Scaffold inspections in the UK: the 7-day rule, written reports and who may inspect

In the UK a scaffold has to be inspected after it is erected and before anyone first uses it, then again within every seven-day period for as long as it stands, and again after any event that could have affected it, such as severe weather or an alteration. Each inspection ends in a written report that records the defects found and the action taken. The inspector must be competent for the scaffold in question; for simple scaffolds that can be someone who is not a scaffolder but has completed scaffold inspection training. Mobile tower scaffolds are inspected after assembly and, where a fall of 2 m or more is possible, every seven days as well. This guide looks only at the UK regime, as set by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and explained in guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). For an international overview see scaffolding safety: duties and standards.

The three moments that trigger an inspection

The routine interval is a maximum, not a target. Many contractors fix the inspection to a set weekday, a little ahead of the limit, so that a bank holiday or a sick inspector does not push the next visit past day seven. A scaffold that is not inspected on time should be treated as not available for use until it has been checked.

Events are easy to overlook

The handover and the weekly round tend to be planned. Event-driven inspections are where gaps appear, because nobody owns the decision that an event has happened. Typical cases:

• a storm overnight, especially on a sheeted scaffold;
• a trade asks for a tie or a board to be moved and someone obliges;
• an excavation, drain repair or service trench is opened near the base plates;
• a vehicle, skip or crane load knocks the scaffold;
• the scaffold has stood unused for a while and access was not secured.

A simple rule helps: whoever notices one of these reports it to the site manager, and the site manager decides whether an inspection is needed before work resumes. When in doubt, inspect. Our guide to scaffolding in wind and storms deals with the weather side in more detail.

What goes into the written report

HSE expects the report to document any defects and the measures taken to put them right. A report that simply says “OK” every week is of little use to anyone, least of all to the person who signed it if something later goes wrong. In practice a useful report identifies the scaffold and its location, the date and time, the inspector, what was looked at, what was wrong, what was done about it and whether the scaffold is fit for use.

The example shows the point of the exercise: every line connects a defect with a consequence. Where a defect cannot be fixed straight away, the report should say how the affected part is kept out of use. Store reports where the people using the scaffold, the principal contractor and any visiting inspector can find them. Some sites also use a status tag at each access point; that can help users, but it does not replace the written report.

Who may inspect a scaffold?

The law asks for a competent person: someone with enough training, knowledge and experience to recognise defects in that particular type of scaffold and to judge what they mean. HSE sets out the main routes:

• Scaffolders with suitable training and experience. HSE refers to the CISRS card scheme as the way to check a scaffolder's level of competence.
• Non-scaffolders, such as site managers or supervisors, who have completed a scaffold inspection training course. HSE accepts them as inspectors for simple scaffolds.
• More complex or designed scaffolds call for an inspector whose knowledge matches the complexity, which in practice usually means an experienced scaffolder or the scaffolding contractor's own inspector.

“Simple” is not a loophole. A trained site manager can sensibly inspect a standard independent scaffold on a house. The same person is unlikely to be competent to judge a cantilevered loading bay, a temporary roof or a scaffold built to a bespoke design. If the inspector cannot tell whether the scaffold matches its design or standard configuration, the inspection has not really happened. Background on standard configurations and designs is in our guide to TG20 and SG4.

Who arranges the inspection?

The duty to make sure a scaffold is inspected lies with those who control the work at height, typically the employer whose workers use the scaffold and the principal contractor coordinating the site. Who actually walks round with the clipboard is a matter for the contract: the scaffolding contractor, a trained member of the site team or a third-party inspector. Write it down. Many disputes after an incident start with each party assuming that someone else was inspecting.

What a competent inspector looks at

Every scaffold is different, but the inspection usually covers the same ground. The list below draws on the HSE guidance and the Work at Height Regulations:

1. Foundations: firm, level ground, base plates on sole boards, no hidden voids, cellars, drains or soft patches beneath the standards. Our sole board glossary entry explains the purpose.
2. Ties: all ties in place as designed. If a tie had to come out, an equivalent replacement must have gone in first, not afterwards.
3. Edge protection: main guard-rail no lower than 950 mm, measured from the platform edge, intermediate protection so that no gap exceeds 470 mm, toe-boards fitted. Older guard-rails at 910 mm are tolerated.
4. Platforms: boards complete, secure, undamaged and free of debris; no unprotected gaps at the building side.
5. Loading: materials within the duty the scaffold was built for. Without another statement from the contractor, that is general purpose at 2.0 kN/m².
6. Configuration: no extra working lifts, bays or loading platforms beyond what the standard configuration or design allows. On a tube and fitting scaffold to TG20, never three or more working lifts in use simultaneously.
7. Sheeting and netting: nothing fixed without the designer's knowledge, coverings intact and secured.
8. Access: ladders or stairs complete and secured, access points controlled at the end of the day.

The inspector also checks that the plan for erection, use and dismantling is still available on site, as HSE expects until the scaffold is struck.

Tower scaffolds: their own rhythm

Mobile aluminium towers often escape the inspection regime because they are seen as tools rather than structures. HSE takes a different view. A tower must be inspected after assembly, and if someone could fall 2 m or more from it, it must also be inspected at least every seven days while it remains in use. Because towers get moved and partly dismantled, many contractors treat each new assembly as a new handover. HSE also asks that a tower is lowered to no more than 4 m before it is moved and that it is pushed or pulled only at the base. Unsure which of the two suits the job? Our comparison of facade scaffold or mobile tower sets out the differences.

Example: twelve weeks on a refurbishment

A scaffold goes up on a terrace refurbishment on a Monday and is handed over after the first inspection the same afternoon. The site team fixes routine inspections for every Monday morning. In week three, a gale blows through on Wednesday night; the scaffold is inspected again on Thursday morning before anyone climbs, and a loosened sheeting tie is put right. In week six, the roofers need a loading bay; the scaffolding contractor adds it to the design, builds it and inspects it before use. In week nine, a drain repair opens a trench near the north return; that bay is closed until the base has been checked. At the end, the file holds a dozen weekly reports, two event inspections and one alteration handover, each with defects and actions recorded. That is what a well-run inspection regime looks like on paper.

Formal inspection and the user's daily look

The weekly inspection is not the only check. Anyone about to go up a scaffold should still glance at the obvious: guard-rails present, boards in place, access clear, no fresh damage. That daily look does not need a report and does not replace the formal inspection, but it catches problems that appear between two inspections. A useful habit is to tell every trade during induction where the inspection reports are kept and whom to call when something looks wrong.

Typical mistakes on UK sites

• Counting from the wrong day. The seven days run from the last inspection, not from the start of the week or the last visit by the scaffolding contractor.
• Skipping the event inspection. The weekly round was two days ago, then a gale hits. The weekly date does not cover the storm.
• Reports without actions. Defects noted but no record of who fixed them or how the area was closed off.
• Inspector out of depth. A trained non-scaffolder signing off a designed scaffold whose drawing they have never seen.
• Unrecorded alterations. Trades moving ties, boards or rails themselves; only the scaffolding contractor should alter the scaffold.
• Towers left out. A tower used for weeks on the same site without any record after its first assembly.

If inspections keep finding worn or damaged components, the cause may lie in the equipment itself. Our guide to worn scaffold parts explains when replacement is due.

Sources

• HSE web guidance: Scaffolds (updated 19.05.2026)
• HSE web guidance: Tower scaffolds (accessed 26.10.2026)
• The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735)