# Ladder inspection checklist template > Free ladder inspection checklist for the detailed visual inspection, with a pass or quarantine result. Download it as PDF, Word or Excel with your logo. > Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/inspection-checklist-template?kind=ladder Free, no account Free, no account ## Choose a design ## The detailed visual inspection This is the employer’s job. [HSE says](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/ladders/inspecting-condition-of-ladders.htm) a competent person does it at fixed intervals, following the maker’s instructions, and records it. The sheet takes a ladder from its feet to its labels. ### All ladders - Feet: not damaged or worn - Stiles: not twisted, bent or dented - Rungs: not cracked, worn, bent or loose - Tie rods: present and undamaged - Welded joints: no cracks or damage - Rivets tight, stays undamaged - Stability devices and accessories, per the maker ### Stepladders - Locking mechanism - Platform - Steps or treads ### Extension ladders - Sections held from moving against each other ### Labels and storage - Label readable, inspection status shown - Marked EN 131 Professional for work use - Maintained and stored per the maker ## Pre-use check or recorded inspection This sheet is the recorded one. The daily check stays with the person on the ladder. - **Pre-use check**: By the user, each working day and after a drop. It needs no record. Any problem goes to a manager. - **Detailed visual inspection**: By a competent person, at fixed intervals. It ends in pass or quarantine, with a tag number and who was told. - **Part of a scaffold**: Inspected every seven days with the scaffold. ## Fixed ladders This sheet is for portable ladders and stepladders. Its feet, locks and extension lines do not fit a ladder fixed to a structure. A fixed ladder still needs inspecting at suitable intervals where it can deteriorate, under [regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/735/regulation/12/made). Take the list from the maker’s instructions and your risk assessment, then change the items in Edit. A ladder or run of ladders rising 9 m or more also needs landing areas or rest platforms where reasonably practicable ([Schedule 6](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/735/schedule/6/made)). ## Ladder checklist questions ### Does HSE have a ladder inspection checklist? HSE sets no form. [Its guidance](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/ladders/inspecting-condition-of-ladders.htm) says what to look at, and this sheet follows it. The stepladder and label lines are the sheet’s own additions. ### Is there a ladder inspection checklist PDF? Yes. Add your logo and download this one as PDF to print, or as Word or Excel to change. ### How often should a ladder be inspected? A pre-use check each working day, which needs no record, and a detailed visual inspection at intervals from the maker’s instructions and your risk assessment. The law says suitable intervals and gives no figure. [HSE’s own example](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/inspection.htm) for a ladder’s general condition is every few months or longer. ### What happens when a ladder fails? Take it out of use, tick Quarantine, tag it and tell whoever needs to know. A pass only says the ladder is sound, not that a ladder is the right equipment for the job. For work equipment, a harness or a forklift, start from the [inspection checklist template](https://complyonsite.com/tools/inspection-checklist-template).