Crane operator certificate categories and requirements
What certificate requires which crane — and what must you meet to get it?
Introduction
You must not just get into a crane and start lifting. For cranes with an allowable load over 8 tons or 8 tonne-metres, the Danish Working Environment Authority requires a crane operator certificate, and the rules are in the Executive Order on occupational health and safety training (BEK No. 1978 of 27/10/2021, §§ 4-6 and annex 1). The Authority's guidance on crane operator certificates was repealed on 15 December 2025. The certificate is not one, but four different ones, and they each cover different parts of the crane family.
The Four Certificate Types
The certificates are structured so they follow the crane type and crane size. The heavier and more complex the crane the more extensive the requirement for training and testing.
| Certificate | Covers | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Crane basis | Overhead and gantry cranes over 8 tons/tonmeters | The basic certificate — also the entry ticket to the mobile crane track |
| Mobile cranes 8-30 tm | Mobile cranes from 8 to and including 30 tonsmetre | Builds on crane base which is often integrated into the process |
| Mobile cranes over 30 tm | Mobile cranes over 30 tonsmetre | Requires completed certificate for mobile cranes 8–30 tm first |
| Tower crane and permanently installed cranes | Tower cranes and other fixed cranes over 8 tonne-metres | Separate track, apart from the mobile cranes — but like them it requires Kranbasis first (BEK 1978/2021 § 6) |
When does the requirement apply under the 8 tons/tonsmeter limit
The main rule is that the certificate requirement only applies to cranes with a maximum permitted load over 8 tons or 8 tonmeters. But there are two important exceptions: a certificate is required even if the crane is below the limit if multiple cranes or hoists are used to lift the same load simultaneously (simultaneous lift), and if the crane is exceptionally used to lift persons. In both cases, the risk weighs more heavily than the crane's own size.
Requirements to start the education
- 01You must be at least 18 — although the certificate can be taken from age 15 when it is a necessary part of vocational training, e.g. as a crane operator (BEK 1978/2021 § 23, subsection 2)
- 02You must be able to document that you are medically fit — with a valid driving licence or the health declaration given when a driving licence is issued (BEK 1978/2021 § 22, subsection 2)
- 03The education combines theory on load assessment, rigging, stability, and regulations with practical crane operation in a crane hall or on a practice ground.
From crane base to heavy mobile cranes
The mobile crane track is built like a staircase. Crane Basics is the foundation — the same knowledge of overhead and gantry cranes that is also part of the mobile crane training. From there you can go on to mobile cranes 8-30 tonne-metres, and only when that certificate is in place can you take the next step to mobile cranes over 30 tonne-metres. So you cannot jump straight to the largest mobile cranes without having taken the steps before. Before 1 January 2018 the certificates had other names: A (tower, port and slewing cranes), B (mobile cranes), C (e.g. overhead and gantry cranes), D (lorry-mounted cranes over 8 up to and including 25 tonne-metres), E (lorry-mounted cranes over 25 tonne-metres) and G (construction machines used as cranes). The four current certificates replaced them, and the limit for the large mobile cranes is today 30 tonne-metres, not 25. If you have an old certificate, it still applies to the cranes it covers (BEK 1978/2021 § 30, subsection 5).
The certificate's validity and the employer's responsibility
A certificate is not a one-time formality you file away. It is documentation that you are allowed to operate certain crane types and the employer is responsible for ensuring that anyone assigned to operate a given crane actually has the correct certificate for that crane and that task. The certificate is always supplemented by specific instruction in the individual crane its load chart and the conditions that apply at the site where the crane will be used — the certificate gives the right to operate the crane but not automatically knowledge of the specific machine.