Scaffold inspection requirements in the UK:
what the law asks for.

The legal basis: Work at Height Regulations 2005

Scaffold inspection in Great Britain comes mainly from regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, titled "Inspection of work equipment". A scaffold is work equipment, so three parts of that regulation matter most:

• After it is put up - regulation 12(2). Where the safety of equipment "depends on how it is installed or assembled", it must not be used after installation or assembly "in any position unless it has been inspected in that position".
• When conditions cause wear - regulation 12(3). Equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration must be inspected "at suitable intervals" and "each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the work equipment have occurred".
• The 7-day rule - regulation 12(4). A working platform "used for construction work" and "from which a person could fall 2 metres or more" must not be used in any position "unless it has been inspected in that position" (or, for a mobile working platform, inspected on the site) "within the previous 7 days".

The same regulation defines inspection as "such visual or more rigorous inspection by a competent person as is appropriate for safety purposes", including any testing that is appropriate.

Inspection sits alongside the general duties in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. These rules apply in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own equivalent regulations.

How often should scaffolding be inspected?

HSE's scaffolding guidance puts it simply. A scaffold should be inspected:

1. Following installation, before first use.
2. At intervals of no more than 7 days after that, for as long as it stays up and in use.
3. After any circumstances liable to jeopardise its safety - HSE gives high winds as an example.

HSE's work at height FAQs add adverse weather and "substantial alteration" as reasons for a fresh inspection. So an altered scaffold - an extra lift, ties moved, a loading bay added - should be inspected again before use, even if the last 7-day inspection was yesterday.

Two points people miss. The 7 days is a maximum, not a target - an exposed or heavily used scaffold may need checking more often. And lower scaffolds (under 2 metres) still need inspecting after assembly and at suitable intervals under regulations 12(2) and 12(3); they are only outside the fixed 7-day cycle.

Who can carry out a scaffold inspection?

The law says a competent person. It doesn't list a qualification. HSE describes this as someone whose "combination of knowledge, training and experience is appropriate" for the type and complexity of the scaffold.

How that looks in practice:

• CISRS. HSE says competence "may have been assessed under" the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS). As well as scaffolder cards, CISRS runs scaffold inspection training, with a Basic and an Advanced level of inspection card and short courses for specific system scaffolds. The Advanced level is aimed at people inspecting more complex structures. Course content, eligibility and renewal rules are set by CISRS and change from time to time, so check their site for the current details.
• Manufacturer training. For system scaffolds, HSE says the person may have been trained by the manufacturer or supplier on that system.
• Non-scaffolders. HSE says a non-scaffolder - for example a site manager - who has attended a suitable inspection course and has the right background experience could be considered competent to inspect a basic scaffold. That does not stretch to complex or designed structures.

The honest test: does this person know what correct looks like for this scaffold? A card helps show that, but it is the match between person and structure that matters.

Handover vs inspection: not the same thing

• Handover is when the scaffolding contractor finishes erecting the scaffold and formally passes it to the client or user, usually with a handover certificate saying what was built, what it is for and its loading limits. NASC recommends issuing one, and its guidance note SG35:21 covers handover and the first inspection, but the handover certificate itself is good industry practice rather than a document the regulations name.
• Inspection is the statutory check under regulation 12 - before first use, every 7 days, and after weather or alterations - with a written report each time.

On many jobs the first inspection happens at handover, done jointly by the scaffolder and the site manager. That's sensible, but the handover certificate doesn't replace the report, and it certainly doesn't cover the next 7 days. Once the scaffold is handed over, HSE is clear that it is the scaffold user or hirer's responsibility to make sure inspections happen.

What a scaffold inspection report must record

For inspections under the 7-day rule, regulation 12(7) says the person who inspects must write a report "before the end of the working period within which the inspection is completed" and give it (or a copy) to the person it was done for "within 24 hours of completing the inspection". Schedule 7 lists what the report must contain:

1. The name and address of the person for whom the inspection was carried out.
2. The location of the work equipment inspected.
3. A description of the work equipment inspected.
4. The date and time of the inspection.
5. Details of any matter identified that could give rise to a risk to the health or safety of any person.
6. Details of any action taken as a result of any matter identified.
7. Details of any further action considered necessary.
8. The name and position of the person making the report.

HSE adds that defects must be noted even if they were put right on the spot - "the scaffold was fine" is not a true record if a missing toe board was refitted during the check.

How long to keep it

Under regulation 12(8), the report must be kept at the site until the construction work is completed, and then at an office for 3 months. Many firms keep them longer for insurance reasons - ask your insurer.

TG20 compliance sheets vs bespoke design

Before you can inspect a scaffold properly, you need to know what it is supposed to look like. HSE says a scaffold must be designed by calculation by a competent person unless it is built to a recognised standard configuration - such as NASC's TG20 for tube and fitting scaffolds, or the manufacturer's guidance for system scaffolds.

• TG20 compliance sheet. The current edition is TG20:21. NASC's eGuide produces a compliance sheet summarising the scaffold's key dimensions and criteria. If the scaffold is built to it, no bespoke design is needed. The inspector should check what is on site matches the sheet.
• Bespoke design. Anything outside the compliant range needs a design and drawings. HSE's examples of structures that normally need one include sign board supports, temporary screens, temporary storage on scaffolds, masts and lighting towers, advertising hoardings and rubbish chutes. TG20:21 itself only covers a limited range of loading bays, cantilevers, bridges, rakers and protection fans, so check before assuming. The inspector checks against those drawings, so they need a copy, and the right level of competence to read them.

HSE also warns that changes which move a scaffold outside its standard configuration "must be designed by a competent person and proven by calculation". Adding sheeting, netting or heavy loading may need a new design first.

Scafftags and status tags

Tag systems - a holder at each access point with a green or red insert, signed and dated at each inspection - are common on UK sites. HSE's FAQ is clear that "it is not a legal requirement to use scafftags", and that a tag is a way "to supplement inspection records". It is not the Schedule 7 report.

Client and principal contractor vs scaffolder: who does what

Roles vary with the contract, so agree them in writing. As a general picture:

• Scaffolding contractor - erects, alters and dismantles to the compliance sheet or design, hands over, and often carries out the 7-day inspections if that is part of the order.
• User or hirer - HSE says it is their responsibility to make sure the scaffold has been inspected before first use, every 7 days and after bad weather. They can pay the scaffolder to do the inspections, but the duty to make sure they happen stays with them.
• Principal contractor - under CDM 2015, plans, manages and monitors the construction phase, which includes making sure scaffolds are inspected, reports are on site and nobody alters a scaffold who shouldn't.
• Everyone using it - leaves ties, boards and guardrails alone and reports damage.

Common faults found at inspection

Many of these reflect points in HSE's scaffolding guidance; others are everyday site experience:

• Missing or removed ties. Ties taken out "for access" and not replaced. HSE says an equivalent tie must be provided nearby when one is removed.
• Guardrails and toe boards. Top guardrails must be at least 950 mm above the edge, intermediate rails must leave no gap over 470 mm, and toe boards must stop materials falling.
• Boards. Platforms not fully boarded (usually at least 600 mm wide), boards not properly supported or overhanging by more than four times their thickness, damaged boards.
• Foundations. Soft ground, voids, base plates or sole boards undermined by excavations or water.
• Overloading. Materials stacked on platforms not designed for them.
• Unauthorised changes. Sheeting or netting added without telling the designer, bracing removed, rakers not braced or footed.

A practical inspection-day checklist

Common record-keeping mistakes

• Missed 7-day inspections - usually not because nobody cared, but because nobody was tracking every scaffold's date.
• No re-inspection after storms or alterations because the "weekly" one wasn't due yet.
• Treating a signed tag as the record.
• Reports missing particulars - no time, no inspector's position, defects not described.
• Records in a van or a WhatsApp chat, not on site.
• Inspector not matched to the job - someone trained on basic scaffolds signing off a designed structure.

How software helps when you have dozens of scaffolds

With one scaffold, a paper register works. With dozens across several sites, the risk is the inspection that never happened, or the report nobody can find. DuoApp is UK job, team and site management software - £10 per user per month with every feature included. Here's what it does, and doesn't do, for scaffolding firms:

• Every scaffold as a job or area. Set up each site and break it into scaffolds or elevations, then assign inspections to people or teams - see projects & tasks.
• 7-day inspections that schedule themselves. Make the inspection a recurring task on a weekly or custom interval. The next one appears when the last is completed, or a set number of days before it's due, and overdue ones are highlighted, so a missed scaffold stands out.
• Inspection checklists on the phone. Build your own checklist with pass / fail / N/A checks, photos, signatures and automatic timestamps, so each record captures who inspected, when, what was found and what was done. It works offline on site and syncs later - see quality control.
• Inspector cards in date. Store CISRS and other cards per person with expiry dates, get warnings before they lapse, and optionally block work for people whose documents aren't current - see document compliance.
• Drawings people have actually opened. Mark a design drawing or method statement "required to view" so sign-off is blocked until the person has opened the latest revision - see document alerts.
• A record you can find. Reports, photos and drawings sit in the job's file manager with an audit trail of every change, and clients can be given access to see only their own sites.

To be clear: DuoApp doesn't print or replace scafftags, or produce TG20 compliance sheets or designs, and you set up your own checklist to capture the Schedule 7 particulars. What it does is make sure every scaffold has a dated, photographed, signed record - and that nobody forgets the next one. See how it fits on our scaffolding software page.

Frequently asked questions

How often should scaffolding be inspected in the UK?

A scaffold used for construction work that someone could fall 2 metres or more from must be inspected after it is put up and before first use, at intervals of no more than 7 days after that, and after anything liable to affect its safety, such as high winds or an alteration.

Who is allowed to inspect a scaffold?

A competent person - someone with the right combination of knowledge, training and experience for that type of scaffold. HSE says competence may be assessed under CISRS or through manufacturer training, and a non-scaffolder with a suitable inspection course and experience may be competent to inspect a basic scaffold.

What must a scaffold inspection report include?

Schedule 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires the name and address of the person the inspection was for, the location and description of the scaffold, the date and time, any risks found, action taken, further action needed, and the name and position of the person making the report.

How long do scaffold inspection records need to be kept?

The report must be kept on site until the construction work is completed, and then at an office for 3 months.

Is a scafftag a legal requirement?

No. HSE says scafftags are not a legal requirement. They are a useful way to show at the access point that a scaffold has been inspected, but they supplement the written inspection report rather than replace it.

Is a handover certificate the same as an inspection?

No. A handover certificate is recommended industry practice when the scaffolder passes a finished scaffold to the user. The statutory inspection is a separate duty, needed before first use, every 7 days and after bad weather or alterations, with a written report each time.