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    Scaffold Inspection Checklist, Register and Handover Certificate

    An inspection checklist for access scaffolding, a register of every inspection with the faults found and when they were fixed, and the handover certificate the user signs before using a new scaffold. Under the Construction Regulations, 2014 scaffolding work is supervised by a competent person appointed in writing.

    Before first use and at handover, at least weekly while the scaffold is in use, and again after bad weather, a knock, an overload or an alteration, and before dismantling.

    Legal basis checked 26 October 2026

    Two scaffolders in hard hats, harnesses and hi-vis climbing a tube-and-fitting scaffold

    What is in the template

    Inspection checklist

    Columns: Check · OK / Fault / N/A · Fault and action

    • Foundations: firm ground, sole boards and base plates, nothing undermined
    • Standards plumb, ledgers level, joints and couplers tight
    • Bracing in place and complete
    • Ties to the structure at the designed spacing, none removed
    • Platforms fully boarded, boards secured and not overhanging
    • Guardrails, mid-rails and toe boards on every open side
    • Access: ladders secured and extending above the platform, or stairs
    • Load: within the duty class; no materials stored beyond it
    • Mobile scaffold: castors locked, height-to-base ratio within its limit
    • Tag displayed and correct (safe to use, or do not use)
    • Nearby hazards protected: power lines, traffic, falling objects

    The checks follow the topics of the inspection checklist in SANS 10085-1 for steel access scaffolding. A scaffold that fails a check is tagged do-not-use until the fault is fixed and it is inspected again.

    Inspection register

    Columns: Date · Scaffold and location · Faults found · Date corrected · Inspector: name and signature · 8 rows per page

    The minimum kept for each inspection: where the scaffold is and what type, the date, the faults found, the date they were corrected, and the signature of the person who inspected it.

    Handover certificate

    • Scaffold number, location and duty class
    • Conditions of use (load, who may use it, inspections required)
    • Handed over by (scaffolding supervisor): name, signature and date
    • Accepted by (person who asked for the scaffold): name, signature and date

    How to fill it in

    1. 1Inspect a new scaffold before first use and complete the handover certificate with the person who asked for it.
    2. 2Inspect it at least weekly while it is in use, and again after bad weather, a knock, an overload, an alteration, and before dismantling.
    3. 3Go through every check and record each fault with the action taken; tag the scaffold do-not-use until a fault is fixed.
    4. 4Enter each inspection in the register with the faults, the date they were corrected and your signature.
    5. 5Keep the register with the scaffold or in the health and safety file for as long as the scaffold stands.

    A general template, not legal advice. Check it against the Act, the regulations and the codes of practice that apply to your site, and against your own safety management system. Regulation 16 of the Construction Regulations, 2014 requires the contractor to appoint a competent scaffolding supervisor in writing and requires access scaffolding to comply with the safety standard incorporated under section 44 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993; the official guidelines to the regulations name SANS 10085. The inspection points, frequencies, register and handover certificate here follow the 2004 edition of SANS 10085-1, which also calls for a certificated scaffold inspector for scaffolds over 6 m. A 2024 edition has since been published, so check them against your copy of the current standard.

    Legal basis checked on against: Construction Regulations, 2014 (GN R84 of 7 February 2014), regulation 16.

    Convert this template into a digital form

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    The same record in Inspecable

    On paper the register is only as current as the last person who updated it. In Inspecable the same record keeps going:

    Do it in InspecableCorrective actionsThe longer readPaper vs Digital Inspections: The Complete Comparison

    Questions

    How often must scaffolding be inspected in South Africa?

    SANS 10085-1, the standard the Construction Regulations call up for access scaffolding, requires inspection before first use, at least weekly while in use, and after bad weather, a knock or overload, alterations and before dismantling (2004 edition). Each inspection goes in the scaffold register.

    Who may inspect a scaffold?

    A competent person. The Construction Regulations, 2014 require a scaffolding supervisor appointed in writing (regulation 16(1)), and the 2004 edition of SANS 10085-1 calls for a certificated scaffold inspector on scaffolds over 6 m. Your client's specification may ask for more.

    What do green and red scaffold tags mean?

    A green tag means the scaffold has been inspected and is safe to use within its stated load; a red tag means do not use. The tag is updated at each inspection, and a scaffold with a fault stays red-tagged until it is fixed and inspected again.

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