What is LOLER? A plain-English guide for access platform operators

With next day delivery available

LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. They are the rules for lifting equipment used at work in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own, very similar, 1999 regulations. If you own or run a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP), such as a scissor lift, cherry picker or spider lift, the part that affects you most is the thorough examination: a formal LOLER inspection by a competent person at least every six months.

This guide explains what LOLER means in practice for access platform owners and operators: what the regulations require, what happens during a LOLER inspection, how often one is due, what the report must say, and what happens if you don’t comply.

LOLER in four points

What it is: the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, sometimes written as LOLER 98.
How often: at least every six months for equipment that lifts people, which covers almost every MEWP, unless a competent person has drawn up an examination scheme with different intervals.
Who does it: a competent person with the knowledge and experience to judge whether the machine is safe to keep using.
What you get: a written Report of Thorough Examination, usually called a LOLER certificate.

What does LOLER stand for?

LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It is health and safety law, made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and it sets out how lifting equipment used at work must be chosen, used, examined and recorded.

The regulations apply to equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads, and a person counts as a load. That brings in cherry pickers, scissor lifts, tracked spider lifts, articulated and telescopic boom lifts and every other MEWP.

What does LOLER require?

For access platforms, LOLER comes down to three duties.

1. The equipment must be suitable for the job

Before a machine is put to work, the person in charge must be satisfied it is right for the task: the working height and outreach, the platform capacity, and the ground it will stand on.

2. Lifting operations must be planned and supervised

Every lift must be planned by a competent person, supervised appropriately and carried out safely. On a MEWP, the plan should cover how anyone in the platform would be rescued if the machine failed.

3. The equipment must be thoroughly examined

This is the part most people mean when they say LOLER: the regular thorough examination, and the report that follows it. The rest of this guide covers it in detail.

What is a LOLER inspection?

A LOLER inspection, formally a thorough examination, is a systematic and detailed examination of a machine and its safety-critical parts by a competent person. Its purpose is to decide whether the machine is safe to keep lifting people until the next examination.

It is not the same as a service. A service keeps the machine running well. A thorough examination is the formal, recorded judgement on whether it is safe to use.

What happens during a LOLER inspection

The detail depends on the machine, but on a typical MEWP the engineer will:

Identify the machine (make, model, serial number) and check the previous report for any defects that were due to be put right.
Examine the structure: chassis, boom or scissor pack, mast, pins, welds and the platform itself, looking for cracks, wear and damage.
Check the hydraulic system, cylinders and hoses for leaks, damage and wear.
Test the safety devices, such as emergency lowering, tilt alarms, load sensing, limit switches and emergency stops.
Operate the controls from the ground and from the platform.
Check the tyres, tracks or outriggers, and the labels, markings and safe working load plates.
Carry out any test the engineer judges necessary, for example after a major repair, and record it.
Write up the Report of Thorough Examination, and tell you straight away about any defect that is, or could become, a danger.

How often is a LOLER inspection needed?

Under regulation 9 of LOLER, lifting equipment that lifts people must be thoroughly examined at least every six months. The only alternative is an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, which can set different intervals based on how the machine is used. In practice, most MEWPs are examined every six months.

The six-month cycle is why fixed-price service plans usually include two LOLER examinations a year.

The other intervals in the regulations are:

Lifting accessories (slings, shackles, chains): at least every six months.
Other lifting equipment that does not lift people: at least every twelve months.
After exceptional circumstances that could affect safety, whatever the date of the last examination. HSE gives damage or failure, long periods out of use, and major modifications as examples.

Does a brand-new machine need a LOLER inspection before first use?

Not usually. A new, unused machine does not need a thorough examination before it is first put into service if it comes with a declaration of conformity made no more than 12 months before that date. The exception is equipment whose safety depends on how it is installed, which must be examined after installation. The six-month cycle then runs from when the machine goes into service.

What about checks between examinations?

Where the risks call for it, LOLER also requires inspections by a competent person at suitable intervals between thorough examinations, with a written record of each one. These sit alongside, not instead of, the operator’s pre-use checks and the machine’s regular maintenance.

Who is responsible for LOLER compliance?

The duty sits with the employer or the person in control of the equipment: usually the business that owns the machine, or the business using it on its site.

If you hire a machine in, the regulations say it must not be used in your business unless it comes with physical evidence that its last thorough examination was carried out. Ask the hire company for the current report before the machine goes to work. On longer hires, agree in writing who arranges the next examination, because the six months can run out during the hire.

For hire companies and fleet owners, current reports are routinely asked for by customers, principal contractors and insurers before a machine is allowed on site.

Can you carry out your own LOLER inspection?

Only if you have a genuinely competent person. HSE guidance says the competent person does not have to come from another company, but they must have the practical and theoretical knowledge to find defects and judge how serious they are, and be sufficiently independent and impartial to make the examination without fear or favour. Most owners use a specialist examiner for this reason.

What happens if you don’t comply with LOLER?

Breaching LOLER is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The consequences can include:

Enforcement notices from HSE or the local authority: an improvement notice gives you a set period to put things right, and a prohibition notice can stop a machine being used immediately.
Unlimited fines for the business, and action against individuals.
Prosecution, and in serious cases imprisonment, particularly after an accident.
Insurance problems: many commercial policies expect current thorough examination reports, and a lapse can affect a claim.
Liability after an accident: a missing or out-of-date report is likely to count against you in any claim.

If an examination finds a defect that is a danger, the machine must not be used until it is put right. For a defect that is not yet dangerous but could become so, the report gives a date by which it must be fixed, and the machine must not be used after that date until it is.

What is the difference between LOLER and PUWER?

LOLER is often mentioned alongside PUWER, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They are separate but work together.

PUWER covers all work equipment: choosing it, maintaining it, guarding it and training the people who use it. LOLER applies only to lifting equipment and adds specific requirements on top, above all the thorough examinations and the reports.

So if you own a scissor lift, both apply. PUWER covers maintenance, training and safe use. LOLER adds the six-monthly thorough examination.

Does LOLER apply to all access platforms?

Yes, to every powered access platform that lifts people. There is no exemption for age, size, how often the machine is used or how high it goes. That includes:

Scissor lifts: electric, diesel and rough terrain
Cherry pickers and boom lifts: articulated, telescopic and trailer-mounted
Tracked spider lifts, including compact indoor models
Vertical mast lifts
Truck and van mounted platforms
Powered low-level access platforms and push-around lifts

A compact push-around used once a month needs a six-monthly examination just as much as a 30-metre spider lift used every day. Fixed-height podium steps, which do not lift anything, are not lifting equipment, so LOLER does not apply to them, although the Work at Height Regulations and PUWER still do.

Our LOLER inspections page explains what we check on scissor lifts, cherry pickers and boom lifts, spider lifts and vehicle-mounted platforms.

What should a LOLER certificate include?

The Report of Thorough Examination must contain the information set out in Schedule 1 of LOLER. The main items are:

The name and address of the employer the examination was carried out for, and the address where it took place
Details that identify the machine, including its date of manufacture where known
The safe working load
The date of this examination and of the last one
Which kind of examination it was: six-monthly, twelve-monthly, under an examination scheme, or after exceptional circumstances
Whether the machine would be safe to operate
Any part found with a defect that is or could become a danger, what repair is needed, and, for a defect that is not yet dangerous, the date by which it must be fixed
Details of any test carried out
The latest date by which the next thorough examination must be done
The name, address and qualifications of the person who made the report, and who they work for

Many examiners also grade defects, for example A for immediate danger, B for a repair needed by a set date and C for an observation. The grading is an industry convention rather than part of the law, but it maps onto what the report has to say.

The examiner must send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority only where a defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury. For a hired or leased machine that is HSE; otherwise it is the authority for the premises where the examination took place. The report also goes to the hire company if the machine is hired or leased.

How long is a LOLER certificate valid for?

The report states the latest date for the next examination. For a MEWP that is no more than six months after the examination, unless an examination scheme sets a different interval. The date is a deadline, not a guarantee: the machine still has to stay safe, any defect deadlines on the report still apply, and exceptional circumstances, such as damage, can mean a new examination is needed sooner.

How long do you have to keep LOLER reports?

For the regular examinations, keep each report until the next one is made or for two years, whichever is later. Reports can be kept electronically, but you need to be able to produce a written copy when asked, for example by an inspector, or when the machine is hired out or sold.

How to arrange a LOLER inspection for your access platform

APS carries out LOLER thorough examinations nationwide for all types of MEWP. Our engineers are IPAF CAP-certified, experienced with all major manufacturers, including Hinowa, JLG, Genie, Skyjack, Niftylift and LGMG, and can come to your site at a time that suits your operations, including out of hours if needed.

Every inspection includes the full Report of Thorough Examination and an APS aftercare decal showing your next due date. LOLER examinations are also included as standard in our fixed-price service plans, which cover two thorough examinations a year alongside a full service, for a fixed monthly cost.

To book a LOLER examination or find out more, call us on 01480 891251 or get in touch online.

More LOLER guides

Sources: the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulations 9 to 11 and Schedule 1, and HSE guidance on thorough examination of lifting equipment. Last reviewed 29 October 2026.

1000s OF OEM PARTS IN STOCK