LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2307). They came into force on 5 December 1998, were made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and apply across Great Britain to lifting equipment used at work. Eight of the regulations, numbers 4 to 11, carry the duties. Lifting equipment has to be strong and stable enough for the load, positioned so it doesn't strike anyone, and marked with its safe working load. Every lift has to be planned by a competent person, and the equipment has to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set times, with a written report.
Where LOLER came from
LOLER was made on 15 September 1998, laid before Parliament on 25 September and brought into force on 5 December 1998. It implemented the lifting provisions of the European Amending Directive to the Use of Work Equipment Directive (95/63/EC), and it builds on the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), which were made alongside it.
Before 1998, lifting law was split by industry. LOLER replaced sections 22, 23 and 25 to 27 of the Factories Act 1961 and revoked 17 older instruments listed in its Schedule 2, among them the Construction (Lifting Operations) Regulations 1961, the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises (Hoists and Lifts) Regulations 1968 and the Lifting Plant and Equipment (Records of Test and Examination etc.) Regulations 1992. One set of rules now covers a tower crane on a building site, a patient hoist in a care home and a chain sling in a fabrication shop.
LOLER applies to all lifting equipment used for work, including equipment made and put into use before 1998.
Who LOLER applies to
Regulation 3 sets out who carries the duties.
| Who | What LOLER says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employers | Duties apply to lifting equipment provided for, or used by, their employees at work | Reg 3(2) |
| Relevant self-employed people | The employer duties apply to lifting equipment they use at work | Reg 3(3)(a), as amended in 2015 |
| Anyone with control | A person who controls, to any extent, the lifting equipment, the people who use, supervise or manage its use, or the way it is used, has the duties to the extent of that control | Reg 3(3)(b) and 3(4) |
| Sellers | No LOLER duties for equipment supplied by sale, agreement for sale or hire-purchase | Reg 3(5) |
"Control" means control in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking, whether or not it runs for profit. The Approved Code of Practice gives examples. A crane hire company may have some control over how its cranes are used and maintained by customers. An employer who lends lifting equipment to contractors on its premises has control of that equipment. LOLER also applies where employers let their staff bring their own lifting equipment.
Employees have no specific duties under LOLER. They do have general duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, such as taking reasonable care of themselves and others.
The self-employed wording changed on 1 October 2015, when "self-employed person" became "relevant self-employed person". HSE's plain version is that if you are self-employed and your work poses no risk to the health and safety of others, health and safety law may not apply to you.
Where it applies
LOLER applies wherever the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act applies. The Approved Code of Practice lists factories, offices, shops, schools, universities, hospitals, hotels, places of entertainment, agriculture and forestry, construction sites, private roads on industrial estates, and equipment used by homeworkers. It does not apply to domestic work in a private household. It extends offshore to installations and connected activities in territorial waters and designated areas of the UK Continental Shelf.
Three situations sit outside it:
- A ship's own lifting equipment is generally covered by merchant shipping law instead of LOLER. Regulations 6 and 8 still apply when the ship's equipment is used in a "specified operation", such as shore-based workers using it.
- A lift provided for residents in a block of flats, or for shoppers in a shopping centre, is provided for the public, so it falls outside LOLER. The owner still has duties under sections 3 and 4 of the 1974 Act, and the Code says that using LOLER as a guide will probably satisfy them.
- Regulation 12 lets the Secretary of State for Defence exempt home forces, visiting forces or headquarters by certificate, in the interests of national security.
What counts as lifting equipment
Regulation 2 defines lifting equipment as "work equipment for lifting or lowering loads", including "its attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it". An accessory for lifting is "work equipment for attaching loads to machinery for lifting". A load includes a person.
The Approved Code of Practice (L113) turns that into three questions. If the answer to the first, at least one option in the second, and the third are all yes, the equipment is likely to be subject to LOLER.
- Is the equipment provided for work purposes, or for people at work?
- Is its main purpose to lift or lower a load? Or does it attach a load to lifting equipment, support, fix or anchor lifting equipment, or has it been altered or adapted so it can lift or lower a load?
- Is the load lifted free from supporting structures?
The examples below come from HSE's guidance and L113. L113 says they are examples only, and that the regulations may apply to other equipment used for similar activities. How a machine is used matters as much as what it is, as the excavator row shows.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Cranes and hoists | Overhead cranes and their runways, mobile and tower cranes, construction site hoists, pull-lifts, gin wheels, a rope and pulley raising a bucket of cement |
| Lift trucks | Fork-lift trucks and telehandlers, high-lift pallet trucks (manual or powered) that can raise the forks above 300 mm |
| Lifts | Goods lifts and passenger lifts provided for people at work, dumb waiters in restaurants and hotels |
| Equipment that lifts people | Mobile elevating work platforms and scissor lifts, patient hoists and slings for lifting people from a bed or bath, building cleaning cradles and their suspension equipment, ropes used for climbing or work positioning in tree work, on telecoms towers, and on rock faces and building exteriors |
| Vehicle equipment | Vehicle tail lifts, lorry loader cranes, refuse vehicle loading arms, skip collection vehicles, car transporters and recovery equipment, vehicle inspection hoists and motor vehicle lifts, air cargo elevating transfer vehicles |
| Machines adapted to lift | An excavator fitted with lifting attachments such as forks, grabs or lifting magnets (not when it is digging), a front-end loader on a tractor lifting a bale |
| Other | Vacuum lifting equipment, automated storage and retrieval systems, paper roll hoists on printing machines |
| Lifting accessories | Slings of chain, wire rope or fibre, removable eyebolts, shackles, hooks, ropes, grabs, magnets, vacuum lifters, crane forks, lifting beams, spreader beams, plate clamps |
Excavators are a common case. HSE's FAQ says one can be used for lifting where the original manufacturer permits it, the machine has dedicated lifting points marked with their safe working loads, it is used to the manufacturer's instructions, and it has been thoroughly examined. Above one tonne lifting capacity it should also have a rated capacity indicator and boom check valves. Our excavator thorough examination guide covers what that involves.
What LOLER doesn't cover
HSE and L113 name equipment and activities that fall outside LOLER:
- escalators and moving walkways
- conveyor belts
- winching a load that never leaves the ground
- roller shutter doors
- tipper trucks
- dentist chairs
- a three-point linkage on a tractor, which raises a plough clear of the ground but does not lift in the LOLER sense
- eyebolts permanently fixed in a load, which count as part of the load
- fall arrest equipment and fall arrest ropes, including eyebolts fixed to a structure to secure fall arrest equipment, and fixed anchor points that form part of a building or structure
- pallet trucks where the consequence of the load falling off is very low
- pallets, skips, stillages and ladles that carry material and are not permanently attached to the lifting machinery; these are usually treated as part of the load, so they need no thorough examination, though they should still be maintained and inspected so they are safe to lift
Most of these are still work equipment. L113 says PUWER requires a similar level of safety for them, so they still need maintaining and, where deterioration could make them dangerous, inspecting. Escalators have their own rule in regulation 19 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, and HSE notes that the Safety Assessment Federation recommends a thorough examination, normally every six months. Moving a load by hand with no equipment falls under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Fall protection catches people out. L113 lists ropes used for climbing or work positioning as lifting equipment, and lists fall arrest equipment among the things LOLER does not cover. HSE says equipment outside LOLER still needs maintaining and may be inspected under PUWER when it is used at work. Our harness inspection checklist covers the pre-use and periodic checks on a full body harness.
The regulations one by one
| Regulation | Heading | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Citation, interpretation, application | Dates, definitions, and who and where the duties apply |
| 4 | Strength and stability | Equipment strong and stable enough for each load; every part of the load strong enough |
| 5 | Lifting equipment for lifting persons | Carriers that protect people from crushing, trapping, striking and falling, and a way to free anyone trapped |
| 6 | Positioning and installation | Risk of striking people or dropping loads reduced as low as reasonably practicable; devices to stop falls down shafts |
| 7 | Marking of lifting equipment | Safe working load marked; accessories identifiable; people-lifting status marked |
| 8 | Organisation of lifting operations | Every lift planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely |
| 9 | Thorough examination and inspection | Examination before first use, after installation, every 6 or 12 months or to a scheme, and after exceptional circumstances |
| 10 | Reports and defects | A written report with the Schedule 1 items; defects reported and acted on |
| 11 | Keeping of information | How long reports and records are kept |
| 12 | Exemption for the armed forces | Exemption certificates for national security |
| 13 to 17 | Amendments, repeals and revocations | Changes to older law |
| Schedule 1 | Report contents | The 11 items every report of thorough examination must contain |
Regulation 4: strength and stability
Lifting equipment must have adequate strength and stability for each load, with particular regard to the stress at its mounting or fixing point. Every part of the load, and anything attached to it and used in lifting it, must also be strong enough. HSE's leaflet INDG290 gives timber pallets and lifting points as examples of things attached to a load.
Regulation 5: lifting people
Equipment that lifts people has to stop them being crushed, trapped or struck, or falling from the carrier. Where people work from the carrier, that applies so far as is reasonably practicable. The equipment needs suitable devices to stop the carrier falling, and a person trapped in a carrier must not be put in danger and must be able to be freed. Where site conditions and differences in height make a fall-prevention device impossible, the carrier hangs from a rope or chain with an enhanced safety coefficient, and a competent person inspects that rope or chain every working day.
Regulation 6: positioning and installation
Equipment is positioned or installed to reduce, as low as is reasonably practicable, the risk of the equipment or a load striking a person, and of a load drifting, falling freely or being released unintentionally. Hoistways and shafts need suitable devices to stop people falling down them.
Regulation 7: marking
Lifting machinery and lifting accessories are clearly marked with their safe working loads. Where the SWL changes with configuration, as on a crane with interchangeable jibs, each configuration's SWL is marked on the machine or the information is kept with it. Accessories carry markings that identify the characteristics needed for safe use. Equipment designed for lifting people is marked to that effect, and equipment that could be used to lift people by mistake is marked to show it is not for that. The Code adds that every carrier should display the maximum number of people it can carry. HSE's FAQ says colour coding alone is not normally acceptable as SWL marking, and that chain and wire slings should carry the SWL on a durable tag or label, or on the ferrule or master link.
Regulation 8: organising lifting operations
Every lifting operation, meaning any operation concerned with lifting or lowering a load, is properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. The competent person who plans lifts is often a different person from the one who examines the equipment. Our LOLER competent person guide explains the difference.
Regulations 9 to 11: examination, reports and records
These are the regulations most people mean when they talk about a LOLER inspection. Regulation 9 sets when equipment is examined or inspected:
- Before first use, equipment is thoroughly examined, unless it is new and arrives with an EC declaration of conformity made no more than 12 months before it goes into service, or it comes from another business with evidence of its last examination.
- After installation, where safety depends on how it is installed, and again after assembly at each new site.
- Periodically, at least every 6 months for lifting accessories and equipment that lifts people, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless a competent person draws up an examination scheme with its own intervals.
- After exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise the equipment's safety.
- Inspections by a competent person at suitable intervals between examinations, where the risk calls for them.
- Equipment moving between businesses must travel with physical evidence of its last thorough examination (regulation 9(4)).
After each examination the competent person tells the employer straight away about any dangerous defect, then makes a written report containing the 11 items in Schedule 1. L113 expects the report within 28 days. Where a defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, a copy goes to the enforcing authority. Regulation 11 sets how long each report is kept.
Each step has its own guide. The LOLER inspection guide walks through a thorough examination from booking to report. The LOLER inspection frequency guide covers the 6- and 12-month rules and examination schemes. The LOLER certificate guide goes through the Schedule 1 report field by field, with a worked example and the retention table.
The Approved Code of Practice (L113)
HSE publishes the Approved Code of Practice and guidance as L113, Safe use of lifting equipment, now in its second edition (2014, amended 2018). The ACOP text is printed in bold, the guidance in normal type and the regulations in italics, and the three carry different weight.
- The regulations are the law.
- The ACOP is approved by HSE with the consent of the Secretary of State. If you follow it, you are doing enough to comply on the matters it covers, and you may use other methods instead. If you are prosecuted and it is proved you did not follow the relevant provisions, you have to show you complied with the law some other way, or a court will find you at fault.
- The guidance is not compulsory unless it says so. Following it will normally be enough to comply, and inspectors may refer to it.
Much of the practical detail people attribute to LOLER sits in L113, including the definition of a competent person, the 28-day expectation for reports, the decision tree above and the worked examples of hire arrangements.
How LOLER sits with PUWER
PUWER 1998 applies to all work equipment, and lifting equipment is work equipment. LOLER adds duties for the lifting itself. L113 says anyone providing lifting equipment should comply with all relevant parts of PUWER as well, and gives examples: suitable equipment for the task (PUWER regulation 4), information and instructions (8), training (9), dangerous parts of machinery (11), controls (14 to 18), stability (20) and mobile work equipment (25 to 29).
A forklift shows the split. HSE says the lifting chains, forks, hoist mechanism (the mast and cylinders) and fork attachments need a LOLER thorough examination, every 12 months or as a written scheme specifies. Under PUWER the rest of the truck is maintained for safety, parts such as brakes and lights are inspected at regular intervals, and the operator does daily pre-use checks.
The equipment LOLER leaves out, such as conveyors and pallet trucks, stays under PUWER. Our guide to PUWER maintenance and inspection explains when PUWER requires a formal inspection, and the PUWER inspection register is a free template for recording them.
Northern Ireland and offshore
LOLER 1998 applies in Great Britain, and outside it where the 1974 Act is extended, which includes offshore installations, wells and pipelines in territorial waters and designated areas of the UK Continental Shelf. Northern Ireland has its own regulations, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (SR 1999 No. 304), which came into operation on 20 September 1999. If you work in Northern Ireland, read that text rather than assuming every detail matches.
Who enforces LOLER
Contravening health and safety regulations is a criminal offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. LOLER is enforced by HSE or by the environmental health department of the local authority, depending on the type of premises. The same split decides who receives a copy of a report that shows a serious defect. For hired or leased equipment that is HSE, and otherwise it is the authority responsible for the premises.
Is LOLER changing?
Not at present. HSE ran a six-week call for evidence on LOLER from 1 October to 11 November 2025, part of the government's Regulation Action Plan to cut administrative burdens. It received 176 responses. 59% said LOLER remains fit for purpose and 64% said the same of the Approved Code of Practice.
HSE published its response in September 2026. It found no clear or proportionate case for changing the law and said it would improve understanding through updated guidance as opportunities arise. The response also confirmed three points of interpretation:
- The 6-month and 12-month intervals remain the baseline. An examination scheme can set other intervals, justified by rigorous risk assessment, documented and available to inspectors.
- A load that is winched and never leaves the ground is being pulled, so LOLER does not apply, though PUWER still does.
- LOLER sets outcomes, not methods. Where the statutory requirements are met, competent persons may use digital diagnostics or AI-enabled tools to support their professional judgement.
Running LOLER for clients
A company that examines lifting equipment for its customers runs hundreds of items on 6- or 12-month clocks, with a Schedule 1 report for each, defects that need a deadline and an owner, and clients who need to show an inspector the current report. Core is LOLER inspection software built for that work. The next examination date comes from the register, reports carry every Schedule 1 item, and clients see their own equipment and reports in a portal. If you are starting on paper, the free LOLER report template has every Schedule 1 field.
Sources
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2307), contents and introductory text, legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Regulation 2 (interpretation), legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Regulation 3 (application), latest version, legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Regulations 4 to 8, legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Regulation 9 (thorough examination and inspection), legislation.gov.uk
- LOLER 1998, Schedule 2 (revocation of instruments), legislation.gov.uk
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, legislation.gov.uk
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 33, legislation.gov.uk
- HSE L113, Safe use of lifting equipment (Approved Code of Practice and guidance)
- HSE INDG290, Lifting equipment at work: a brief guide
- HSE, LOLER overview
- HSE, Safe lifting by machine
- HSE, Passenger lifts and escalators
- HSE, Equipment and machinery FAQs
- HSE, LOLER call for evidence and response (2025 to 2026)
Put this guide to work
Free ROTE template with every Schedule 1 field, in PDF and Word. Or see the whole program running (scheduling, mobile inspections, certificates) in an interactive demo. No signup, about 3 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What does LOLER stand for?
LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, statutory instrument 1998 No. 2307. The regulations were made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and came into force on 5 December 1998. They apply in Great Britain.
What is the meaning of LOLER in practice?
In practice LOLER means five things for anyone who provides or controls lifting equipment at work. The equipment must be strong and stable enough for each load. It must be positioned or installed so it does not strike people or drop loads. It must be marked with its safe working load. Every lift must be planned by a competent person, supervised and carried out safely. And the equipment must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set times, with a written report.
What equipment does LOLER apply to?
Any work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, including its attachments for anchoring, fixing or supporting it, and the lifting accessories that attach a load to it. HSE lists cranes, fork-lift trucks, lifts, hoists, mobile elevating work platforms and vehicle inspection platform hoists, plus accessories such as chains, slings and eyebolts. A load includes a person, so equipment that lifts people is covered.
What equipment is not covered by LOLER?
HSE and the Approved Code of Practice list escalators, conveyor belts, roller shutter doors, tipper trucks, dentist chairs, fall arrest equipment, fixed anchor points that form part of a building, eyebolts permanently fixed in a load, winching where the load never leaves the ground, a three-point linkage on a tractor, and pallet trucks where a falling load would have very low consequences. Most of these are still work equipment under PUWER. Escalators fall under regulation 19 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Is LOLER a legal requirement?
Yes. LOLER is a statutory instrument, and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 makes it an offence to contravene health and safety regulations. The Approved Code of Practice (L113) is not law, but it has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted and did not follow the relevant part of the Code, you have to show you complied with the law some other way.
What is the difference between LOLER and PUWER?
PUWER (the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) applies to all work equipment, including lifting equipment. LOLER adds duties that apply only to lifting equipment and lifting operations: strength and stability for the load, safe positioning, safe working load marking, planned lifts and statutory thorough examination. A forklift is subject to both. LOLER covers the lifting chains, forks, mast and fork attachments, and PUWER covers the rest of the machine.
Does LOLER apply to the self-employed?
It can. Regulation 3 applies the employer duties to a relevant self-employed person for lifting equipment they use at work, a wording introduced on 1 October 2015. HSE's guidance is that if you are self-employed and your work poses no risk to the health and safety of others, health and safety law may not apply to you. If it does pose a risk, the LOLER duties apply to you as they would to an employer.
Does LOLER apply to forklifts?
Yes. HSE lists fork-lift trucks and telehandlers as lifting equipment. The lifting chains, forks, mast and fork attachments need a thorough examination at least every 12 months, or at the intervals in a written examination scheme, and every 6 months if the truck is used to lift people. Lifts with a forklift must be planned, supervised and carried out safely like any other lifting operation.
Does LOLER apply to passenger lifts and escalators?
LOLER applies to goods and passenger lifts provided for people at work, and HSE expects lifts that carry people to be thoroughly examined every 6 months. A lift provided only for the public, such as one for shoppers in a shopping centre, is outside LOLER, though the owner still has duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. LOLER does not apply to escalators or moving walkways.
Does LOLER apply in Northern Ireland?
LOLER 1998 applies in Great Britain, and offshore where the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act is extended. Northern Ireland has its own regulations, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, statutory rule 1999 No. 304, which came into operation on 20 September 1999.
Is LOLER being changed?
Not at present. HSE ran a call for evidence on LOLER from 1 October to 11 November 2025 and published its response in September 2026. It found no clear or proportionate case for legislative reform and said it would improve understanding through updated guidance instead. The 6-month and 12-month examination intervals and the examination scheme option stay as they are.