If you remember one thing: a LOLER competent person is defined by what they can do, not by a certificate. There is no licence, no statutory register, and no single mandatory qualification. The test is whether the person has enough practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment in front of them to detect defects or weaknesses — and to judge how much those defects matter to its continued safe use.
What the law actually says
LOLER 1998 itself never defines "competent person". The definition everyone works to comes from the Approved Code of Practice (L113), reproduced in HSE's guidance:
"You should ensure that the person carrying out a thorough examination has such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment."
Pull that apart and there are three distinct components, all of which must be present:
| Component | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Theoretical knowledge | Understands the standards, failure modes, discard criteria and examination methods for the equipment type |
| Practical knowledge and experience | Has actually examined this class of equipment, not just read about it |
| Judgement | Can assess whether a defect matters — the difference between "monitor at next examination" and "remove from service today" |
The phrase "of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined" does real work here. Competence is equipment-specific: years of examining chain slings do not make someone competent to examine a tower crane, and vice versa.
Independence: in-house is allowed, but with conditions
A persistent myth in the industry is that thorough examinations must be done by an external company. They don't. HSE guidance (INDG422) states the competent person "may be employed by a separate company, or selected by an employer from members of their own staff."
Two conditions attach to the in-house route:
- They must be sufficiently independent and impartial to make objective decisions — HSE's phrasing is that examinations must be made "without fear or favour". An examiner who feels commercial pressure to pass equipment is not independent, whoever pays their wages.
- They should not be the person who performs routine maintenance on the same equipment, because they would then be assessing their own work.
For inspection service companies this cuts the other way: your independence is the product. A documented competence framework and clean separation between maintenance and examination work is what makes your reports defensible when a client's HSE inspector reads them.
One title, two jobs: don't confuse the LOLER roles
LOLER uses "competent person" for two different roles, and conflating them causes real confusion:
- Regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be "properly planned by a competent person" — the lift planner, the role BS 7121 calls the appointed person in crane work.
- Regulation 9 requires thorough examination by a competent person — the examiner this guide is about.
These demand different skill sets and are frequently different people. A related muddle is "responsible person": that term doesn't appear in LOLER at all (it belongs to other regimes, such as fire safety law). Under LOLER, the duties to have equipment examined sit with the dutyholder — the employer or person with control of the equipment — while the competent person is the one who performs the examination and signs the report.
What evidence of competence looks like
Because there's no statutory ticket, evidence is assembled, not issued. In practice a credible competent person file contains:
- Formal training for the equipment classes examined. In the lifting industry the LEEA Diploma is the most widely recognised qualification for thorough examination of lifting equipment — passed per equipment group, backed by a written exam and (for LEEA member company employees) documented experience requirements. The associated TEAM Card lets anyone verify a holder's diplomas and experience online.
- Experience records — what equipment, how long, under whose supervision before signing off alone.
- Ongoing competence review — standards change; a 2009 training certificate alone proves little in 2026.
Many dutyholders instead use an engineering surveyor supplied through their insurer's inspection arm or an independent inspection body — the route INDG422 describes as a competent person "employed by a separate company". Either route is lawful; what matters is that the competence can be evidenced for the specific equipment examined.
The competent person's duties around the report
Carrying out the examination is half the job. Regulation 10 attaches specific duties to the person who did it:
- Notify the employer forthwith of any defect which, in their opinion, is or could become a danger to persons. Verbal first, in serious cases — the written report follows.
- Make a written report as soon as practicable, authenticated by signature or equally secure means, containing the information specified in Schedule 1 — and send it to the employer and to any person the equipment was hired or leased from. Our free ROTE template carries every Schedule 1 field.
- Where the defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, send a copy of the report to the relevant enforcing authority (HSE or the local authority).
Once notified, the dutyholder must ensure the equipment is not used until the defect is put right. The competent person's signature on a ROTE is a professional judgement with legal weight — which is exactly why the competence behind it has to be demonstrable.
Where Core fits
If your business supplies the competent person, competence isn't a philosophical question — it's a scheduling constraint. Core lets you record each examiner's qualifications and equipment-class competencies, then enforces them when work is scheduled: an inspector without the right competency can't be booked onto the job, and every ROTE carries the examiner's details automatically. When a client or an HSE inspector asks "who examined this, and were they competent?", the answer is one click. See it on your own workflow.
Sources
- HSE — Thorough examination of lifting equipment (competent person guidance)
- HSE INDG422 — Thorough examination of lifting equipment: a simple guide for employers
- LOLER 1998, Regulation 8 — legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Regulation 10 — legislation.gov.uk
- LEEA — Diplomas and TEAM Card
Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal definition of a LOLER competent person?
No. LOLER 1998 does not define the term. The Approved Code of Practice says the person carrying out a thorough examination should have such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the equipment.
Can the competent person be one of our own employees?
Yes. HSE guidance is explicit that the competent person may be employed by a separate company or selected by an employer from their own staff — provided they are sufficiently independent and impartial to make objective decisions, and they are not the same person who performs routine maintenance on the equipment.
Does a LOLER competent person need a specific qualification?
No single qualification is mandated. Competence is the combination of practical and theoretical knowledge plus experience of the specific equipment type. In the lifting industry, LEEA Diplomas (with the associated TEAM Card) are the most widely recognised evidence for thorough examination of lifting gear, and engineering surveyors from inspection bodies typically carry their employer's competence framework.
Is the competent person the same as the person who plans lifting operations?
Not necessarily. LOLER uses "competent person" in two distinct roles: Regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, while Regulation 9 requires thorough examinations to be carried out by a competent person. Planning lifts and examining equipment demand different knowledge, and they are often different people.
What must the competent person do if they find a serious defect?
Under Regulation 10 they must notify the employer forthwith of any defect which in their opinion is or could become a danger to persons, then make a written report containing the Schedule 1 information. Where the defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, they must also send a copy of the report to the relevant enforcing authority.