Three-yearly MEWP inspection: a practical guide to the new duty

The starting point

Art. 12 of Italian Law no. 34 of 11 March 2026 amended Annex VII of Legislative Decree 81/2008, adding mobile elevating work platforms to the equipment subject to periodic inspection, at three-yearly intervals. The inspection verifies that the equipment maintains its safety conditions and continues to meet the characteristics established at the manufacturing stage.

The news itself is well known by now; what generates most uncertainty in practice is the “how”. Below are the operational points that come up most often in companies' questions.

1. Which platforms are covered

The duty concerns equipment intended to lift people to height to carry out work. This includes, by way of example:

• self-propelled vertical platforms;
• articulated and telescopic platforms;
• truck-mounted platforms;
• other MEWPs designed for lifting people.

The first concrete step is therefore an inventory of the fleet: many companies discover at this stage that they hold equipment not on their records, on long-term rental or acquired with business units.

2. Who carries out the inspection

Inspection	Responsibility
First periodic inspection	INAIL
Subsequent inspections	Local health authority or authorised bodies on the ministerial registers

The employer does not carry out the inspection but must request it and make the equipment available for checking, together with its supporting documentation.

3. What to have ready

• Equipment record and operating and maintenance manual;
• EC declaration of conformity and manufacturer's documentation;
• Control register with the maintenance carried out and the periodic checks;
• documentation of any repairs, modifications or component replacements;
• for older machines, the results of any supplementary investigations into the state of preservation.

4. The most important clarification: what the inspection does not replace

This is the most frequent misunderstanding. The three-yearly periodic inspection is in addition to, not instead of, the existing obligations:

Obligation	Still mandatory
Planned maintenance per the manufacturer's manual	Yes, at the intervals set by the manufacturer
Pre-use checks by the operator	Yes, before every use
Operator training and authorisation (Accordo Stato-Regioni)	Yes, with the related periodic refreshers
Three-yearly periodic inspection (new)	Yes, in addition to the above

A company that has always carried out regular maintenance is therefore not “already covered”: the periodic inspection is a different kind of check, performed by a third party.

5. Where to start, in practice

1. Take stock of all MEWPs on site, including those on long-term rental;
2. Retrieve and organise the technical documentation for each machine;
3. Review the maintenance history and fill any gaps in the register;
4. Schedule the deadlines within the company inspection calendar;
5. Prepare older machines with a preliminary assessment of their state of preservation.

How we support companies

Stefano Luise Engineering S.r.l. offers a dedicated MEWP periodic inspection support service: fleet inventory, reconstruction of documentation, scheduling of deadlines, technical assistance during the inspection and supplementary investigations on older equipment.

Regulatory references

Italian Law no. 34 of 11 March 2026 (art. 12)  •  Legislative Decree 81/2008 (art. 71(11), Annex VII)  •  Ministerial Decree 11/04/2011  •  Accordo Stato-Regioni 22/02/2012

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