A forklift inspection is the check an operator makes before driving a lift truck at the start of a shift: is the truck sound, does everything that stops it, steers it and lifts with it actually work, and is the person about to drive it allowed to. This form takes you round the truck in the order you would naturally do it, shows only the fuel or battery checks for the truck in front of you, and tells you plainly when a defect means the truck stays parked. You can fill it in here and download the finished check as a PDF without creating an account.
Two halves: key out, then key in
A good pre-use check has a walk-round and an operating test, and they find different things. With the key out and the forks on the floor you can see what is broken: a cracked fork heel, a weeping cylinder, a cut tyre, a seat belt that will not latch. Only with the truck running can you find what does not work: brakes that pull, steering with too much play, a mast that creeps down after you let go of the lever.
This form keeps the two apart. The walk-round comes first because there is no sense testing the brakes on a truck with a gas leak or a cracked overhead guard.
Only the checks for your power type
Choose how the truck is powered in the details section and the fuel or battery section shows only what applies:
- LPG or propane — the cylinder seated on its locating pin, the coupling and hose, a smell or hiss of gas, and where the spares are kept.
- Diesel and petrol — fuel, engine oil, coolant, belts and exhaust.
- Lead-acid electric — battery restraint, connector and cables, vent caps and watering, the emergency disconnect.
- Lithium-ion electric — the same restraint and connector checks, plus the battery's own display and the casing, with no watering questions at all.
When a defect means the truck stays parked
Nine checks are treated as safety-critical: the overhead guard and chassis, the seat belt, the forks, the lift chains, hydraulic leaks, steering, the service brake, the parking brake, and lifting and lowering. Mark any of them as a defect and the form tells you to take the key out, tag the controls and report it before anything else.
Other defects — a cracked mirror, a dim work light — can often be reported and the truck used with care until it is fixed, if your site allows it. That decision belongs to your supervisor, not the form, which is why the result asks you who you told.
A smell of gas on an LPG truck is the exception that does not need a scored question to settle it. Close the cylinder valve, do not start the truck, and report it.
Who may drive, and how often the check is done
The check opens with the operator because the most common forklift finding is not a broken truck. It is a driver with no current authorisation, or one trained on a counterbalance truck driving a reach truck.
In the US, operators must be trained and evaluated on the type of truck they drive, with a performance evaluation at least every three years and refresher training after an incident or near miss. In the UK the approved code of practice for rider-operated lift trucks sets out basic, job-specific and familiarisation training; other countries license operators directly. The form asks the questions; your local rules decide the answer.
The check itself is done before each shift the truck is used, by the person who will drive it, and again if the truck changes hands mid-shift or is involved in a knock.
Common questions
How often should a forklift be inspected?
Before every shift it is used, by the operator, using a check like this one. Separately, a competent technician services it on the maker's schedule, and many countries require a periodic thorough examination of the lifting parts — in the UK, every twelve months or more often under LOLER. The daily check does not replace either.
What should a forklift daily checklist include?
The operator's authorisation; a walk-round of the guard, chassis, seat belt, tyres, forks, chains and hydraulics; the fuel or battery checks for its power type; and operating tests of steering, brakes, horn, lights, lift, lower and tilt. Each check should be tried, not just looked at.
Can I use a forklift with a defect?
Not if the defect affects braking, steering, lifting, the forks, the chains, the guard or the restraint. Take the key out, tag it, and report it. For a minor defect, follow your site's rule — some allow use with the defect reported, others do not.
How do I check fork wear?
Look at the heel, where the blade turns up into the shank, for cracks and thinning. Many makers and standards set the limit at about ten per cent loss of the original heel thickness; a fork caliper measures it in seconds. Also check the two blades are level and the tips are not bent.
Does this work for reach trucks and order pickers?
Yes. Choose the kind of truck in the details, mark anything it does not have as N/A, and check the extra items its maker lists — the reach mechanism, the platform gate, the harness anchor on an order picker — in the notes.
Who keeps the completed checks?
Usually the supervisor or the site's transport lead, for as long as your procedure says. The point of keeping them is that a defect reported on Monday and still there on Thursday is visible to somebody who can do something about it.