A fleet I know — twelve vehicles, decent-sized operation, not cowboys — had a DVSA roadside check on one of their rigids last summer. The vehicle came out of a six-weekly PMI three days before. Passed. Tachograph calibration current. Annual test done in March. Everything you'd expect from a well-run fleet.
The examiner asked for the tail lift LOLER examination report.
There wasn't one. Not because the examination hadn't been done — but because nobody had thought to separate the tail lift inspection from the routine PMI. The fitter who did the PMI had looked at the tail lift as part of the general vehicle check, noted no obvious defects, and moved on. That's not a LOLER thorough examination. That's a PMI check of the tail lift, which is a different thing with different requirements.
The prohibition wasn't immediate — the examiner issued a delayed (PG10) prohibition requiring the thorough examination to be produced within a short timeframe. But the operator had to scramble to get an examiner in, produce the report, and demonstrate it to DVSA. Not a pleasant few days.
What LOLER is and why it covers tail lifts
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 — LOLER — sets legal requirements for the use of lifting equipment at work. All lifting equipment used at work is in scope: cranes, forklift trucks, scissor lifts, patient hoists, and — yes — tail lifts on commercial vehicles.
The tail lift is lifting equipment. It lifts loads (and sometimes people, if someone steps on to steady a pallet). It's subject to LOLER's requirement for thorough examination at statutory intervals. This is not optional, it's not only for large operations, and it applies whether you have one vehicle or thirty.
The important distinction is: LOLER thorough examination is not the same as a PMI (preventive maintenance inspection). The PMI checks the vehicle's overall roadworthiness including the mechanical condition of the tail lift. The LOLER thorough examination is specifically focused on the structural integrity, the safe working load, the controls, the safety devices, and the condition of the lifting mechanism — and it needs to be done by a competent person who can certify the examination result.
What the regulations require
LOLER Regulation 9(3) sets the intervals for thorough examination. Lifting equipment falls into two categories for this purpose:
- Equipment used to lift people, or "accessories for lifting" (slings, shackles, spreader beams): thorough examination at least every 6 months
- Other lifting equipment: at least every 12 months
A tail lift is "other lifting equipment" in most circumstances — so the minimum interval is 12 months. However, if people regularly stand on the lift platform (which happens in many delivery operations, where drivers step on to guide pallets), some operators and examiners treat this as equipment for lifting persons and apply the 6-month interval. The safer approach — particularly if your drivers do step on the platform — is 6-monthly. The cost difference is modest; the compliance difference in a prohibition situation is not.
Additionally, LOLER requires a thorough examination after any circumstances that might have jeopardised the safety of the equipment. If the tail lift was involved in an incident — struck at a loading bay, overloaded, hydraulic failure — it needs examination before going back into service, regardless of where it sits in the annual or bi-annual cycle.
Who can do the examination
The "competent person" requirement in LOLER means someone with sufficient knowledge and experience to inspect the type of equipment involved and to identify any defect or condition that could create a risk. In practice, for tail lifts, this is usually a specialist inspection company, a manufacturer-approved inspector, or a qualified lifting equipment engineer.
It is not your regular HGV fitter, unless that fitter has the specific qualifications and knowledge to certify a LOLER thorough examination. A capable fitter can do the PMI check of the tail lift. They cannot issue the LOLER report unless they're qualified to do so. The report has legal status — it's the document that demonstrates you've met the statutory requirement. It needs to come from someone who can stand behind it.
Several companies specialise in mobile tail lift LOLER inspections and will come to your yard. Tail lift manufacturers often have their own inspection networks. LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) can help identify accredited examiners in your area if you're not sure where to start.
What the report has to contain
LOLER Schedule 1 specifies what must be in a thorough examination report. It includes:
- The name and address of the employer who owns the equipment
- Description and identification of the equipment (make, model, serial number)
- The date of the last thorough examination
- The safe working load
- Details of any defects found and their risk level
- Any remedial action required and by when
- Confirmation that the equipment is safe to use (or not, if defects prevent safe use)
- The date of the examination and the examiner's details
Keep the report. Not just for a while — keep it until the equipment is taken out of service and for two years after that. DVSA will ask for it. The Traffic Commissioner will want to know your inspection records if your OCRS attracts a compliance review. The report is the evidence that you've met the legal requirement.
What happens at a roadside check without one
DVSA examiners are increasingly aware of LOLER requirements for tail lifts. If they ask for the report and you don't have one — or you have a PMI certificate but not a LOLER thorough examination report — you've got a problem.
The prohibition outcome depends on the examiner's judgment: whether the lift appears in obviously good condition, whether there's any other documentation you can produce, and whether this is a first encounter or a pattern. A delayed prohibition (PG10) giving the operator time to produce the report is possible. A more immediate restriction on use of the tail lift is also possible. What isn't going to happen is the examiner accepting the PMI certificate as evidence of LOLER compliance.
If the tail lift is physically unsafe — and some examiners do inspect the mechanism rather than just asking for the paperwork — the prohibition covers the tail lift, not the vehicle. The vehicle can still move; the tail lift can't be used until the examination is done and any defects rectified.
Scheduling it alongside the PMI
The practical approach most organised operators use is to schedule the LOLER examination on the same day as the PMI, with the inspection company attending the yard to do both at the same time. The PMI is your six-weekly cycle; the LOLER is annually (or bi-annually). So you'll have inspections where the fitter does the PMI and the LOLER inspector is also in the yard, and inspections where only the PMI happens.
Mark the LOLER due date on the vehicle maintenance record alongside the PMI schedule. Tail lifts don't appear on the annual test (MOT) examiner's checklist in the same formal LOLER context — the test checks structural condition and function, but the thorough examination report is a separate statutory document. Conflating the two is the mistake that causes the problem at the roadside.
One note: if you acquire a vehicle with a tail lift and there's no LOLER examination record, commission one before the vehicle goes into service. You can't rely on what the previous operator may or may not have done.
I covered the six-weekly PMI cycle in the PMI post. The LOLER cycle is separate — same yard, different inspector, different paperwork. Both need to be in order for a clean compliance picture.
If you're tracking maintenance schedules across a fleet and need the compliance hours data in the same place, ShiftOwt handles the 561/WTD side — fleet pricing available on request.