How Often Does a Vehicle Lift Need a LOLER Inspection?

A vehicle lift in a UK workplace is thoroughly examined every six months. That is the interval the Garage Equipment Association and HSE guidance apply to lifts, because technicians work directly beneath a raised vehicle. It is also the interval your insurer and most examination schemes will expect.

The reason it causes confusion is that LOLER itself does not say "six months" for vehicle lifts. Here is what it actually says, and why the answer still comes out at six.

What the regulation sets out

Unless an examination scheme says otherwise, LOLER requires thorough examination:

• At least every 6 months for lifting equipment used to lift people, and for all lifting accessories.
• At least every 12 months for all other lifting equipment.
• Or at intervals set by an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, where use, condition or environment justify something different.

Read strictly, a vehicle lift does not lift people, which would place it in the twelve-month category. In practice it is treated as six-monthly, because people work underneath the raised load and the consequences of an undetected defect are identical to those on equipment carrying people.

So which applies to you?

Six months, for any vehicle lift in a commercial garage, MOT station, fleet workshop, dealership or bodyshop. That covers two-post, four-post, scissor and mobile column lifts, and motorcycle lift tables.

Six months also applies to your lifting accessories — slings, chains, eyebolts — regardless of what they are attached to.

Twelve months would only apply to lifting equipment in your workshop that nobody works beneath and that carries no one, and even then a competent person may specify shorter.

A private home workshop with no work activity falls outside LOLER altogether. If any paid work is carried out, the duties apply.

The intervals people forget

Six months is the cycle. Three other triggers sit outside it, and these are the ones that catch garages out:

• Before first use. Where safety depends on how equipment was installed, a thorough examination is required before it carries its first vehicle. A new lift and a relocated lift both count.
• After exceptional circumstances. Significant damage, a major repair or modification, a long period out of service, or a move to a new site.
• After a reported defect is remedied, where the repair affected anything the lift's safety depends on. Confirm the requirement with your competent person for the specific work — our guide on what happens after a defect finding covers this.

Counting the six months correctly

The interval runs from the date of the last thorough examination, not from the date you received the report or the date the invoice was paid. If a lift was examined on 14 March, the next is due by 14 September.

Equipment does not get a grace period. A lift whose examination has lapsed should not be in use, and "the engineer is booked for next week" is not a defence if something happens in the meantime.

The practical answer is to book six months ahead every time, at the point the current report is filed, rather than reacting when a certificate expires.

Who can carry it out

A competent person, with appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge of the equipment, and crucially independent of its routine maintenance. The engineer who services your lift should not be the one examining it, and nor should the engineer who installed it.

If servicing and examination are both booked through one supplier, ask how they separate the two functions before assuming it is covered. Our full guide to LOLER inspections sets out what the examination covers and what the report should contain.

Frequently asked questions

How often does a vehicle lift need a LOLER inspection?

Every six months for lifts used at work. LOLER's default for equipment that does not lift people is twelve months, but because technicians work beneath a raised vehicle, GEA guidance and standard practice apply the six-month interval.

Is it six or twelve months for a two-post lift?

Six. The same applies to four-post, scissor, mobile column and motorcycle lifts in a workplace.

When does the six months start counting?

From the date of the last thorough examination, not from the date the report arrived.

Does a brand new lift need examining before use?

Yes. Where safety depends on installation, a thorough examination is required before the lift carries its first vehicle — separate from the installer's certificate.

What if the examination has lapsed?

The lift should be taken out of use until it has been examined. There is no grace period, and having an engineer booked is not a defence.

Keeping on top of it

If a lift is generating more findings each cycle, the economics usually stop favouring repair — our guide to 5 signs you need a new garage lift covers the decision. We supply and install two-post, four-post and scissor lifts across the UK, with the documentation to start your records correctly. Request a quote or get in touch and we will reply within one working day.

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This guide is general information about LOLER duties as they apply to vehicle lifts, and is not legal advice. Responsibility for compliance rests with the business operating the equipment. Current guidance is published by the Health and Safety Executive at hse.gov.uk and by the Garage Equipment Association at gea.co.uk.