If you’re responsible for cranes, hoists, forklift attachments, lifting beams, slings, or any other lifting gear at work, one question comes up constantly: is it LOLER every 6 months or every 12 months?
Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), the real requirement is for “thorough examination” (a formal, competent-person examination) at set intervals—plus additional inspections and checks where risk demands it.
This article breaks down what’s required, how often, what can change the interval, and how to stay compliant in practice.
First, a key distinction: checks, inspections, and thorough examinations
People often say “LOLER inspection” to mean a few different things. In practice, you’ll usually have three layers of safety assurance:
- Pre-use checks (operator checks): Quick visual/functional checks before using the equipment (often daily or each shift, depending on the kit and how it’s used). HSE guidance makes clear that a thorough examination does not remove the need for before-use checks.
- In-service inspections (between thorough examinations): Where equipment is exposed to conditions that can cause deterioration, LOLER expects inspections at suitable intervals between thorough examinations, where appropriate, to catch wear/damage early.
- Thorough examinations (the statutory LOLER requirement): A systematic and detailed examination by a competent person, producing a written report. This is the big one people mean when they ask “how often under LOLER?”
The standard LOLER frequencies: 6 months vs 12 months
Default legal intervals (unless you have a written examination scheme)
LOLER Regulation 9 sets the default maximum intervals for thorough examination as:
- At least every 6 months for:
- Lifting equipment used to lift people (e.g., MEWPs/cherry pickers, man-riding hoists), and
- Any accessory for lifting (see below)
- At least every 12 months for:
- Other lifting equipment (e.g., many cranes/hoists lifting loads only)
HSE summarises the same 6/12-month approach in its guidance on thorough examinations.
What counts as an “accessory for lifting” (usually 6 months)
Accessories are the items that connect the load to the lifting machine or form part of the lifting tackle, for example:
- chain slings, web slings, round slings
- shackles, hooks, eyebolts/eye nuts, rings, swivels
- lifting beams/spreader beams, plate clamps
- certain vacuum or magnetic lifting attachments (depending on design/use)
Because accessories are frequently handled, dropped, dragged, and exposed to harsh conditions, they are commonly the most overlooked items—yet the law treats them as 6-monthly thorough examination items by default.
When the 6/12-month rule doesn’t apply: a written scheme of examination
LOLER allows an alternative: instead of the default intervals, thorough examination can be done “in accordance with an examination scheme.”
A written scheme of examination is drawn up by a competent person and sets out:
- what parts will be examined,
- the methods/tests required (where relevant),
- and the intervals appropriate to your operating conditions.
This can be useful when:
- equipment is in a harsh environment (corrosive, outdoor coastal sites, foundries),
- usage is unusually heavy (high duty cycles),
- or the kit is complex and needs a tailored approach.
It can also justify different intervals based on technical judgement—but you need the scheme documented and followed in practice, not just implied.
Extra situations where LOLER requires a thorough examination (not just “every 6 or 12 months”)
Even if your next scheduled date is months away, Regulation 9 also requires thorough examination:
1) Before first use (in certain cases)
Before lifting equipment is put into service for the first time, it must be thoroughly examined unless specific exceptions apply (for example, brand-new equipment supplied with a valid declaration of conformity within the permitted timeframe).
2) After installation/assembly at a new site (where applicable)
Where equipment depends on correct installation/assembly for safety (often relevant to some fixed or assembled lifting systems), thorough examination is required after installation/assembly and before use in that location.
3) After “exceptional circumstances”
If anything happens that could jeopardise safety, the equipment must be thoroughly examined again. Examples include:
- damage (impact, overload incident, shock-loading),
- significant modification or major repair to critical parts,
- long periods out of use in deteriorating conditions.
Who can carry out a LOLER thorough examination?
A LOLER thorough examination must be performed by a competent person—someone with the practical and theoretical knowledge, experience, and independence to identify defects and assess their safety significance. HSE guidance repeatedly emphasises the role and importance of the competent person in thorough examination.
This is not the same as:
- an operator doing pre-use checks, or
- routine maintenance by an engineer (valuable, but not automatically a LOLER thorough examination unless they meet the competence requirements and provide the correct report).
LOLER training can help duty holders, supervisors, and operators understand the differences between pre-use checks, in-service inspections, and statutory thorough examinations, defect escalation, and record-keeping in line with the regulations.
Do you also need inspections between thorough examinations?
Often, yes.
LOLER states that where lifting equipment is exposed to deterioration that could create danger, it should be:
- thoroughly examined at required intervals, and
- “if appropriate,” inspected at suitable intervals between thorough examinations so deterioration is found and fixed in time.
This is where your risk assessment and manufacturer guidance matter. The law doesn’t give one universal “inspection every X weeks” rule for in-service inspections because the right interval depends on:
- intensity of use (duty cycle),
- environment (corrosion, abrasive dust, chemicals),
- likelihood of damage (construction sites vs controlled workshops),
- history of defects (if you keep finding wear, shorten the interval).
A good rule of thumb: if your equipment regularly suffers wear/damage, plan formal interim inspections rather than relying only on the next LOLER thorough examination.
Bottom line
Under LOLER, the default thorough examination intervals are:
- Every 6 months: lifting equipment used to lift people and lifting accessories
- Every 12 months: other lifting equipment
- Or at intervals set by a written examination scheme (competent person)
- Plus additional examinations after exceptional circumstances, and inspections between thorough examinations where deterioration risk exists.
