How often should forklifts be inspected?

The short answer: before use, every day

A forklift must be examined before it's placed in service, at least once a day, under 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7). Where trucks are used round the clock, the examination is due after each shift. That's the only inspection frequency in OSHA's forklift standard. Everything else on a forklift's schedule comes from the manufacturer, your maintenance program, your insurer or the rules where you work.

The daily check is short: a walk-around with the key off, then an operational test of the brakes, steering, controls, horn and lifting functions. The full list is in our forklift inspection checklist, and the rule itself is explained in OSHA forklift inspection requirements.

Every forklift inspection, and how often

Forklifts get several kinds of inspection, on different clocks and done by different people.

The last row isn't an inspection of the truck, but it's the other forklift deadline people mix up with inspections. OSHA requires each operator's performance to be evaluated at least once every three years; it doesn't require the truck itself to be inspected on that cycle.

What "round the clock" means

Round-the-clock use moves the examination from once a day to after every shift. The standard doesn't define the phrase, but the point is plain: a truck that works continuously across shifts gets examined at each change, so no operator inherits a truck nobody has looked at since the day before.

If you run two shifts and park the trucks overnight, the text only requires one examination a day. Checking at every shift change is still the stronger rule, because the second shift otherwise drives a truck that may have been hit, overloaded or run low on charge since the morning check. Either way, OSHA's July 2004 letter puts the duty on the employer "to determine that PITs are properly inspected", so decide the rule, write it down and make sure it happens.

Trucks that aren't used every day

A forklift that sits unused doesn't need a daily examination; it needs one before it's next placed in service. OSHA said so in a March 2005 letter about trucks used once or twice a month: if a truck "is stored or is not used every day, it would not require an examination until it is ready to be placed in service."

The same letter warns that trucks "that have been stored or not in use for significant periods of time may require some service or maintenance before being returned to use", and says to contact the manufacturer. A spare or seasonal truck deserves a fuller look than the daily list before it goes back to work: batteries discharge and tires lose pressure while a truck sits.

Planned maintenance intervals

Planned maintenance follows the manufacturer's schedule, not an OSHA interval. Manufacturers commonly set service intervals by hour meter, by calendar time, or whichever comes first, and the intervals differ by model, power type and duty, so use the numbers in your manual rather than a figure from someone else's fleet.

OSHA's standard does set rules for the work itself:

• Repairs only by "authorized personnel" (1910.178(q)(1)).
• Replacement parts "equivalent as to safety with those used in the original design" ((q)(5)).
• No alterations, added parts or extra counterweight without the manufacturer's approval ((q)(6) and (a)(4)).
• The battery disconnected before electrical repairs ((q)(4)).

Recording the hour meter on every daily check is the easiest way to know when service is due. The daily check and planned maintenance do different jobs; pre-use inspection vs preventive maintenance explains how they fit together.

Is an annual forklift inspection required?

Not by federal OSHA. The general industry forklift standard has a daily examination and a three-yearly operator evaluation, but no annual inspection of the truck. Annual or periodic inspections come from elsewhere:

• The manufacturer. Your service schedule may include a periodic, more thorough inspection.
• Consensus standards. On construction sites, 1926.602(c)(1)(vi) requires industrial trucks to meet ANSI B56.1-1969 for "inspection, testing, maintenance, and operation", which brings that standard's provisions in. Later editions of the B56 standards are published by ITSDF; check which one your manufacturer follows.
• Insurers and rental contracts. Either may require a documented periodic inspection as a condition of cover or hire.
• Other countries. In the UK, forklifts are lifting equipment under LOLER and need a thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months if they're used to lift people. See LOLER thorough examinations.

Inspecting more often than daily

Look again whenever something changes. Paragraph 1910.178(p)(1) applies "at any time": a truck found defective mid-shift comes out of service then, not at tomorrow's check. Recheck the truck after:

• a collision with racking, a door, a column or another vehicle;
• a dropped, shifted or overweight load;
• a warning light, an unusual noise or vibration, or a leak;
• a battery change or refueling, before driving off;
• fitting or changing an attachment.

Rented, borrowed and spare forklifts

A rented or borrowed forklift needs the same daily examination as your own. The rule follows the truck into your workplace, so your operator examines it before use each day, whoever owns it. Before a rental truck goes to work, ask the rental company when it was last serviced and who handles planned maintenance during a long hire, and get the operator's manual with it if it isn't on board.

Spare trucks are where daily checks quietly lapse. Under OSHA's 2005 letter, a spare that sits unused doesn't need an examination until it's put back in service, but that first examination matters most: nobody has looked at it for days, and it's often pressed into use in a hurry when another truck breaks down.

Knowing which trucks were checked today

The hard part of a daily rule is knowing it happened every day, for every truck. On paper, you find out when you leaf through the binder. With CheckBadges, operators scan the QR sticker on a truck and do its checklist on their own phone, and your dashboard shows which machines have been checked today and which have open problems. It doesn't send reminders for missed checks, but one glance shows which truck nobody has looked at. Add a number question for the hour meter and every check builds the service history as you go.