Automatic gates and car park barriers: who has to inspect them, and how often?
If you control powered gates or barriers on a commercial site or a shared residential development, the law requires you to keep them safe and maintained. No law sets a fixed interval. Common practice is a service every 6 months and a recorded inspection at least once a year, including force testing of the closing edges.
In the summer of 2010, two children died after becoming trapped in powered gates. HSE found the same two failings in both cases: nothing detected the child at the closing edge, and the gate closed with too much force. Since then HSE has published a run of safety notices on powered gates. Most of them are written for installers. This post is for the people who own and manage the gates: managing agents, landlords, site managers, schools and care homes.
Which law covers automatic gates and barriers?
Several, depending on where the gate is and what stage it’s at:
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 are the main ones for gates in use. Regulation 18 says powered doors and gates must have “suitable and effective features to prevent it causing injury by trapping any person”. Sliding gates need a device to stop them coming off their track. Upward-opening ones need a device to stop them falling back. And where safety needs it, a powered gate must be possible to open by hand unless it opens by itself when the power fails. Regulation 5 says the gate and its safety devices must be maintained in good repair, with a suitable system of maintenance.
Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act covers people you don’t employ: visitors, residents, delivery drivers and children passing by. HSE says landlords and managing agents responsible for gates as part of their work have duties under section 3. HSE expects them to keep gates to the same standard employers must meet under the Workplace Regulations.
PUWER applies where your staff operate a gate or barrier as part of their job, such as a security officer or a car park attendant. If you want the full picture of who PUWER covers, see PUWER regulations explained.
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 apply when a gate is new. A powered gate is a machine. HSE says that if an installer builds one from parts, or motorises an existing manual gate, the installer usually becomes the “Responsible Person”. They must then provide a Declaration of Conformity, user instructions and the conformity marking.
Who’s responsible, by site
Where the gate or barrier is | Main law | Who is responsible | Who enforces |
Offices, warehouses, factories, schools and care homes | Workplace Regulations 1992, regulations 5 and 18, plus section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act for visitors | The employer or occupier | HSE or the local council, depending on the type of business |
Shops, leisure venues and commercial car parks | Workplace Regulations 1992 and section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act | The operator or occupier | The local council’s environmental health team |
Common areas of blocks of flats and private estates | Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, with HSE expecting Workplace Regulations standards | The landlord, residents’ management company or managing agent | HSE |
A private driveway at someone’s home | No health and safety duty on the homeowner, though HSE recommends regular checks | The homeowner | Trading Standards, for how the gate was supplied |
A new gate, or a manual gate converted to powered | Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 | The manufacturer or installer, as the Responsible Person | HSE or Trading Standards |
How often should automatic gates and barriers be inspected?
No law gives a number. You follow the manufacturer’s user instructions, which must come with the gate, and your own risk assessment. HSE says the owner should study those instructions and assess what servicing and safety checks are needed.
In practice, most commercial and residential sites work to:
a service every 6 months, or more often for a gate that opens hundreds of times a day
a recorded inspection by a competent person at least once a year, including force testing
a check after any damage, such as a vehicle hitting a barrier arm or gate leaf
simple user checks in between, such as making sure the safety edges are intact and the photocells aren’t blocked or knocked out of line
Gates used by the public, gates near children, and gates where you can’t train every user carry the most risk. The Property Institute (formerly ARMA) lists these as the factors that make residential gates high risk. They need tighter checks than a quiet gate at a business park used by six trained staff.
What should a gate inspection check?
A proper inspection covers the whole installation, not just whether the motor works. Expect it to look at:
Force limitation. A calibrated force meter measures how hard the gate pushes at set points along its travel. The results are compared with the limits in BS EN 12453. HSE tells owners to make sure their maintenance company does this.
Safety edges. These are the rubber strips on the closing edges, which should stop and reverse the gate when they’re touched.
Photocells and light beams. Many are only designed to protect vehicles, and HSE points out they can be stepped over. A child-height beam, or two beams at different heights, gives better protection.
Crushing and shearing points. These include the gap between the gate and the pillar at the hinge, the gap where a sliding gate passes a fence, and gaps a head or arm could fit through.
Fixed guards over drive gears, and fencing behind sliding gates.
Mountings and foundations, end stops, and the device that stops a sliding gate leaving its track.
Controls. Can someone outside reach the exit button through the bars? HSE investigated exactly this in one fatal case.
Automatic triggers such as ground loops and key fobs, which can start the gate while someone is standing in its path.
Manual release and emergency stop. Do the people on site know how to free someone who’s trapped?
Signs and the maintenance log.
You should get a written report listing defects in order of risk. Anything that could trap or crush a person should be put right before the gate goes back into automatic use. Switching it to hold-to-run or manual operation in the meantime is a common stopgap.
Car park barriers
Powered barrier arms are covered by the same standard, BS EN 12453, and by the same duties. The checks are similar, with a few additions:
the force and speed of the arm as it comes down
whether the arm can strike a pedestrian, and whether there’s a separate pedestrian route
damage to the arm and its fixings after vehicle strikes, which are common
the loop detectors that stop the arm coming down on a car
What to ask your gate maintenance company
HSE’s safety notice for landlords and facilities managers gives a short list. Your maintenance company should:
test the safety features regularly, using measuring equipment to check closing forces
keep a maintenance log you can see
show you how to release the gate in an emergency, quickly and easily
show you the safety edges, light beams, force limitation and fixed guards on your gate
If they can’t explain these, HSE says that may be a reason to doubt their competence. The same applies to an installer who can’t tell you how they’ll mark the gate and issue a Declaration of Conformity.
Independent inspections across the East Midlands
I’m based in Nottingham and inspect powered gates, barriers, roller shutters and dock levellers for managing agents, care homes, schools and businesses across Nottingham, Derby, Leicester as well as further afield in the UK. I’m independent of the maintenance company, which means you get a second pair of eyes on whether the gate is safe, rather than someone checking their own work.
How I work:
I carry out and sign every inspection myself. I’ve been doing this for 14 years.
PULO doesn’t sell, install or repair gates, so there’s no reason for me to find faults that aren’t there.
You get a reminder before each inspection is due.
Once I’ve quoted, the price is fixed for all your ongoing inspections.
PULO holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and CHAS Advanced.
If you manage a block or an estate, see my page for managing agents. You can also check PUWER inspection costs.
Simple checks you can do between services
These take a few minutes and don’t need any tools. Note the date and what you found:
Watch the gate open and close fully. Does it run smoothly, without jerking, grinding or stopping short?
Look at the safety edges. Are they all there, undamaged and firmly fixed?
Check the photocells are clean, lined up and not hidden by plants or bins.
Look for new gaps, bent bars or damaged guards, especially at the hinges and where a sliding gate passes the fence.
Check the warning signs are still there and readable.
Make sure the people on site know where the manual release is.
If anything looks wrong, switch the gate to manual or hold-to-run and call your maintenance company.
Frequently asked questions
Do automatic gates need to be inspected by law?
On commercial and shared residential sites, yes in effect. The Workplace Regulations require powered gates to be maintained in good repair and fitted with features that stop them trapping people, and HSE expects landlords and managing agents to meet the same standard. The law does not set a fixed interval, so you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and your risk assessment.
How often should automatic gates be serviced?
No law sets a fixed interval. Common practice is a service every 6 months, more often for busy gates, with a recorded inspection by a competent person at least once a year. Gates used by the public or near children need more attention than a quiet private site.
Who is responsible for automatic gates on a residential development?
Whoever controls the common areas: usually the landlord, the residents’ management company or the managing agent acting for them. HSE says they have duties under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and should maintain gates to the same standard employers must meet.
Do car park barriers need inspecting?
Yes. Powered barriers are covered by the same rules as powered gates. The arm must not strike people with dangerous force, safety devices must work, and the barrier must be maintained in good repair. Barrier arms also need checking for damage after any vehicle strike.
What is gate force testing?
Force testing measures how hard a closing gate or barrier pushes against an obstruction, using a calibrated force meter at set points along its travel. The results are compared with the limits in BS EN 12453. HSE recommends that maintenance companies use measuring equipment to test closing forces.
Are private driveway gates covered by health and safety law?
Health and safety law does not place duties on homeowners for gates at their own home, but HSE strongly recommends regular checks. The company that supplies and installs the gate still has legal duties, and Trading Standards deals with unsafe supply.
Does converting a manual gate to automatic make it a new machine?
Usually, yes. HSE says that when an installer powers an existing manual gate, the result is new machinery under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. The installer becomes the Responsible Person and must issue a Declaration of Conformity and apply the conformity marking.
Who do I report an unsafe gate to?
Tell the gate owner or the person responsible for the site first, in writing. If that does not work, report gates on industrial sites or in the common areas of residential premises to HSE, gates at shops, car parks and leisure venues to the local council, and unsafe supply of domestic gates to Trading Standards.
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