LOLER schedule planner.

How due dates work.

Under LOLER, a lift must have a thorough examination at least every 6 months if it carries people, or every 12 months if it carries goods only, unless a competent person’s examination scheme specifies other intervals. Our guide to LOLER explains what the regulations require.

Because these are the longest periods allowed between examinations, each due date counts from the last examination that took place. An examination carried out early brings the next due date forward.

Every report of a thorough examination must also say on what basis it was made, whether within a 6-month or 12-month interval, under an examination scheme or after exceptional circumstances, and give “the latest date by which the next thorough examination must be carried out”. Our lesson on how to read a LOLER report shows where to find both.

Work out your due dates.

Enter the date of the last thorough examination, choose the interval and, if you have it, the latest date from the report. The planner works out the next due dates and fills in the schedule further down the page. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

When there is an examination scheme.

Instead of the fixed intervals, a lift can be examined under an examination scheme: a scheme drawn up for that lift by a competent person, setting which parts are examined and how often. HSE’s guidance says:

• a scheme can set longer or shorter intervals than the regulations, but “a longer period must be based on a rigorous assessment of the risks”;
• it should take account of the lift’s condition, where it is used, and how often and how heavily it is used;
• it should be reviewed regularly, especially where circumstances change, and you should tell the competent person about any change in the way the lift is used;
• it need not be a paper document, but it should be possible to reproduce it in writing, and it should be kept secure and authenticated by the competent person who prepared it;
• if you cannot produce a written scheme when an inspector asks, it will be assumed that you are following the intervals in the regulations.

If your lift is examined under a scheme, choose “An examination scheme” in the planner and enter the interval the scheme gives. If the scheme gives different intervals for different parts, plan to the latest date on your report and ask your competent person.

Exceptional circumstances.

LOLER also requires a thorough examination each time exceptional circumstances that could affect the lift’s safety have occurred. HSE’s examples include damage and deterioration from environmental influences while equipment is not in use. In our experience, that can mean a flood in the pit, a fire, an impact or a long period out of service. If something like that happens, contact your maintenance contractor straight away, and ask your competent person whether a thorough examination is needed before the lift is used again.

An examination after exceptional circumstances is not a substitute for the regular examinations. Its report will say whether it changes the date of the next one.

Planning around the dates.

1. 01

   Book ahead

   In our view, contact your competent person well before each due date, so the examination can take place in time even if access or a test needs arranging.

2. 02

   Arrange attendance

   Ask your maintenance contractor to attend, so an engineer can operate the lift for the examiner and help with any tests.

3. 03

   Chase the report

   The report should normally reach you within 28 days of the examination, and the examiner must tell you straight away about any defect that is or could become a danger. Our compliance resources explain what to expect.

4. 04

   Act on defects

   Arrange any repairs the report lists by the dates it gives, and keep a record of what was done.

5. 05

   Keep the reports

   Keep each report at least until the next one is made, or for two years if that is later. Then update the schedule from the new report’s date.

Our guide to LOLER inspections for property managers covers the paperwork that most often goes missing.

The printable schedule.

Once you have worked out the dates, the schedule below shows them, ready to print or save as a PDF. If you have not used the planner, it prints blank, ready to fill in by hand. Fill in the booking, examination and report dates as the year goes on, and file the sheet with the lift’s reports.

Lifts in blocks of flats.

LOLER applies where a lift is used at work. HSE says a passenger lift in a block of flats is not work equipment, because it is mainly for the residents, so it is not subject to LOLER. It must still be kept safe under section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and HSE says a lift kept to the requirements of LOLER and PUWER will probably satisfy that duty. In our experience, most blocks of flats follow the same intervals. Our lesson on who is responsible for a lift explains the duties in more detail.

Check your understanding.

Three quick questions on this lesson. Choose an answer to check it, or open the answer below each question.

1. A lift that carries people had its last thorough examination on 10 March. There is no examination scheme. By when is the next one due?

   1. 10 March next year
   2. 10 September, 6 months later
   3. The next maintenance visit after 10 September
   Show the answer

   B. 10 September, 6 months later. Without an examination scheme, a lift that carries people needs a thorough examination at least every 6 months, so the next one is due by 10 September. Check the latest date on the report as well.

2. The second examination of the year took place in June, a month earlier than planned. When is the next one due?

   1. On the original date, a month later
   2. A month sooner, because the interval runs from June
   3. Whenever the maintenance contractor suggests
   Show the answer

   B. A month sooner, because the interval runs from June. The intervals are the longest allowed between examinations, so each one runs from the last examination that took place. With no examination scheme, the next one is due 6 months after June.

3. Your report gives a later date for the next examination than the interval suggests. What should you do?

   1. Use the later date without checking
   2. Ask your competent person which date applies, and plan to the earlier one until you know
   3. Ignore the report and use the interval
   Show the answer

   B. Ask your competent person which date applies, and plan to the earlier one until you know. A later date can be right where an examination scheme sets a longer interval. Check with your competent person; until you know, planning to the earlier date keeps the lift within the interval.

Sources.

The primary sources for this lesson. We checked them when the lesson was last updated on 18 October 2026. How we research and check our lessons.

1. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9legislation.gov.uk. Thorough examination intervals, examination schemes and exceptional circumstances.
2. LOLER 1998, Schedule 1legislation.gov.uk. What a report must contain, including the latest date for the next examination.
3. LOLER 1998, regulations 10 and 11legislation.gov.uk. Reporting defects, and how long to keep reports (regulation 11 follows on the same site).
4. L113: Safe use of lifting equipmentHealth and Safety Executive. Approved Code of Practice and guidance on LOLER, including examination schemes.