Are Pallet Trucks Covered By LOLER?

Good question — the answer is “sometimes”, and it depends on the type of pallet truck and how it is used.

Here’s the UK position based on HSE guidance:

• Standard low-lift pallet trucks (manual or electric) — the kind that only raise a pallet just enough to move it (usually 80–200 mm off the floor) — are NOT covered by LOLER. They are classed as work equipment under PUWER 1998 instead, which means you must maintain them and inspect them at suitable intervals, but you do not need a LOLER “thorough examination.”
• High-lift pallet trucks or stackers — any truck (manual or powered) that can raise the forks significantly higher (above roughly 300 mm, the HSE’s “high-lift” threshold) — ARE covered by LOLER. These are considered “lifting equipment” because they hold a suspended load at a height where failure could cause harm. They must have a thorough examination by a competent person at least every 12 months, or at a different interval specified in a written examination scheme.

So the short version:

• Low-lift pallet trucks less than 300mm lift height → PUWER only
• High-lift pallet trucks / stackers over 300mm lift height → PUWER + LOLER

Many of our clients have still opted to have thorough examination completed for their equipment with less than a 300mm lift height.

In doing this, it offers them additional piece of mind knowing that they are fully meeting their obligations under both LOLER PUWER and the Health and Safety at Work Act

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