Lift LOLER inspection: what happens, how often and what you need to do
A lift LOLER inspection is a thorough examination of a lift by an independent competent person, required by LOLER Regulation 9. A lift that carries people needs one at least every 6 months, and a goods-only lift every 12. We specialise in lift inspections across the Midlands - You get a detailed, written report saying whether it’s safe to keep using.
Most guides stop at the intervals. This one covers the bits they skip: what actually happens when I turn up, what you need to have ready, the extra tests your maintenance company might be asked to do, and the mistakes I see most often in lifts around Nottingham and the Midlands.
Five checks on one lift, and only one of them is the LOLER inspection
A lot of the confusion comes from how many people seem to be checking the same lift. The maintenance engineer, the insurer’s surveyor, the examiner, and sometimes your own caretaker! They’re not doing the same job, and only one of them is the LOLER inspection.
Check | Who does it | How often | The rule behind it |
LOLER thorough examination | An independent competent person, usually an engineer surveyor | At least every 6 months if it carries people, 12 months if goods only, or as set in an examination scheme | LOLER Regulations 9 and 10. You get a written report every time |
Routine maintenance service | Your lift maintenance contractor | No legal minimum. Agreed in your contract, based on the lift’s age and how hard it works | PUWER Regulation 5, which says work equipment must be kept maintained |
Supplementary tests | Usually your maintenance contractor, at the examiner’s request | Only when the examiner asks. Depending on the part, typically every 1 to 10 years | SAFed industry guidance, applied on the examiner’s judgement |
Insurance inspection | Your engineering insurer’s surveyor | Set by your policy | Your insurance policy. This may be your LOLER examination, done by the insurer’s surveyor |
Your own checks between visits | You, or staff on site | Regularly. Monthly for firefighting and evacuation lifts in residential buildings at least 18m or 7 storeys high | Your general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act, plus Regulation 7 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 for high-rise residential |
If you only remember one thing from that table, make it this. Your maintenance contract isn’t your LOLER inspection, even if the engineer leaves a sticker in the lift car. The examination needs its own written report, from someone who isn’t checking their own work. There’s more on that in why independent examination matters.
How often does a lift need a LOLER inspection?
Lifts that carry people: at least every 6 months (Regulation 9(3)(a)(i)). That includes passenger lifts, platform lifts, stairlifts and any goods lift that staff ride in.
Goods-only lifts that nobody can ride in: at least every 12 months (Regulation 9(3)(a)(ii)). Service lifts and dumb waiters usually sit here.
Or at the intervals in a written examination scheme drawn up by a competent person (Regulation 9(3)(a)(iii)).
Plus an extra examination after anything that could affect the lift’s safety, like a flood in the pit, a fire or a major alteration (Regulation 9(3)(a)(iv)). A new lift also needs one after it’s installed and before it’s first used (Regulation 9(2)).
One thing that still turns up on other inspectors’ websites: escalators aren’t covered by LOLER. They come under Regulation 19 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations instead.
The full breakdown by lift type is on our lift LOLER inspections page, and there’s more on intervals in how often do lifts need a LOLER inspection.
What happens at a lift LOLER inspection
HSE describes a thorough examination as “a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts”, and says its scope depends on the professional judgement of the person doing it. So there’s no fixed checklist, and every lift is a bit different. But on a typical passenger lift, my visit goes roughly like this...
The paperwork. I start with the last report, the maintenance log and any supplementary test certificates. If the last report listed defects with a date to fix them by, I check they’ve been done.
Riding the lift. Does it level properly at every floor? Do the doors open, close and reopen when something’s in the way? Do the alarm, the emergency phone and the car lighting work? This is the part a passenger would notice.
Every landing. Each landing door, its lock and its interlock. A landing door shouldn’t open unless the car is there, and I check every one, not a sample.
On top of the car. With the lift switched to inspection control, I check the suspension ropes or chains and where they’re fixed, the guide rails, the shaft, the landing door gear from the shaft side, and the limit switches.
The pit. Buffers, the pit stop switch, the governor tension pulley, and anything collecting at the bottom of the shaft. Water is a common one.
The machine room or machinery space. The motor, brake, overspeed governor and controller, and the room itself. Can it be reached safely, is it lit, and is it being used as a store cupboard? On a hydraulic lift, this shifts to the pump unit, hoses, ram and rupture valve.
Functional checks and measurements. Where it’s needed, I test the safety devices work and measure wear. Sometimes parts have to come apart to be seen properly.
Before I leave. If I find anything dangerous, you hear about it there and then.
How to get ready for your lift LOLER inspection
Access is the important part - Most of this list is about making sure nothing’s locked when it shouldn’t be:
Have the machine room and pit keys on site, along with whoever holds them
Have the last LOLER report and the maintenance log to hand
Put signs on every landing saying the lift will be out of use for part of the visit
If people rely on the lift, plan around them. In a care home or a block with elderly residents, that might mean avoiding mealtimes or the morning rush
Clear the machine room. It’s not a storeroom, and junk in there is a finding in itself
Tell your maintenance contractor the date, in case supplementary tests are due
If anything’s changed since the last examination, like a refurbishment, a new controller, a flood or vandalism, say so at the start
Supplementary tests: the part that catches owners out
Sometimes a report says the lift is fine to keep using, but asks for supplementary tests by a set date. Most owners aren’t expecting it, so here’s what it means:
What they are. Tests that go further than the examination can on the day. They cover things like the safety gear, the brake, traction and levelling, and the door and emergency rescue systems. Many need test weights, special equipment or some dismantling, so they can’t be done in a normal visit.
Who decides. The examiner. HSE says most lifting equipment doesn’t need routine testing as part of the examination, and that the need for testing “should be based on an assessment of risk”. The industry guidance most examiners work to is SAFed’s Guidelines on the supplementary tests of in-service lifts, written with the lift industry and last revised in June 2020.
Who does them. Usually your maintenance contractor, who sends the results back to the examiner. The examiner may want to watch some tests being done. Expect half a day of downtime, depending on the lift and the tests.
What to do. Treat the date like any other deadline on the report. Ring your maintenance contractor the week it arrives and get a date booked, and make sure the results come back to your examiner.
Reading your lift LOLER report
Every report has to include the information set out in Schedule 1 of LOLER. You can see what one looks like on our sample report page. The parts that matter most to you are:
Is the lift safe to keep using? Right at the top.
Dangerous defects. The lift must not be used until they’re fixed (Regulation 10(3)(a)). HSE says these have to be written into the report even if they were put right on the spot. If there’s an existing or imminent risk of serious injury, I also have to send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority (Regulation 10(1)(c)).
Other defects. Each one has a date. The lift can keep running until then, but not after, unless the defect has been fixed (Regulation 10(3)(b)).
Supplementary tests, if any were asked for.
The date the next examination is due.
If yours didn’t go well, read what happens if your lifting equipment fails a LOLER inspection. For how long a report stays valid, see how long is a LOLER certificate valid.
The mistakes I see most often
Assuming the maintenance visit covers it. It doesn’t. If the only paperwork you have is service sheets, you probably haven’t had a LOLER examination.
Goods lifts on the wrong interval. A goods lift gets 12 months only if nobody ever rides in it. If staff hop in with the trolley, it’s lifting people, and it needs 6.
Dates falling through the gap. A new managing agent, a change of insurer or a facilities manager leaving is exactly when an examination quietly goes overdue. If that’s happened to you, read what to do if your lift LOLER inspection is overdue.
Filing the report unread because it “passed”. Safe to use doesn’t mean nothing to do. The defects with dates are what an HSE or council inspector will ask about.
Forgetting the smaller lifts. The main passenger lift gets examined, but the platform lift in reception or the stairlift at the back of the building gets missed. They need examining every 6 months too. See platform and disabled access lift inspections.
Lift LOLER inspections across Nottingham and the Midlands
We’re based in Nottingham and examine lifts across the county, from the city centre out to Newark, Bingham and Mansfield, and on into Grantham, Derby, Leicester and Lincoln. We travel anywhere in the UK too, which suits clients with sites in more than one area.
Every examination is carried out and signed by me, Ryan Leavesley MSOE MBES, an engineer surveyor with 14 years’ experience. We don’t maintain or repair lifts, so we’ve got nothing to gain from what we find. Once you’re set up, we’ll contact you before each examination falls due. And once we’ve agreed a price, it stays fixed for all your ongoing examinations.
If you manage blocks of flats, our managing agents page goes into more detail. Care homes have their own pressures, covered on our care homes page.
Tell us how many lifts you have, what type they are and when they were last examined, and we’ll come back with a fixed quote. Get in touch or call 07412 957 441. Wondering about price first? Read what a LOLER inspection costs.
FAQs
What is a lift LOLER inspection?
It’s a thorough examination of a lift by an independent competent person, required by Regulation 9 of LOLER 1998. The examiner checks the lift’s safety-critical parts and writes a report saying whether it’s safe to keep using, what needs fixing and when the next examination is due.
Will the lift be out of use during the inspection?
For part of it, yes. Some checks have to be done from the top of the car, in the pit or in the machine room with the lift switched to inspection control. Put signs on every landing and plan around anyone who relies on the lift.
Can a lift still be used if the LOLER report lists defects?
It depends on the defect. A dangerous defect means the lift must not be used until it’s fixed (LOLER Regulation 10(3)(a)). Other defects come with a date, and the lift can keep running until then, but not after unless the defect has been put right (Regulation 10(3)(b)).
What are supplementary tests on a lift?
They’re extra tests the examiner can ask for when the examination alone can’t confirm a part is safe, such as tests of the safety gear, brake or traction. Your maintenance contractor usually does them and sends the results to the examiner. Most examiners follow SAFed’s guidelines on supplementary tests of in-service lifts.
Is our insurance lift inspection the same as a LOLER inspection?
It may be but you'll need to check with your insurer. Many engineering insurers have their own surveyors carry out the LOLER thorough examination as part of the policy. Check your report says it’s a thorough examination under LOLER. And remember it’s tied to the policy, so if you change insurer, your examinations need rearranging.
Is a lift service the same as a LOLER inspection?
No. A service is maintenance, done by your lift contractor under PUWER Regulation 5 to keep the lift running. A LOLER inspection is a separate legal examination with a written report, and HSE says the examiner shouldn’t be the person who maintains the lift.
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