Inspector-cum-Facilitator(s) | Form XI, electronically, within 12 hours after completion of the 48 hours |
| Dangerous occurrence in sub-rule (4), injury or not (r.7(3)) | Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer | Intimation within 12 hours |
The death notice is the most demanding. The employer informs the Inspector-cum-Facilitator forthwith in Form XI and then uses electronic and telephone channels to reach the wider list, which includes the family or kin. Rule 7(1) does not give a number of hours; "forthwith" means without delay.
The two provisos
Death after notice. If a person injured in an accident or dangerous occurrence dies after the earlier notices were sent, the employer sends notice forthwith by telephone and electronically to the authorities and persons mentioned in sub-rules (1) and (2), and has the information confirmed in writing within twelve hours of the death.
Disability in spells. If the 48-hour disability does not occur immediately after the accident or dangerous occurrence but arises later in more than one spell, the report goes to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer in Form XI within twenty-four hours following the hour when the total period of disability from working becomes forty-eight hours.
A practical reading: keep an absence log for every injured employee so that the point at which the 48 hours are reached, in one stretch or several, can be identified and the clock started.
The list of dangerous occurrences (sub-rule 4)
Rule 7(4) lists 27 classes, "whether or not they result in bodily injury or disablement". They can be grouped for ease:
- Pressure and plant failures: bursting of plant, pipeline or equipment holding petroleum, steam, compressed air or other substance above atmospheric pressure; explosion of a receiver or container storing gas or liquid at such pressure; breakage, fracture or failure of machinery or apparatus parts, including failure of emergency brake, endangering persons.
- Lifting and transport: collapse or failure of a crane, derrick, winch, hoist or other appliance for raising or lowering persons or goods; collapse or failure of lifting appliances, hoists or conveyors for building material, including rope, chain or gear breakage; collapse, capsizing, toppling or collision of transport equipment inside the establishment.
- Fire, explosion, release: explosion, fire, leakage or release of toxic gases, or escape of molten metal or hot liquid or gas causing injury or damage; spillage or leakage of hazardous substances and damage to containers; an uncontrolled chemical spillage; spark from an electrical flash-over causing burn injury.
- Structures and falls: collapse or subsidence of a floor, gallery, roof, bridge, tunnel, chimney, wall, building, scaffolding, formwork or excavation; failure of any structure or installation endangering persons; fall from a height of any excavation, loading or transport machinery, and objects falling from a height.
- Mines and oil mines: fire indications in belowground mines, inrush of water, failure of pillars, rock-burst, slides, dump or side failure in opencast workings, explosion or ignition, influx of flammable or noxious gases, accidents due to explosives, rope, headgear or winding failures, overwinding or hard landing of cages, and a blowout in oil mines.
- Residual item: (xxvii) any other occurrence specified by general or special order of the Central Government from time to time.
The grouping above is for orientation only; the operative list is rule 7(4), item by item (i) to (xxvii).
Who is the "employer" for reporting
Rule 7 speaks of the employer of the establishment. Section 10 of the Code is more specific for the owner, agent or manager of a mine under section 67, the employer or manager of a factory or dock work, and the employer of a plantation or building or other construction establishment. Where contract labour is injured on a principal employer's premises, agree in the work order who files, but treat the establishment's employer as answerable for the notice.
Consequences of missing the notice
Rule 7 itself does not state a penalty. Contravention of a rule is dealt with through the Code's penalty provisions; see our section 94 explainer. Failure to report can also undermine your position in any later inquiry, so keep a dated log of calls, emails and the Form XI acknowledgement.
Practical examples
Example 1. A boiler tube bursts at 11 p.m. and steam injures a fitter, who is hospitalised for four days. Nobody dies. The steam bursting is a dangerous occurrence under item (i), and the injury also satisfies sub-rule (2). The employer sends the dangerous-occurrence intimation within twelve hours and Form XI to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator within twelve hours after the forty-eight hours of disability are complete.
Example 2. A contractor's worker falls from scaffolding at a construction site and dies. The employer files Form XI forthwith, informs the listed authorities electronically and by phone, including the police station officer and the family, and prepares for the inquiry the Code provides.
Need help with accident and incident reporting?
A reporting drill is easier to set up before a serious incident than during one. We can help you map contacts, Form XI ownership and escalation steps against rule 7. Begin with our labour law compliance page and tell us about your sites and sectors.
Key takeaways
- Death: Form XI forthwith, plus electronic and telephone intimation to the listed authorities and the family or kin.
- Injury with 48 hours of disability: Form XI electronically within 12 hours after the 48 hours are complete.
- Dangerous occurrence: intimation within 12 hours to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Officer.
- Late death or disability in spells has its own provisos.
- Rule 7(4) lists 27 classes of dangerous occurrence.
- State rules apply where the State is the appropriate Government.
Read next
- Sections 10 and 11 of the OSH Code: notice of accidents and dangerous occurrences
- Rule 8: notice of disease
- Rule 14: safety committee
- Accident reporting and investigation in factories
Disclaimer: Based on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.