§ Tools Free tool
LOLER due date checker.
Pick what the equipment is and enter the date of its last thorough examination. The checker shows when the next one is due under LOLER 1998 regulation 9, and whether it is overdue. Print the result for your records. No signup, nothing leaves your browser.
LOLER thorough examination: next due date
- An examination is also needed each time something happens that could affect its safety, such as damage, a dropped load or a modification, whatever the date (regulation 9(3)(a)(iv)).
- Where appropriate, a competent person also inspects it between thorough examinations (regulation 9(3)(b)).
- Before first use, and after installation or assembly at a new site, different rules apply (regulation 9(1) and 9(2)).
Intervals from the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9(3), quoted from legislation.gov.uk. Where a month has no matching day, the due date is the last day of that month. Planning aid, not legal advice. Tool from hovermarks.co.uk.
Got more than a few hoists and slings?
Hovermarks gives each one a QR tag and its own next-due date, reminds you before it lapses, and lets staff scan the tag to see whether it is in date. Start a 30-day free trial
Tracking a list of equipment rather than one item? The free LOLER register template (Excel and printable) works out the next-due date for every row.
Frequently asked questions
- How often do hoists and slings need a LOLER thorough examination?
- At least every 6 months. Regulation 9(3)(a)(i) of LOLER 1998 sets 6 months for lifting equipment for lifting persons, such as patient hoists, and for every lifting accessory, which includes hoist slings. Other lifting equipment is at least every 12 months, under regulation 9(3)(a)(ii).
- Can the interval be different from 6 or 12 months?
- Yes, if a competent person draws up an examination scheme for the equipment, under regulation 9(3)(a)(iii). The scheme then sets the intervals, which can be shorter or longer than the defaults. Without a scheme, the default intervals apply.
- When is an examination needed outside the normal interval?
- Each time exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise the equipment's safety have occurred, such as damage, a dropped load or a significant modification (regulation 9(3)(a)(iv)). Equipment whose safety depends on how it is installed also needs an examination after installation and after assembly at a new site, before it is used (regulation 9(2)).
- Who can carry out a thorough examination?
- A competent person: someone with the practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment to detect defects and assess how important they are. HSE's Approved Code of Practice (L113) adds that they must be independent and impartial enough to make objective decisions. Many organisations use an engineer from an insurer or an inspection body.
- Is a thorough examination the same as a pre-use check?
- No. A thorough examination is a systematic, detailed examination by a competent person, recorded in a report. Pre-use checks and inspections between examinations (regulation 9(3)(b)) are additional and do not replace it.
- Is the result a compliance determination?
- No. The tool adds the interval you pick to the date you enter. Your competent person and your examination scheme, if you have one, decide what applies to your equipment.
Related: how often LOLER inspections are needed, hoists and slings in care homes, thorough examination guide, written schemes of examination, LOLER report template, LOLER register template, LOLER inspection guide, LOLER inspection software.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Quotations from legislation and HSE guidance are Crown copyright. Hovermarks is not endorsed by HSE or any other public body.
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