Free · Validity guide · Great Britain
How often is a LOLER thorough examination needed?
6 or 12 months
LOLER 1998 requires a thorough examination at least every 6 months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless a written examination scheme sets different intervals. A “LOLER certificate” is the report from that examination.
Work out your LOLER examination expiry date
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Use the date on the last report of thorough examination.
Pick 6 months for passenger lifts, MEWPs and lifting accessories such as slings and chains, and 12 months for other lifting equipment such as goods lifts or forklift lifting parts. A competent person’s examination scheme can set different intervals.
Enter a date to see when it expires, how many days are left, when to book the renewal, and to add reminders to your calendar.
Who needs a LOLER examination
Employers and others who provide or control lifting equipment used at work: passenger and goods lifts, hoists, cranes, MEWPs, forklift lifting parts, tail lifts and lifting accessories. Examinations are carried out by a competent person, often an insurer’s engineer surveyor. Equipment also needs examining before first use and after installation at a new site, unless an exemption applies.
What happens if it expires
- Using lifting equipment beyond its examination date breaches LOLER and is a common finding in HSE enforcement.
- Where the examiner finds a defect that is a danger, the employer must make sure the equipment is not used until it is put right. Serious risks are reported to the enforcing authority.
- Insurers may question cover for an incident involving equipment with an overdue examination.
How to renew
List every item and its interval
Group passenger lifts, MEWPs and accessories (6 months) apart from other lifting equipment (12 months), or follow your examination scheme.
Book the competent person
Insurer engineers and inspection bodies schedule visits weeks ahead.
Act on the report
Fix defects within the time the report sets and keep the equipment out of use where it says so.
File the report and set the next date
Keep the report against the item and roll the next due date forward.
When to book
6
weeks
Confirm the visit at least six weeks ahead so it happens before the due date. This is our suggestion.
A simple reminder plan: 60 days, 30 days, 14 days, 7 days before the expiry date. The calculator above puts these in your calendar.
Evidence to keep
- The report of each thorough examination per item.
- Evidence that defects in the report were fixed.
- The examination scheme, if you use one.
Common mistakes
- Putting slings and chains on a 12-month cycle when accessories need 6 months.
- Missing the examination after equipment is moved and reinstalled.
- Confusing PUWER inspections with LOLER thorough examinations.
For teams and managers
Lifts, hoists and slings across several sites?
ExpiryEdge holds each item with its own 6- or 12-month interval, reminds the site owner before the engineer’s visit, collects the report by upload link and rolls the next due date forward.
See plant and equipment inspection trackingExpiryEdge · Tracked item
Passenger lift · Riverside House
ValidOwner
Facilities manager
Expires
1 year after issue
Reminders before expiry
60d
30d
14d
7d
Due
LOLER examination questions, answered
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. They require lifting equipment to be strong, stable, properly used and thoroughly examined at set intervals.
There is no fixed certificate life. The report covers one examination, and the next is due within 6 months for equipment lifting people and lifting accessories, 12 months for other equipment, or as the examination scheme says.
At least every 6 months, because they lift people, unless a written examination scheme sets a different interval.
A competent person with the practical and theoretical knowledge to detect defects, often an engineer surveyor from an insurer or inspection body, independent enough to make objective decisions.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from these official sources.
1.
LOLER 1998 regulation 9: thorough examination and inspectionlegislation.gov.uk · checked 25 Oct 2026
2.
LOLER 1998 regulation 10: reports and defectslegislation.gov.uk · checked 25 Oct 2026
Guidance, not legal advice. This covers Great Britain and reflects the sources as checked on 25 Oct 2026. Check the official source or take professional advice for your situation.