Kate Gresswell-Pettitt
30 October 2026
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) is a set of UK workplace health and safety laws enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Passenger lifts used to carry people in commercial and mixed-use buildings must undergo a statutory thorough examination, with a LOLER inspection frequency of at least every six months. Under Regulation 9 of LOLER, the examination must be conducted by a competent person or duty holder before being used for the first time, unless it is new and accompanied by a recent declaration of conformity. This should be less than 12 months old.
LOLER inspections must be conducted on all lifting equipment and accessories designed to lift or lower loads, including passenger lifts. This equipment must meet UK health and safety laws, including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Lift Regulations 2016 and the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.
At NHC Procurement, we work closely with our trusted suppliers to provide consultancy, installation, maintenance and safety services under our Passenger Lifts Plus solution for public sector and other organisations.
What LOLER and PUWER actually require from lift owners
As well as LOLER regulations, passenger lifts and other lifting equipment must also be examined under and meet standards under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
Under PUWER regulations, any machinery or equipment used in workplaces must be safe to operate, properly maintained and used only by trained individuals, known as a competent person.
LOLER and PUWER frequently overlap when dealing with lifting machinery. This is because PUWER acts as the general baseline for all work equipment and LOLER acts as a specialised set of extra rules specifically for lifting gear.
Duty holder responsibilities
Duty holder responsibilities for passenger lifts are legal obligations of the competent person or organisation for ensuring a passenger lift is safe to use, maintained correctly and inspected as required.
- LOLER requires the duty holder to ensure lifts used for work activities undergo thorough examination, normally every six months for passenger lifts, and that any safety defects are identified and address appropriately.
- PUWER requires duty holders to ensure passenger lifts are suitable for their intended use, maintained in a safe condition and inspected at suitable intervals by a competent person.
Record-keeping
Record-keeping involves documenting all lift examinations, inspections, maintenance and any identified defects. They are a key form of evidence that the equipment is being managed safely, and legal obligations are being met.
These records can also be used by duty holders to monitor recurring issues, schedule future checks and demonstrate compliance if requested.
- LOLER requires a written report following every thorough examination which must state the examination date, when the next examination is due and details of any serious defects.
- PUWER requires inspection results to be recorded where the equipment’s safety depends on installation conditions or where inspection is necessary following exceptional circumstances that could impact safety.
Under both LOLER and PUWER, a competent person – or the duty holder – is an employer, business owner or facility manager who owns, operates or controls work or lifting equipment, including passenger lifts.
What happens during a thorough examination
A LOLER inspection, formally known as a thorough examination, covers seven key areas to check the safety, structural integrity and mechanical condition of lifting equipment, such as passenger lifts.
These seven areas cover:
- Structural integrity
- Mechanical components
- Safety devices
- Controls and operation:
- Markings and identification
- Lifting accessories
- Supporting records
Different forms of lifting equipment are checked at different times.
All lifting accessories, such as chains, slings and shackles, and any equipment used to lift people, for example, passenger lifts, patient hoists and Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), should be checked every six months. All other general lifting equipment, like cranes, vehicle tail lifts and forklift trucks, has a LOLER inspection frequency of every 12 months unless specified otherwise under a competent person’s written scheme.
A competent person is an impartial specialist who holds both the practical and theoretical knowledge needed to safely plan lifting operations or thoroughly examine lifting equipment. The person must have enough training and experience to spot defects, assess risks and ultimately, judge if lifting equipment is safe.
This competent person produces a defect report, which is an official written document that lists faults, wear or safety issues found during a thorough examination of a passenger lift. For the duty holder, the report dictates whether the lift can continue operating and sets strict legal deadlines for repairs. The duty holder must contact their maintenance company about Category A (imminent danger) or Category B (future danger/non-immediate) findings to schedule remedial work.
Consequences of missed or overdue inspections
Missed or overdue LOLER inspections makes your equipment technically non-compliant under UK law, even if your passenger lifts look safe or undamaged.
Not only does this bring serious legal and insurance risks to your organisation but lifts which continue to operate despite a missed or overdue LOLER inspection can pose serious safety risks to residents, employees and visitors.
Legal exposure
Missing a LOLER inspection or allowing your equipment to operate past the scheduled LOLER examination date can have serious legal consequences.
HSE can issue an Improvement Notice, which typically gives you 21 days to fix the breach, or a Prohibition Notice that immediately shuts down the operation of the equipment. Non-compliance with UK laws is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, meaning HSE can prosecute companies and individuals.
Fines for missed or overdue inspections are unlimited and scaled to the severity of the breach and size of the organisation. Duty holders and company directors can also face personal prosecution and potential imprisonment for gross negligence or non-compliance.
Insurance implications
Missing or overdue thorough examinations can seriously compromise insurance coverage and expose businesses to severe financial and legal risks.
Many insurance policies, like public liability, employer’s liability, engineering and business interruption policies, explicitly require valid and up-to-date statutory inspection reports as a condition of cover.
Insurers may completely refuse to pay out on any claims made if an accident or equipment failure occurs whilst a LOLER inspection is overdue. In some cases, if insurers don’t reject the claim entirely, they may reduce the payout amount or dispute liability because policy terms have been breached and there has been a failure to maintain equipment legally.
Safety risk to residents and visitors
Operating lifting equipment, like passenger lifts, with a missed or overdue LOLER inspection creates serious, direct risks for residents and visitors.
Missed or overdue inspections can lead to unseen equipment failure, with critical checks for metal fatigue, structural cracks, corrosion and wear bypassed. Mechanical or hydraulic breakdown can cause components like brakes, valves, interlocks and emergency lowering systems to fail during active use.
Passenger lifts and other forms of lifting equipment can drop unexpectedly, jerk abruptly or trap users during operations, which can lead to severe falls from height or crush injuries.
How the Passenger Lifts Solutions keeps inspections and maintenance on track
LOLER inspections should be scheduled either every six or 12 months depending on the equipment which needs examining. For passenger lifts, examinations should be conducted every six months under LOLER, because they are used to lift people.
At NHC Procurement, our Passenger Lifts Plus solution covers key areas for passenger lifts, including thorough examinations (Cat 4) and servicing and repair (Cat 3) for any lifts where wear or damage is identified. Our trusted suppliers and delivery partners are experts in supporting with LOLER inspections for passenger lifts but also have experience in domestic stairlift servicing and maintenance.
Contact us to discuss your requirements or complete the enquiry form to receive support with your upcoming LOLER inspections for passenger lifts.
