The theoretical and experimental electron impact excitation cross sections for the O(3P → 1D) transition that have been reported in the literature the last two decades are used to derive O(3P → 1D) excitation rates by thermal electron impact. The derived rates are represented by a simple parametric formula which should prove useful in atmospheric 6300-¿ airglow and electron gas thermal balance studies. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1991