What is the CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code?

The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code is a 20-section document — currently Revision 2, September 2021 — setting out the precise standards all CFTS-accredited companies and registered competent persons must meet when carrying out Thorough Examinations of forklift trucks and lifting equipment under LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998. It is built on UKMHA Guidance Note GN28 and covers competent person qualifications, independence requirements, examination conduct, reporting, quality management, documentation, complaint handling, and accreditation procedures. It is freely available to download from thoroughexamination.org.

What qualifications does a CFTS competent person need?

Under the CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code, a competent person carrying out Thorough Examinations must: have a minimum of five years' experience as a service engineer in a relevant sector (including appropriate apprentice training); be capable of inspecting a full range of equipment for safety-critical items including all hydraulics, braking systems, steering systems, traction systems, safety systems, and general structure; have passed a Thorough Examination course approved by CFTS; be authorised as a competent person by their current employer; and attend a revalidation course at least every five years from a CFTS-approved body. Only named personnel who have attended an approved training centre are permitted to carry out Thorough Examinations under the CFTS scheme.

What is GN28 and how does it relate to CFTS?

GN28 — UKMHA Guidance Note 28: Thorough Examination and Safety Inspections of Industrial Lift Trucks — is the technical reference document written and developed by the Technical Policy Committee, whose members represent major manufacturers and suppliers of industrial mechanical handling equipment and include Chartered and Incorporated Engineers. The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code uses GN28 as the technical framework for its examination scheme. All Thorough Examinations carried out under the CFTS scheme must be conducted in accordance with GN28 and any supplementary instructions issued by CFTS.

How does CFTS ensure a Thorough Examination is independent from maintenance?

The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code contains detailed independence requirements. A competent person's remuneration must not depend on the number of examinations carried out or their results. They must be free from commercial, financial, or other pressures that could affect their judgement. The Thorough Examination must be conducted and documented separately from any maintenance or repair work — the examination must be completed and the report written before any other work begins. A competent person should not normally examine equipment they regularly repair or maintain. These requirements are not self-certified — compliance is subject to independent annual assessment by CFTS.

What quality checks does CFTS require on Thorough Examinations?

The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code requires accredited companies to carry out planned, documented internal quality audits at least annually. A key requirement is that 1% of all Thorough Examinations must be re-examined — either by the Thorough Examination Manager conducting a re-examination, or by arranging for a different competent person to carry out a separate examination of the same equipment. All Thorough Examination reports must be completed within 48 hours of the examination and retained for a minimum of two years in the UK, or five years in the Republic of Ireland. On an annual basis, all members must confirm to CFTS that they are adhering to the current Code and update their company and competent person details.

What happens if a CFTS Thorough Examination finds a dangerous defect?

Under the CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code and LOLER Regulation 10, if the competent person identifies a defect involving an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, a copy of the Report of Thorough Examination must be sent to the relevant enforcing authority as soon as practicable. For factory and manufacturing sites, and for lease and rental trucks, the enforcing authority is the HSE. For retail, warehousing, and distribution sites, it is the local authority. The client must be advised to stop using the equipment immediately until repairs have been completed. Where defects are found that do not immediately affect safety, the report will specify a timescale within which they must be rectified.

Does the CFTS scheme cover the Republic of Ireland?

Yes. The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code explicitly covers both the UK and the Republic of Ireland. CFTS-authorised documentation is colour-coded by region — green reports for standard equipment in the Republic of Ireland, orange for attachments, and purple for MEWPs and other equipment. Record retention in the Republic of Ireland follows the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, which requires reports to be kept for five years — longer than the two-year minimum required in the UK under LOLER Regulation 11.

What is a Thorough Examination for a forklift truck?

A Thorough Examination is the mandatory inspection required by law to ensure the mechanical parts of a forklift truck are in safe working order. It is required under LOLER 1998 (covering lifting components such as mast, forks, and chains) and PUWER 1998 (covering vehicle safety components such as brakes, steering, and tyres). It is carried out by a competent person at legally specified intervals — at least every 12 months for most forklift trucks, or every 6 months for equipment used to lift people. It is not the same as a routine service or maintenance inspection.

What is a LOLER inspection for a forklift?

A LOLER inspection is the common name for a Thorough Examination — the mandatory inspection required under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). However, a genuine Thorough Examination must also cover PUWER 1998 (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations), which governs the vehicle's safety components including brakes, steering, and tyres. An inspection that only covers LOLER is incomplete and leaves the employer potentially non-compliant with PUWER. A CFTS Thorough Examination always covers both LOLER and PUWER requirements in a single visit.

CFTS is the UK forklift industry's national accreditation scheme for Thorough Examination, created in 2004 by BITA and the FLTA (now the UKMHA) in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive. It is the only scheme providing a unified national standard for forklift Thorough Examinations covering both LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998. Nearly 800 member depots and more than 2,500 registered competent persons across the UK and Republic of Ireland are accredited to CFTS. The CFTS mark on a Report of Thorough Examination guarantees the examination is full, valid under law, and carried out by a trained engineer to the industry's agreed quality standard.

How often does a forklift need a Thorough Examination?

Most forklift trucks require a Thorough Examination at least every 12 months. Equipment used to lift people, and all lifting accessories and attachments, must be examined at least every 6 months. An examination is also required following any exceptional circumstances that could jeopardise safety — such as an accident, overloading, or significant impact. A competent person may agree an examination scheme specifying different intervals based on the type of truck, its use, operating hours, and environment.

Who is responsible for arranging a forklift Thorough Examination?

The employer of the forklift operator is responsible for ensuring a valid Thorough Examination is in place, whether the truck is owned, leased, or hired on a long-term basis. For short-term hire arrangements of less than 12 months, the hire company carries the responsibility as owner. In all cases, the employer of the operator must ensure the truck has a valid Report of Thorough Examination and must be able to produce it when requested by an enforcement officer.

How do I find a CFTS-accredited examiner near me?

CFTS maintains a register of all accredited companies and registered competent persons across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Use the postcode search tool on thoroughexamination.org to find your nearest CFTS-accredited company. With nearly 800 accredited company depots across the UK and Ireland, a CFTS Thorough Examination is available nationwide.

Is a service or maintenance inspection the same as a Thorough Examination?

No. The Health and Safety Executive states clearly: 'Your regular inspections as part of a preventive maintenance scheme or scheduled service are not a thorough examination.' A Thorough Examination under LOLER and PUWER is a separate statutory requirement carried out by a competent person. A truck can be fully serviced and still be non-compliant if no Thorough Examination has been carried out. The two can be completed on the same visit, but the Thorough Examination must be conducted and documented first.

How do I become a CFTS-accredited company?

Companies that service, inspect, and maintain forklift trucks and wish to carry out Thorough Examinations can apply for CFTS accreditation at thoroughexamination.org. Applicants must provide detailed information about the staff who will carry out Thorough Examinations — including their qualifications and experience — along with details of facilities, equipment, and training programmes. All accredited companies must commit to the CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code and accept independent assessment and a formal complaints procedure.

The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code: What It Requires and Why It Matters

How do you know that a Thorough Examination is genuinely thorough?

That the engineer who carried it out was properly qualified? That the report you received is independent, accurate, and worth the paper it's printed on?

The answer is the CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code.

Every company accredited to CFTS must sign up to this 20-section document in full. It sets out — precisely and in detail — the standards that all CFTS-accredited companies and registered competent persons must meet at every stage of the Thorough Examination process. From the qualifications of the engineer to the independence of the report. From the equipment they carry to the way complaints are handled.

CFTS makes the Code freely available to download. Anyone commissioning a Thorough Examination can read it and see exactly what they should be getting.

To read the Code as a PDF, click here.

The foundation: UKMHA Guidance Note GN28

The Code is built on UKMHA Guidance Note GN28 — Thorough Examination and Safety Inspections of Industrial Lift Trucks — developed by the Technical Policy Committee, whose members include Chartered and Incorporated Engineers and Members of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

GN28 is the technical reference standard for how a Thorough Examination of an industrial lift truck should be conducted. The CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code takes GN28 as its examination framework and surrounds it with the quality assurance, training, independence, and administrative requirements that turn a document into a deliverable standard.

Where equipment is not covered by GN28 — for example, boom-type MEWPs — the same principles are applied.

What a competent person must meet

Not everyone can carry out a Thorough Examination under the CFTS scheme. Section 9 of the Code sets out precise requirements for every registered competent person:

A minimum of five years' experience as a service engineer in a relevant sector — which may include appropriate apprentice training
The capability to inspect a full range of equipment for safety-critical items, including all hydraulics, braking systems, steering systems, traction systems, safety systems, and general structure
Completion of a Thorough Examination course approved by CFTS
Authorisation as a competent person by their current employer
Attendance at a revalidation course at least every five years, provided by a CFTS-approved body

Only named personnel who have attended an approved training centre are permitted to carry out Thorough Examinations under the CFTS scheme. Every competent person's experience and qualifications are uploaded to the CFTS database for assessment and authorisation — and must be kept current.

This is not a self-certified standard. The qualifications are verified. The training is independently assessed.

What a Thorough Examination body must have

The Code doesn't just regulate individual competent persons. It regulates the companies that employ them. Every CFTS-accredited Thorough Examination body must:

Have a minimum of two persons — a Thorough Examination Manager and at least one competent person
Designate a Thorough Examination Manager with either a minimum of two years' experience as a CFTS-accredited competent person, or completion of a CFTS-approved TE Manager course (revalidated every five years)
Maintain documented training records for all personnel involved in Thorough Examinations
Hold appropriate insurance for its level of business
Use only CFTS-authorised documentation — either paper or electronic
Only sub-contract Thorough Examinations to other companies registered with CFTS

Independence and impartiality

Section 5 of the Code addresses something that matters more than most people realise: the independence of the examination from the repair and maintenance function.

A competent person's remuneration must not depend on the number of examinations carried out or their results. They must be free from commercial, financial, or other pressures that could affect their judgement. If approached with any benefit or reward in relation to an examination, they must refuse and report it immediately.

The examination must be conducted and reported separately from any routine maintenance or repair work. Where the same engineer both examines and services a truck, the examination must be completed and documented first — before any other work begins. The Report of Thorough Examination must reflect the condition of the equipment at the time of examination, not after it has been repaired.

For small companies, the Code is specific about what is acceptable: splitting the fleet so that different competent persons examine and maintain different trucks, or designating one or two persons solely for Thorough Examinations. The principle is clear — a competent person should not normally examine equipment they regularly repair or maintain.

Quality assurance and the 1% check

The Code requires every accredited company to carry out a system of planned, documented internal quality audits at least once a year. Quality assessments must be completed following any significant change within the company, and more frequently if quality issues have been identified.

A key requirement of the quality management system: 1% of all Thorough Examinations must be re-examined — either by the Thorough Examination Manager conducting a re-examination, or by arranging for a different competent person to re-examine the equipment. This is a concrete, measurable quality control standard. It is not common to inspection schemes outside CFTS.

All Thorough Examination reports must be completed within 48 hours of the examination and retained for a minimum of two years (or five years for equipment in the Republic of Ireland, in line with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007).

On an annual basis, all members must log in to the CFTS website to confirm they are adhering to the current Code and to update their company and competent person details.

What the report must do

Under Section 12 of the Code, the Report of Thorough Examination must:

Be completed in a form authorised by CFTS
Identify all safety-related defects found and specify timescales for remedying them
Be signed by the competent person
Confirm whether the equipment is safe to remain in service until the next examination
Where defects represent an imminent danger, clearly state this and recommend withdrawal from service
Be accompanied, at the time of inspection, by a label affixed to the equipment showing the exact date the next Thorough Examination is due

Where a defect in the lifting equipment involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, a copy of the report must be sent to the relevant enforcing authority — HSE for factory and manufacturing sites and lease/rental trucks, or the local authority for retail, warehousing, and distribution sites.

Accreditation and arbitration

Companies wishing to apply for CFTS accreditation must provide detailed information about the staff who will carry out Thorough Examinations, their facilities, equipment, and training programmes. They must commit to the full requirements of the Code and accept independent assessment and a formal complaints procedure.

Where accreditation is refused or disputed, a formal two-stage arbitration process applies — first with CFTS's Technical Manager, then, if unresolved, with RTITB as an independent arbitration body. There are no costs to the company lodging a grievance other than travel.

Apply for CFTS accreditation

Find a CFTS-accredited examiner near you

Thorough Examination

A guide from CFTS

CFTS Quality Assurance Procedural Code