Renting out aerial platforms: which certificate do you ask for as a rental business?

When you want to rent out an aerial platform in the Netherlands, a statutory aerial platform certificate is not strictly required under Dutch law, but demonstrable competence and proper instruction are. As the rental business you may decide for yourself whether you require an IPAF card from a business hirer, or whether you rely on a tight handover briefing of your own for private customers. A private customer who takes a trailer-mounted aerial platform for the weekend to do the gutter, and calls out that he will manage just fine, presents you with a hard choice: refuse, demand a card, or go through the controls and risks on the spot in a way you can prove.

In short: The Dutch Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) does not require a specific licence or certificate for an aerial platform, but it does require the operator to be competent. For businesses that responsibility lies with the employer, for private individuals with themselves. As the rental business you cover your duty to inform with a signed briefing and a valid proof of inspection on the machine.

An aerial platform certificate is a personal proof, such as an IPAF card or a diploma from a recognised training provider, with which an operator shows that he or she can work safely and in line with health and safety standards with specific types of aerial platform.

Aerial platform certificate required? What the Dutch Working Conditions Act really says

The question of whether an aerial platform certificate is required often causes confusion at the counter. Nowhere in Dutch working conditions legislation does it say that an operator must hold a specific 'aerial platform licence'. The law simply states that work equipment may only be operated by employees who are sufficiently competent to do so and have received adequate instruction.

Many large contractors do require an IPAF certificate or a safety passport on their building site. That is their own company policy to demonstrate that competence and so prevent accidents. If you rent out a scissor lift to an installation company, their employer is responsible for training their own staff. Even so, as the rental business you have a substantial duty to inform. You deliver a safe machine and explain how this specific one works. After an accident, the labour inspectorate looks at the whole chain. In such a case you want to be able to point straight to your handover protocol and rental terms.

Which proof do you ask for per type of customer?

Your approach depends entirely on who is standing in front of you. You treat a landscaper with twenty staff differently from a DIYer who wants to prune trees for an afternoon. The decision table below helps you determine what you ask for, what you check and what you hand over as the rental business to be in a strong legal position.

You apply this approach to your whole fleet. Whether you focus on aerial platforms or also go broad and rent out construction equipment, the dividing line between the professional and the private customer determines the paperwork you set up.

Aerial platform handover briefing in ten minutes

The daily irritation of many rental businesses is the customer who grabs the key, walks to the trailer and says he knows it all. Step in at that moment. A trailer-mounted aerial platform that tips over because the outriggers were not on the outrigger pads costs a fortune and creates life-threatening situations. Force the hirer to stop and think about how the machine works.

Use the checklist below every time you hand over an aerial platform. Print the list, hang it next to the counter and have the hirer sign it off before the key goes across the counter.

Safety and handover protocol

• Outriggers and ground: The platform only goes up once the outriggers are fully on the outrigger pads supplied. The machine stands level on firm ground that does not subside.
• Maximum load: The platform may be loaded up to the number of kilos stated on the basket, including all persons and the heavy tools.
• Maximum wind force: Working is prohibited at a wind speed above the limit on the warning sticker, usually 12.5 metres per second or wind force six.
• Harness and fall protection: On an articulating boom lift or spider lift, wearing a safety harness and attaching it correctly is mandatory to absorb the catapult effect.
• Driving the machine: Moving with a raised platform is, for this specific unit, either permitted or not permitted by the manufacturer.
• Emergency descent: The operator knows exactly where the emergency lowering device on the chassis is and how it works manually if the power should fail.
• Annual inspection: The valid inspection sticker on the chassis has been looked at together and confirmed.
• Physical documentation: The user manual is in the weatherproof document box on the platform itself.

The documentation you have to hand over yourself

You can only hold a hirer to his responsibility if your own records are flawless. Every machine that lifts people, from a compact scissor lift for indoor use to a heavy telehandler, is subject to strict inspection requirements.

As a rental business you deliver a safe machine with a valid, independent inspection for every rental period. The sticker on the machine is the visual proof for the operator, but you keep the full inspection report carefully in your own office records. In addition, always make sure the short manual is present in the black tube on the platform. An inspector from the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) will reject the work on the spot if this booklet is missing.

Where the certificate approach sometimes clashes

Not every hirer is suited to every machine. Refusing a customer goes against your instinct as an entrepreneur, but a refusal regularly prevents enormous problems and damage to your reputation.

Does a private customer propose hiring a heavy, tracked spider lift for a back garden with loose soil? Does he then wave away your explanation about ground pressure? Then break off the transaction straight away. You have a duty to inform, but a certain duty of care also rests on your shoulders. When someone clearly does not have the capacity to understand the safety instructions, you are better off without that day's turnover. Safety outweighs occupancy rate. This is a good moment at which tight machine rental planning gives you peace of mind. You then know straight away whether cancelling the booking makes room for another contractor who is qualified.

How to start this week

Make it easy for yourself and put these steps in place at your rental counter over the coming days.

1. Print the ten-minute handover protocol above and put a stack ready on the counter.
2. With new business customers, such as painting firms, ask proactively how they instruct their staff for aerial platforms.
3. Go through your whole fleet and check that the physical manual is still neatly in the tube on all scissor lifts and articulating boom lifts.
4. Put the maximum wind force and the working height in eye-catching, bold letters directly on the rental contract.
5. In Bookedin you can use add custom fields to include a tick box for your briefing in the booking form, so that in your aerial platform rental software you can already see at the reservation stage that the hirer agrees.

Renting out heavy, high-reach equipment revolves around mutual trust, but you do have to put that trust on record. A certificate is a fine proof of skill on the building site, but the signature under your strict handover briefing protects your equipment. Be clear at the gate, explain the rules sharply and never let safety become an afterthought.

Last checked on 8 October 2026. This article is not legal advice; if in doubt, consult the Netherlands Labour Authority or a health and safety specialist.