If you manage a building with a passenger lift, the compliance requirement is fixed and non-negotiable. Regulation 9 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 requires every lift used to carry persons to be thoroughly examined every 6 months. The duty falls on you: the employer or person in operational control. What catches facilities managers out is not the interval itself, it is the independence requirement for the competent person, and the gap between routine maintenance and LOLER examination.
Which equipment is in scope for 6-monthly examination?
Regulation 9(3)(a) of LOLER 1998 applies to any lifting equipment used to lift persons. The 6-month interval cannot be varied by a written examination scheme, even a competent person's bespoke scheme cannot extend it for person-carrying equipment. Full requirements are set out in the LOLER thorough examination framework. Equipment covered includes:
LOLER and the Lifts Regulations 1997: both apply, for different reasons
Both sets of regulations apply to most passenger lifts in UK buildings. They serve different purposes and are not mutually exclusive:
| Regulation | Applies when | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Lifts Regulations 1997 | New lift installed in a building after 1997 | Conformity assessment and CE marking before first use |
| LOLER 1998 | Any lift used at work, ongoing throughout working life | 6-monthly thorough examination by a competent person, Schedule 1 records |
| PUWER 1998 | All work equipment including lifts | Suitable for purpose, maintained, inspected, safe to use |
Your maintenance contract is not a LOLER examination
This is where many facilities managers have a compliance gap. The lift maintenance contract and the LOLER thorough examination are separate legal obligations. Paying for one does not satisfy the other.
Routine maintenance covers lubrication, adjustment, and minor repairs. It is not a thorough examination. The thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person who is sufficiently independent of the maintenance contractor. Having the same engineer who services the lift also sign off the LOLER examination creates a conflict of interest that the HSE considers incompatible with genuine independence.
Your maintenance contract and your LOLER examination contract should be with different parties. If they are with the same organisation, the examination team must have genuine operational independence from the maintenance team.
What the thorough examination covers
A closer look at what the competent person inspects and tests
A Schedule 1 thorough examination covers the full mechanical, electrical, and structural elements of the lift. The competent person will inspect and functionally test:
Not just anyone can sign off a passenger lift examination
LOLER requires a competent person with appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge of passenger lifts. In practice, this means a specialist lift engineer. LEIA (Lift and Escalator Industry Association) accreditation is the widely accepted UK standard. The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) also sets competency standards that apply across broader lifting equipment categories.
The Schedule 1 report produced must include the owner's name, a description and unique identifier for the equipment, the date of examination, the safe working load, any defects found and their category, the date by which defects must be remedied, the date of the next examination, and the competent person's name and signature. Every field must be completed. An incomplete Schedule 1 report is a compliance failure.
Taking on a building with existing lifts? Check the records first.
LOLER requires an initial thorough examination before a lift is first put into use, unless the duty holder has received a declaration of conformity made no more than 12 months previously. A lift installed under the Lifts Regulations 1997 will typically have a declaration of conformity that covers this. If the declaration is more than 12 months old or cannot be located, an initial LOLER examination is required before the lift enters service.
If you are taking on a managed building, verify that current examination records and declarations of conformity exist for every passenger lift before accepting operational responsibility. Inheriting a building without these records puts you in an immediate compliance gap. The liability transfers with the keys.
What happens when the examiner finds a defect
Defects found during thorough examination are classified into three categories:
What the second visit adds that the first could not
The twice-yearly cycle lets the competent person track how wear and deterioration are progressing. A single snapshot tells you current condition. Two snapshots tell you the rate of change, which is often more important. On the second and subsequent examinations, particular attention is paid to:
- Rope wear measurement: wire condition compared against the previous report to identify accelerating deterioration
- Brake adjustment: brake linings wear over time; the competent person checks that braking distances remain within tolerance
- Door closer adjustment: spring-loaded closers weaken with use; consistent closing force must be maintained across the examination cycle
- Safety gear function: a deployment test confirms the mechanism has not become stiff or seized between examinations
- Guide shoe wear: shoes wear progressively and affect ride quality; progressive wear is compared against previous records to identify trends
Goods Lift LOLER Requirements
Goods lifts and service lifts that carry persons, even occasionally, are subject to the same 6-monthly LOLER examination as passenger lifts. A goods lift LOLER inspection must be carried out by a competent person and documented on a Schedule 1 report.
If a goods lift is used purely for goods, with no person ever riding it, the 12-monthly interval may apply. Duty holders should confirm this in writing with their competent examiner. Any goods lift where there is any possibility of a person riding, even for maintenance access, must be treated as person-carrying and examined every 6 months. The HSE takes a strict view on this point.
How Lolerflow handles passenger lift compliance
Lolerflow has the 6-month examination interval pre-configured for all person-carrying equipment, including passenger lifts. When an examination is completed, the Schedule 1 report is generated and made available in the client portal immediately. Building managers can view and download their records without contacting the inspection company.
Automated reminders alert both the inspection company and the client when the next examination is approaching, so no lift passes its due date across a portfolio of buildings. The full audit trail, examination reports, defect records, and remediation dates, is stored centrally. If the HSE requests evidence of compliance, you can produce it immediately.