Updated November 3, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Check OSHA, your state plan (for example Cal/OSHA) and your insurer for your own site.
"Do I have to do a forklift inspection every day, and do I have to keep the paper?" The answers are different, and most checklist pages blur them. Here is what OSHA actually requires, what it does not, and how to build a daily check that holds up anyway.
What OSHA requires
The standard for powered industrial trucks, 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7), says each truck must be examined before being placed in service. The examination must be made at least daily. Where trucks are used on a round-the-clock basis, they must be examined after each shift. Defects found must be immediately reported and corrected.
Two practical points follow from that wording:
- It is per truck, per day of use. In an OSHA letter of interpretation, the agency says a truck that is stored or not used every day does not need an examination until it is ready to be placed in service. See the 2005-03-03 interpretation.
- Multi-shift use means a check per shift. If a truck runs through several shifts, "once a day" is not enough.
A truck whose examination shows a condition that adversely affects safety must not be placed in service until the problem is fixed. The standard also expects repairs on trucks to be made by authorized people, and operators to be trained and evaluated under paragraph (l).
What OSHA does not require: a written record
In a letter of interpretation dated February 7, 2000, OSHA states that the standard does not require documentation of a powered industrial truck examination, and that how long to keep a record, if you make one, is the employer's decision.
So when someone searches "how long to keep forklift inspection records," the honest answer is: OSHA does not set a number. Your state plan, your insurer, your customers' audit terms or your own policy might. Check these before you decide, and write the period down.
Then why keep a record?
Because the exam happening is not the same as being able to show it happened. After an incident, or during an insurance audit, "we check every morning" is a statement; a dated record with the operator, the truck and the answers is evidence. It also gives you a trail of repeats (the same truck's brakes flagged three Mondays running), and it is how the supervisor knows the truck was actually cleared before the next operator took it. That is a business reason, not a legal one.
What to check before each shift
OSHA does not publish one mandatory list, so build yours from the truck's operator manual and the manufacturer's recommendations, then add site-specific items. A practical daily check usually covers:
- Walk-around: leaks (fluid or hydraulic), damage, tire condition and wheel nuts, overhead guard and load backrest intact.
- Forks and mast: forks straight, no cracks, locking pins in place; chains and mast free of damage; carriage moves smoothly.
- Power: battery charge, cables and connectors (electric); fuel, oil and coolant levels, and LPG cylinder mounting and hose (engine trucks).
- Controls and driver compartment: seat and seat belt or restraint, steering, parking brake, service brake, horn, lights, backup alarm, hydraulic controls.
- Safety devices: data plate and capacity legible, warning labels present, fire extinguisher where required.
- Test drive and lift: brief drive, brake test, lift and tilt without load, listen for unusual noise.
The photo matters: a quick picture of the defect (or the cracked fork) is worth more than a note that says "damaged."
The truck fails the check: what now?
- Stop and tag it out. The truck does not go into service. Put a clear tag on it and take the key.
- Report immediately to the supervisor, naming the truck and the defect.
- Repair by an authorized person, then record who repaired it and when.
- Clear it for use. A named person records that the truck was re-examined and returned to service.
- Who may operate it again? Only trained and evaluated operators, after the truck is cleared.
The record of the failed check, the tag-out and the clearance is the part a supervisor most often cannot produce after the fact.
A checklist that lives on your phone
On paper, the daily sheet gets lost, filled in at the end of the week, or not filled in at all. With a QR code on each truck (on the overhead guard or the dash), the operator scans, answers the items, adds a photo if something is off, and the check is saved under that truck with who did it and when. A supervisor can see which trucks have not been checked this shift and open one truck's history in a tap. The operator does not need an account. A QR code does not replace the physical examination; it makes the record faster to complete and easier to find.
Start from a template
You can start from our forklift daily inspection template: free to start, editable for your fleet's makes and models, with photo capture and a signature or initials field. If you want the OSHA rule laid out with a sample record, see forklift OSHA compliance. Both help you keep records; neither guarantees compliance.
Sources
- 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered industrial trucks (OSHA)
- OSHA letter of interpretation, February 7, 2000: documentation of daily examinations
- OSHA letter of interpretation, March 3, 2005: examination of trucks not used daily
What this post does and does not do
This post summarizes OSHA's federal rule in plain language. State plans and employers' own policies can ask for more. The inspection itself is done by a trained person looking at the truck.