---
title: "Configuring Incident Categories"
slug: "configuring-incident-categories"
updated: 2025-04-29T20:29:25Z
published: 2025-04-29T20:29:25Z
canonical: "docs.serenityops.com/configuring-incident-categories"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.serenityops.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configuring Incident Categories

Incident categories in Serenity help your organization **classify and analyze safety events** based on type, severity, and context. Accurate categorization supports better trend analysis, compliance reporting, and targeted corrective actions.

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## What Are Incident Categories?

Each incident in the system can be tagged with:

- A **Primary Category** — the main classification of the event
- One or more **Secondary Categories** — optional tags that provide additional detail

This structure allows for flexible reporting and helps identify patterns across different types of events.

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcXRFmhF6ukT8qlfzwTjkXIrU83izHfSWhV49xNdK4jkFqOMFfhY62WPhC6Ex_HjMPxwllKiqkam2Z2RPqOgU5WKgSlHZrc7hIoJP4LqnUM_sOTiuWLTfG01fCVQf0MBK2kcytJ?key=0AljBKwI0wYz67ygMJMFFpE5)

---

## Default Categories

Serenity ships with a set of industry-aligned categories enabled by default. These include:

| **Category** | **Level** |
| --- | --- |
| Injury | Primary |
| Illness | Primary |
| Near Miss | Primary |
| Property Damage | Primary |
| Vehicle Damage | Primary |
| Hazard | Primary |
| Slip/Trip/Fall | Primary |
| Release (e.g., spill) | Primary |
| Product Defect | Primary |
| Reportable Incident | Secondary |
| Privacy Case | Secondary |
| Recordable | Secondary |
| Death | Secondary |

💡The **Level** field determines how a category can be applied to an incident:

- **Primary**: Can be selected as the **main (primary) category** of an incident, or as an **additional category**
- **Secondary**: Can **only be used as an additional category** to provide more context — it cannot be selected as the primary classification

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## Customizing Categories

Currently, category customization must be done through your Serenity support contact. Organizations can:

- Rename or remove existing categories
- Add new primary or secondary categories
- Enable or disable categories based on your organizational needs

🔧 **To request changes**, contact your Serenity Customer Success or Support representative.

---

## 🚧 Coming Soon: Self-Service Management

We’re working on a **self-service configuration page** that will allow **EHS Admins** to:

- Enable/disable categories
- Add new custom categories
- Control default priority levels
- Manage visibility and order of category options

This new settings page will be accessible directly within the **Incident Management Admin Console** — no support ticket required.

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## ✅ Best Practices

- Use **Primary Categories** for broad incident types (e.g., Injury, Property Damage)
- Use **Secondary Categories** to tag incidents with other categorizations required for summary level reporting
- Regularly review categories to keep your system clean and relevant
- Keep naming consistent across locations to simplify reporting and training