Warehouses, distribution yards, builders' merchants, construction sites, farms and plant hire depots: any site moving palletised or unit loads by fork.
Up to 4500 kg, diesel, gas (LPG) or electric
Theory and practical assessment, carried out on the employer's own machine, on their site.
No UK government body issues a licence to operate a counterbalance forklift, and no statute requires one.
The duty to train and assess competence sits with the employer, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 section 2(2)(c) and PUWER 1998 regulation 9.
The Approved Code of Practice L117, rider-operated lift trucks, covers counterbalance forklifts and sets out a three-stage training model: basic training, job-specific training, and familiarisation with the particular machine and site.
Where the forklift is used for lifting, LOLER 1998 applies to the lifting function, requiring thorough examination at intervals not exceeding 12 months, or 6 months where the equipment lifts people.
The employer still authorises each operator in writing under PUWER 1998 regulation 9; the certificate, records and site evidence statement are the evidence the employer relies on for that decision, not a substitute for it.