Construction compliance guide
Scaffolding safety: inspect, record, hand over
Scaffold is only useful when it is right for the job, put up by competent people and checked before your team climbs on it. This guide covers the Great Britain rules for construction scaffolds. Northern Ireland has separate regulations; use HSENI guidance there. It explains who checks the scaffold, when checks happen, what the written report must do and how tags fit into the handover.
TL;DR
For a construction working platform where a person could fall two metres or more, the inspection must be in position within the previous seven days before use. Further inspections can be required after installation and after events liable to jeopardise safety. The report records defects and action taken. A tag is voluntary; the legal evidence is the inspection and report.
For a construction working platform from which a person could fall two metres or more, regulation 12(4) requires an inspection in position within the previous seven days before use. For a mobile platform, the inspection is on the site. Installation-dependent safety also requires inspection after installation or assembly in a new location, before first use, under regulation 12(2). Regulation 12(7) and Schedule 7 set the report and timing requirements.
HSE also advises inspecting scaffolds before first use, at least every seven days and after conditions likely to affect safety; treat that broader guidance as the minimum site practice for the scaffold, while checking the statutory threshold and exact duty for the installation. A competent person must carry out the inspection and a report must record defects and action taken.
A tag can make status visible, but a tag is voluntary site communication. The legal evidence is the inspection and report. Do not alter, load or use a scaffold outside its design or handover conditions.
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Who designs and erects the scaffold?
Scaffolds must be designed, erected, altered and dismantled by competent people, under competent supervision. “Competent” means the person has the knowledge, training and experience appropriate to the scaffold and the work. A card or course can help show competence, but the right evidence depends on the type and complexity of the scaffold.
For a standard tube-and-fitting scaffold, ask the scaffolding contractor whether the arrangement is within the current TG20 parameters and request the relevant compliance sheet. A scaffold outside a recognised TG20 or manufacturer system arrangement must have a competent design and calculations before erection or alteration. The design must match the scaffold actually erected, including its loading, ties, dimensions, ground and exposure conditions. If the configuration changes, stop and get the contractor or designer to confirm what must be updated.
When must a scaffold be inspected?
For a construction working platform where a person could fall two metres or more, regulation 12(4) requires an inspection in position within the previous seven days before use (on the site for a mobile platform). Where safety depends on installation or assembly, regulation 12(2) also requires an inspection after installation or assembly in a new location, before first use. Equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration must also be inspected at suitable intervals and after exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise safety, under regulation 12(3).
Regulation 12(7) requires the report before the end of the working period in which the inspection is completed and a copy within 24 hours of completing that inspection to the person for whom the inspection was carried out. Schedule 7 sets the report particulars. The report should identify the employer or person for whom the work was done, their address, the location and description of the platform, the date and time, the inspector’s name and position, anything identified that could create a health or safety risk, the action already taken and any further action needed.
HSE’s broader scaffold guidance also recommends inspection before first use, at least every seven days and after adverse conditions or alteration; use that as the practical baseline and follow any more frequent risk-assessment requirement.
For the qualifying platform, the inspection used to authorise use must be no more than seven days old. Your risk assessment, the scaffold’s condition and the site arrangement may call for more frequent checks. A quick visual check by a supervisor does not replace the formal inspection where the regulations require one.
What must the formal report cover?
The competent person’s report should identify the employer or person for whom the work was done, their address, the scaffold or platform location and description, the date and time, the inspector’s name and position, anything identified that could create a health or safety risk, the action already taken and any further action needed.
For a qualifying construction working platform, regulation 12(7) requires the report before the end of the working period in which the inspection is completed and a copy within 24 hours of its completion to the person for whom the inspection was carried out. Regulation 12(8) requires the employer to keep it on site until construction is complete and then in the office for three months. General inspection results under regulation 12(6) are kept until the next result is recorded, subject to that specific report rule. A client or principal contractor may set a longer project-record period, so follow that arrangement too.
If the report identifies a defect, prevent use of the affected scaffold or part until the issue is made safe. Record the action and arrange a further inspection where the change or repair affects safety. Do not rely on a verbal “it’s fine” handover.
What should you check before work starts?
Confirm the handover or design information, permitted loading and access arrangements. Check that foundations, sole boards, ties, bracing, platforms, guard rails, toe boards and access points match the design and are in good condition. Look for unauthorised removal of ties, rails or boards. Keep materials within the stated loading class and stop work if the scaffold moves, settles, is struck or is changed.
Can another trade alter the scaffold?
Only an authorised competent person should remove a board, guard rail or tie, add a loading bay, move an access ladder or change the layout. Ask the scaffolding contractor or other appointed competent person to make the change, update the design or compliance information where needed, and inspect the scaffold before it returns to use.
How The Site Book can help
Describe the job and The Site Book can include scaffold-related hazards, controls and paperwork prompts in your RAMS. You still need to check the actual scaffold, use competent people and follow the contractor’s design and handover. Software does not inspect a scaffold or guarantee that a particular arrangement is safe.
FAQs
Is a green scaffold tag required by law?
No. HSE says tag systems are not a legal requirement. The legal requirement is the competent inspection and report where the Work at Height Regulations apply. Use a tag as a visible status aid, together with the report and handover information.
How often is a construction scaffold inspected?
HSE advises inspection before first use, at least every seven days and after conditions likely to affect safety. The specific regulation 12(4) rule applies to construction working platforms with a possible fall of two metres or more: inspection in position within the previous seven days before use (on site for a mobile platform). Installation, alteration and exceptional events can trigger additional inspection duties; a risk assessment may call for more frequent checks.
Who can inspect it?
A person with knowledge, training and experience appropriate to that scaffold and its complexity. CISRS or other training may support the evidence, but no single card automatically makes every person competent for every scaffold.
How long do I keep the report?
For a qualifying construction working platform, keep the report on site until construction is complete, then in the office for three months. Other inspection results are kept until the next result is recorded, subject to the specific regulation 12 report rule.
Can I use a TG20 compliance sheet for every scaffold?
No. It applies only when the actual scaffold remains within the relevant TG20 parameters. Ask a competent scaffolding contractor or designer when the arrangement is unusual or outside scope.
What scaffold records and tags can and cannot do
Pros
- The competent person's report shows who inspected the scaffold in position, when, and what they found.
- It records any matter that could create a risk, the action already taken and any further action needed.
- A visible tag reminds trades of the inspection status, any restrictions and who is responsible.
- A TG20 compliance sheet or design fixes the loading, ties and layout the erected scaffold must match.
Cons
- A tag is voluntary site communication. It is not the legal inspection record.
- A report cannot make a scaffold safe after ties, rails or boards are removed without authority.
- A TG20 compliance sheet only applies while the actual scaffold stays within its parameters.
- A supervisor's quick visual check does not replace a formal inspection where one is required.
| Trigger or record | What is required | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Installation or assembly in a new position | Where safety depends on how it is installed or assembled, inspect it in that position before it is used. | Regulation 12(2) |
| Construction working platform, possible fall of 2 metres or more | Do not use it unless it was inspected in position (on site for a mobile platform) within the previous 7 days. | Regulation 12(4) |
| Conditions causing deterioration | Inspect at suitable intervals and each time exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise safety occur. | Regulation 12(3) |
| Report for a qualifying platform | Prepare it before the end of the working period; give it or a copy within 24 hours to the person the inspection was for. | Regulation 12(7) and Schedule 7 |
| Keeping the record | Qualifying platform report: on site until construction work is complete, then at an office for 3 months. Other results: until the next inspection is recorded. | Regulations 12(6) and 12(8) |
| Practical baseline | Inspect before first use, at least every 7 days and after alteration or conditions likely to affect safety. | HSE scaffold guidance |
| Scaffold tags | Voluntary site communication. A tag does not replace the inspection and report. | HSE scaffolding FAQ |
“Although tag systems are not a legal requirement, the law does require inspection of scaffolding from which a person might fall 2 metres or more and the issue of a report by a competent person, on completion and at least weekly thereafter.”
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Sources
- Scaffolds — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- Construction site inspection reports (CIS47), historical form example — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- Scaffolding FAQ — HSE · Accessed 21 September 2026
- Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 23 September 2026
- Work at Height Regulations 2005, Schedule 7 — legislation.gov.uk · Accessed 23 September 2026