How Often Is a GA1 Inspection Required? 6-Month vs 12-Month Intervals Explained

The most common question we get, and the answer fits in two lines:

• Every 6 months — equipment used to lift people, and lifting accessories.
• Every 12 months — other lifting equipment.

Now the detail, because the difference between the two lists is where machines fall out of compliance without anyone noticing.

The 6-month list

Under the General Application Regulations 2007, a thorough examination is required at least every six months for:

• Anything that lifts people. MEWPs, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, mast climbers, man baskets and the cranes or telehandlers used with them. The logic is simple — a failure with a person in the air is unforgiving, so the examination interval is halved.
• Lifting accessories. Chains, slings (chain, wire rope and webbing), shackles, hooks, eyebolts, spreader beams and similar. Accessories take the hardest, least visible wear of anything on a lifting job, which is why they share the shorter interval.

The 12-month list

Other lifting equipment generally needs a thorough examination at least every twelve months: telehandlers and forklifts, mobile and tower cranes, lorry loaders, hoists and winches, excavators when used for lifting, and tractor front loaders used for lifting.

The trap: a telehandler is 12-monthly — until you fit a man basket to it. Then the machine-plus-basket combination is lifting people and needs the 6-month regime. Watch attachments generally: the machine and the accessory can be on different clocks.

Three things that reset the clock early

A GA1 due date is a maximum, not a guarantee. A fresh thorough examination is needed before the due date if:

1. The equipment is substantially altered or repaired — anything affecting load-bearing parts or safety systems.
2. There is an incident that could have affected the equipment's safety — an overload, a collision, a dropped load, a tip-over. Even if the machine looks fine.
3. Safety depends on installation conditions — equipment that must be examined in position after installation or assembly, before first use.

If any of these happen, the existing GA1 no longer tells you the machine is safe. See our full post on GA1 after repair or modification.

How to never miss a due date

Every GA1 report states when the next thorough examination is due — but a due date buried in a site folder protects nobody. What works:

• Keep a single register of all lifting equipment with due dates, owned by one named person.
• Book inspections a month ahead of the due date, not on it — it leaves room to fix defects without downtime.
• Group equipment onto shared dates where possible, so one inspection visit covers the fleet.
• Use digital records with automatic due-date alerts rather than paper in a drawer.

One visit, whole fleet

L&M Plant & Inspection Services Ltd. can align your 6 and 12 month examinations so your equipment is covered in the fewest visits possible, with every report stating its next due date and reminders before anything lapses. Call 083 870 5355 to set up a schedule.