Guide · Updated October 16, 2026

5 Tips for Completing Your CA-1

File your CA-1 within 30 days to protect up to 45 days of Continuation of Pay. Describe exactly when, where and how you were hurt and which body part. Keep your Receipt of Notice and copies. Choose your own treating physician, and make sure your doctor's report explains how the injury happened at work.

The CA-1 is the form federal employees use to report a traumatic injury, meaning one caused by a specific event, or series of events, in a single workday or shift (20 CFR 10.5(ee)). Its full name is the Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation. You can get it on the DOL website or file it online through ECOMP.

Not sure the CA-1 is the right form? Read the difference between a CA-1 and a CA-2 first. If it is, these five tips will help you fill it out well.

1. File within 30 days, and sooner is better

This is the deadline that matters most. To get Continuation of Pay (COP), which is your regular pay from your agency for up to 45 calendar days, you must file the CA-1 within 30 days of the injury. Your lost time from work must also start within 45 days of the injury (20 CFR 10.205).

Miss the 30-day window and you lose COP, even if the rest of the claim is fine. The outside limit for filing any FECA injury claim is 3 years (20 CFR 10.100(b)), but do not wait. Memories fade, and records get harder to find.

Learn more in our guide to Continuation of Pay for federal workers.

2. Describe exactly what happened

OWCP has to decide whether an injury happened, and whether it happened while you were doing your job (20 CFR 10.115). Your description on the CA-1 is a big part of that.

Write in plain, specific words:

• When: the date and about what time.
• Where: the exact place, such as the loading dock, a mail route address, or a checkpoint lane.
• What you were doing: your job task at that moment.
• How it happened: “I slipped on a wet floor and landed on my right knee” is better than “hurt knee.”
• What part of your body: be specific, and include left or right.

The rules say a traumatic injury must be identifiable by time, place, and the part of the body affected. Give OWCP all three. Keep it honest and factual. Do not guess at a medical diagnosis; leave that to your doctor.

3. Get your Receipt of Notice and keep copies

You file the CA-1 with your employer, not directly with OWCP. Your employer must complete its part, give you the Receipt of Notice and copies of the form, and in most cases send it to OWCP within 10 working days (20 CFR 10.110).

Make sure you get that receipt. It is your proof of the date you gave notice, which matters for the 30-day COP deadline. Keep a folder, paper or digital, with:

• Your copy of the CA-1 and the receipt.
• Any CA-16 your agency gives you.
• Every medical note and work restriction.
• Your claim number once OWCP assigns one.

4. Choose your own doctor, and ask about a CA-16

Under FECA, you have the right to choose your initial treating physician. Your employer should tell you about this right and let you pick a qualified physician (20 CFR 10.300).

For a traumatic injury, your employer must also issue a CA-16, the Authorization for Examination and/or Treatment, within four hours of the claimed injury. It is not required more than one week after the injury. A CA-16 covers treatment for 60 days from the date of injury, unless OWCP ends it sooner. Ask your supervisor for it right away.

Our page on DOL doctors explains what to look for in a treating provider. After your first choice, changing doctors usually needs written approval from OWCP, so choose with care.

5. Make sure the medical side matches

The form starts the claim, but medical evidence carries it. You are responsible for getting a medical report from your attending physician to OWCP (20 CFR 10.115(f)). The report should:

• Match the facts you wrote on the CA-1.
• Give a diagnosis.
• Explain how the work event caused the injury.
• List any work restrictions.

Tell your doctor the same story you wrote on the form. If something is different, fix it early. Our OWCP forms page explains the doctor forms, such as the CA-20 and CA-17, that often follow a CA-1.

How Alivio can help

Alivio Health & Rehab is enrolled with OWCP and bills the Department of Labor directly. We offer a free consultation and free help with your CA-1 and other OWCP forms at our McAllen and Harlingen clinics. Call (956) 679-3451, in English or Spanish.

Medically reviewed by Peter Ruiz, MD, Medical Director. MD · Family Medicine · Texas Medical Board license N2270
Last reviewed October 16, 2026 · How we review content