Crane, forklift and slinging are a common part of the goods driver's day. Here are the legally required operator certificates — lorry-mounted crane over 8 tonne-metres, forklift/stacker and telescopic handler — as well as the basic rules for slinging and lifting.
Introduction
Many goods drivers load and unload themselves with a lorry-mounted crane, forklift or telescopic loader. Operating these technical aids is not free: for most of them, the Working Environment Authority's regulations require a certificate (training certificate), because incorrect use can cost lives — both the user's and bystanders'. Know the rules and you know when you can operate what and when paperwork is required.
Truck-mounted crane
A lorry-mounted crane (typically a hydraulic knuckle/telescopic boom behind the cab) is a mobile crane under the Danish Working Environment Authority's Executive Order on occupational health and safety training (BEK no. 1978 of 27/10/2021, § 5, subsection 3). The limit is the crane's maximum permissible load, measured in tonne-metres (tm) — load in tonnes times the outreach in metres. Cranes up to and including 8 tonne-metres do not require a crane operator certificate; over 8 tonne-metres they do.
- 01Lorry-mounted crane over 8 tonne-metres: requires »Crane Basics« and »Mobile cranes over 8 tonne-metres« (BEK 1978/2021 §§ 4-5) — e.g. AMU 48644, Mobile cranes over 8 up to and including 30 tm with integrated Crane Basics. Over 30 tonne-metres, »Mobile cranes over 30 tonne-metres« is also required.
- 02Crane up to and including 8 tonne-metres: no certificate requirement (§ 4, subsection 5, no. 1), but the operator must still be instructed and familiar with the crane and its instructions. For tandem lifting with several cranes and when lifting people, a certificate is required regardless of the crane's size (§ 4, subsection 7).
- 03Lifting people by crane is as a rule prohibited and only allowed exceptionally under BEK no. 428 of 05/04/2022 § 59, subsection 2 and Annex 1 (including a crane of at least 1,500 kg, total lift at most 1/4 of the permissible load and never over 1,000 kg).
- 04The rules are in BEK no. 1978 of 27/10/2021 on occupational health and safety training, §§ 4-5. The Danish Working Environment Authority's guideline on the crane operator certificate was repealed 15-12-2025 — never make up the limit, look it up in the executive order.
Forklift and forklifts
Forklifts and pallet stackers are used daily to load pallets. Here too the Danish Working Environment Authority requires an operator certificate, because tip-overs and collisions are serious risks. The line between the two certificates is whether the machine has outriggers under the load — not whether the operator walks, stands or sits (BEK 1978/2021 § 7, subsections 2 and 4).
- 01Pallet stacker (outriggers under the load, also with a standing platform): certificate »Forklift A« or B. Forklift without outriggers under the load: certificate »Forklift B« (§ 7).
- 02If the lift height is limited to at most 1 metre with a key switch or similar, no certificate is required (§ 7, subsection 5, no. 1) — but the operator must still be instructed.
- 03The telehandler has its own certificate, »Telehandler« (§ 8), unless the outreach is at most 1.5 m. If it is used for crane work, »Crane Basics« is also required (§ 8, subsection 5).
- 04The rules are in BEK no. 1978 of 27/10/2021 §§ 7-8 and Annex 2. The Danish Working Environment Authority's guidelines on the forklift and telehandler certificates were repealed 15-12-2025.
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