The forklift licence, and what the law actually says

Where the rule comes from

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 has a set of regulations for machines that move under power, the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015. Regulation 18 deals with lifting machines, which include forklifts, reach trucks, cranes and hoists. Among other things it says that an employer, called the user in the regulations, may not require or permit any person to operate a lifting machine unless that person has been trained and found competent by an accredited training provider, and that the operator must be medically fit.

In 2024 the Chief Inspector of the Department of Employment and Labour incorporated a National Code of Practice for the Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators into the regulations. It is the rulebook every training company must follow: who may be trained, for how long, on which machine codes, how the assessment is done, what the certificate and licence card must contain, and how long they last. The Code also settles the accreditation question. Training providers may be accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) or by the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) until the end of June 2027; after that only QCTO accreditation counts.

What you must have before training

• Be at least 18 years old and physically able to do the tasks involved in operating the machine.
• Schooling: at least Grade 9, ABET level 4 or NQF level 1 for new entrants.
• Proof of medical fitness: an employer declaration or a medical certificate confirming you are fit to undergo the training.
• An eye test issued by a person trained to do it, confirming adequate day and night vision and depth perception.
• For mobile and tower cranes only, the driving licence for the vehicle, and steel-toe footwear on the day.

These are the provider’s obligations to check, and a provider that trains without them is in breach of its accreditation. A reputable provider will ask for the medical and eye test before it takes your money.

The machine codes

The licence is not for “forklifts”. It is for a code, which fixes the type of machine and its rated capacity. Operating a machine outside your code is the same as having no licence. The forklift codes in Appendix 1 of the Code are:

Further codes cover other lift trucks, telescopic handlers and the crane family. The most common warehouse licence is F1 or F2, and a driver with F2 may operate an F1 machine but not a reach truck, which is F5.

How it works, step by step

1. Check the provider’s accreditation with QCTO or TETA for the code you need, and ask for the accreditation number. It must appear on your certificate.
2. Hand in the medical or employer declaration and the eye test.
3. Training and assessment. Theory and practical, with the practical assessed one on one by an assessor who holds a valid licence for that code. The assessment includes pre-start checks, operating and parking, scored on a penalty sheet; the Code sets a maximum time based on the assessor’s own run plus 50 percent.
4. Certificate of competence and licence card. The certificate carries the provider’s name, address and accreditation number, your details, the machine code and the assessor’s registration number. The licence or carry card shows the code, any restrictions, the issue date and the expiry date, which is at most 24 months later.
5. Re-licensing before expiry. Minimum four hours of theory with a safety focus and one hour of practical, and a fresh assessment. A lapsed card means you are not licensed until it is renewed.

Where a learner needs practical experience before the final assessment, the licensing body may issue a temporary licence for up to six months. It is for supervised experience, not for working unsupervised.

What the employer must do

• Only licensed operators, on their own code. Regulation 18 puts the duty on the user of the machine. The person driving without a licence is in breach; the employer that let them is the one the inspector prosecutes.
• Medical fitness of every operator, and the records of it.
• A load test and thorough examination of every lifting machine at intervals not exceeding 12 months, by a lifting machinery inspector registered for the purpose, with the test certificate and inspection records kept at the workplace. A forklift with an expired load test may not be used, whatever the driver holds.
• Daily pre-start checks by the operator, recorded, with defects taken out of service.
• Training records retained. The Code requires providers to keep learner records for five years; the employer should keep copies of every certificate and card.
• COIDA. Forklift injuries are among the most common serious injuries on duty. A COIDA registration and a current letter of good standing are what pay the claim.

What actually goes wrong

• The unaccredited “one-day forklift licence”. A card from a provider that holds no QCTO or TETA accreditation for that code is worthless, and the operator finds out after the accident.
• Driving a reach truck on a counterbalance licence, or a 5-ton machine on an F1 card.
• Cards that expired two years ago, still in the wallet, still accepted by the supervisor.
• No load test certificate for the machine. Inspectors ask for the machine’s papers before the driver’s.
• No medical. The provider skipped it, the employer never asked, and after an injury the insurer does.

Frequently asked questions