Scaffold inspection report. A printable scaffold inspection report for the inspections the Work at Height Regulations require — what was looked at, what was found, and whether the structure is fit to be used.
This is the paper version. ScaffoldOptix does the same job on a phone, with the record filed against the scaffold and the site automatically.
What is on the sheet
- Scaffold reference, location, client and the reason for this inspection
- Why the inspection is being done: before first use, after alteration, after weather that could have affected it, or at the interval the Regulations set
- A structured walk of the scaffold — foundations, standards, ledgers, transoms, bracing, ties, boards, guardrails, toe boards, access and edge protection
- Defects found, each described and given a severity, with the action taken
- Whether the scaffold is fit for use, fit with restrictions, or must not be used — and what was done to stop it being used if so
- The inspector's name, competence reference and signature, and the date and time the report was made
Why this record matters
The Work at Height Regulations require a scaffold to be inspected before first use, after anything that could affect its stability, and at the intervals the Regulations set — and they require the report to be made by a competent person. The intervals and the deadline for providing the report are in the Regulations, not on this sheet, because they are the kind of thing somebody will work to for years without checking.
What makes a report useful is the structure of the walk. An inspector who starts at the base and works up in the same order every time finds the thing that is missing; an inspector working from a blank page records what caught their eye. The item order here is the conventional one and it is a prompt, not a specification.
The outcome field is the one that matters legally and the one most often fudged. 'Fit with restrictions' is a real and common answer, and a report that offers only a pass or a fail pushes inspectors towards the pass. Where the answer is that it must not be used, the sheet asks what was actually done to stop it — a report that condemns a scaffold and leaves it tagged green has recorded the problem and prevented nothing.
Who may inspect is a question of competence, not of job title. The sheet asks for the inspector's competence reference because that is the thing an investigation asks for, and because a signature with nothing behind it is the weakest line on an otherwise good report.
Use it with
- Scaffold tag templateA printable scaffold tag for the access point — what the structure may be used for, when it was last inspected, and who to ask before touching it.
- Scaffold registerA printable site register of every scaffold on a job — reference, location, what it was handed over for, when it was last inspected and when the next inspection falls due.
- Scaffold handover certificateA printable handover certificate for passing a completed scaffold to the client — what was erected, what it may be used for, what it was designed to, and who is accepting it.
- Scaffold adaptation recordA printable record of an alteration to a scaffold — what changed, who authorised it, who did it, and the inspection that has to happen before it is used again.
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© 2026 ScaffoldOptix. Free to print, copy and use in your business. Not for resale. Please keep this notice.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. General guidance, not legal advice. Checked October 2026.