How often should LOLER inspections be carried out?

Work out the next due date

Pick the type of equipment and enter the date of its last thorough examination. Nothing leaves your browser. The same tool is on its own page as the LOLER due date checker.

Default intervals by equipment type

These are regulation 9(3)(a)’s defaults. An examination scheme drawn up by a competent person replaces them for the equipment it covers. Whether LOLER applies at all is on the what equipment does LOLER apply to page.

“6 or 12 months”: 6 months while the equipment is used to lift people, 12 months otherwise.

The four times a thorough examination is needed

HSE’s L113 (paragraph 302) puts it as: on initial use or following installation, periodically during the equipment’s life, and after certain exceptional circumstances. In the regulation:

1. Before first use (regulation 9(1)). Not needed for equipment that has not been used before and comes with a declaration of conformity made no more than 12 months before it is put into service. Equipment from another business must come with physical evidence of its last thorough examination (regulation 9(4)).
2. After installation, and after assembly at a new site or location (regulation 9(2)), where the equipment’s safety depends on the installation conditions: tower cranes, construction site hoists and gantry cranes, for example (L113 paragraph 319). Portable equipment that moves from place to place within the scope of its current report is not “installed” in this sense.
3. Periodically (regulation 9(3)(a)(i) to (iii)): 6 months, 12 months, or the examination scheme’s intervals.
4. After exceptional circumstances (regulation 9(3)(a)(iv)) liable to jeopardise safety. L113 (paragraph 307) lists an accident or dangerous occurrence such as overloading or component failure, a significant change in conditions of use, and long periods out of use; paragraph 316 adds substantial or significant modification or repair.

Examination schemes: when the interval is different

Instead of the fixed intervals, you can have a competent person draw up an examination scheme (regulation 9(3)(a)(iii)). L113 says the scheme may set longer or shorter periods than the defaults, but a longer period must rest on a rigorous assessment of the risks (paragraph 330). It should take account of the equipment’s condition, the environment and the number of lifts and loads (paragraph 335), and be reviewed regularly. If you cannot produce a written scheme when an inspector asks, you will be assumed to be on the default intervals (paragraph 331). More in written schemes of examination.

Inspections and pre-use checks between examinations

• Inspections (regulation 9(3)(b)). Where appropriate, a competent person inspects the equipment at suitable intervals between thorough examinations. L113 (paragraphs 346 to 352) ties this to the risk assessment, with forklift trucks, hoists and cranes as examples. Each inspection is recorded in writing (regulation 10(2)(b)) and the record kept until the next one (regulation 11(2)(b)).
• Pre-use checks. L113 (paragraphs 288 and 289) expects users to be trained to check the equipment before use on each working day or at the start of each shift, and to report defects. HSE says lifting accessories do not normally need a formal inspection as long as they get proper pre-use checks and their thorough examination.
• Servicing is not an examination. HSE’s FAQ is explicit that regular servicing does not replace the thorough examination, and that fitting new parts covered by LOLER needs a thorough examination before use.

The date that counts is on the report

Every report of thorough examination must state the latest date by which the next one must be carried out (Schedule 1, paragraph 8(d)). A competent person can set an earlier date than the default interval, and a defect that could become a danger comes with the time by which it could (paragraph 8(c)): the equipment must not be used after that time until the defect is fixed (regulation 10(3)). The LOLER report template shows every field, and the LOLER register template keeps each item’s next date in one sheet.

Frequently asked questions

Is a LOLER inspection every 6 or 12 months?

Both, depending on the equipment. Regulation 9(3)(a) of LOLER 1998 requires a thorough examination at least every 6 months for lifting equipment for lifting persons and for every accessory for lifting, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless a competent person has drawn up an examination scheme that sets other intervals.

Can an examination scheme make the interval longer than 12 months?

Yes, but HSE's L113 (paragraph 330) says a longer period must be based on a rigorous assessment of the risks, based on how and where the equipment is used, and the scheme should be reviewed regularly. A scheme can also set shorter intervals. If you cannot produce the scheme when an inspector asks, L113 (paragraph 331) says you will be assumed to be working to the default 6 and 12-month intervals.

When is a LOLER examination needed outside the normal interval?

Each time exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise the equipment's safety have occurred (regulation 9(3)(a)(iv)). L113 (paragraph 307) gives an accident or dangerous occurrence such as overloading, a significant change in conditions of use, and long periods out of use as examples. Equipment whose safety depends on its installation is also examined after installation and after assembly at a new site, before use (regulation 9(2)).

Does new lifting equipment need a thorough examination before first use?

Not if it has not been used before and you have received a declaration of conformity made not more than 12 months before it is put into service, unless its safety depends on how it is installed, in which case it is examined after installation (regulation 9(1) and 9(2)). Used equipment from another business must come with physical evidence of its last thorough examination (regulation 9(4)).

Is the due date 6 months from the last examination or the date on the report?

The report must state the latest date by which the next thorough examination must be carried out (LOLER Schedule 1, paragraph 8(d)). Where the competent person gives a date earlier than the default interval, work to the report's date.

Are pre-use checks a LOLER requirement?

L113 (paragraphs 288 and 289) says people who use lifting equipment should be trained to carry out pre-use checks, before use on each working day or at the start of each shift. They are not a thorough examination and do not replace one. Separately, regulation 9(3)(b) requires inspections by a competent person between examinations where appropriate; HSE says lifting accessories do not normally need these if they get proper pre-use checks and their thorough examination.

Related: LOLER thorough examination guide, what equipment LOLER applies to, hoists and slings in care homes, LOLER record keeping, LOLER inspection guide.