Free Forklift Inspection Checklist for Excel

A daily pre-shift checklist to keep on each truck, a log that holds a failed truck out of service until it's repaired, and registers for planned maintenance and operator evaluations. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.

Preview of the forklift register with status, last daily check, next PM due, hours to PM, and open defects columns

What a daily forklift inspection covers

OSHA 1910.178(q)(7) says a powered industrial truck has to be examined before it's put into service, at least once a day, and after every shift where trucks run around the clock. A truck with a defect that affects safe operation doesn't get used until it's fixed. The check is done by the operator and takes a few minutes, in two parts.

The Daily Checklist tab prints one sheet per truck per week, with a column for each day:

  • With the truck off: fluid levels and leaks, tires and wheels, forks and locking pins, mast and lift chains, the overhead guard and load backrest, the battery and cables on an electric truck or the tank, hose, and valve on an LPG one, the seat belt, and whether the data plate and decals are still legible.
  • With the truck running: horn, lights and back-up alarm, service and parking brakes, steering, lift, lower, and tilt (watching for drift), gauges and warning lights, and any noise or vibration that wasn't there yesterday.

The items follow OSHA's sample daily checklists for powered industrial trucks. Electric and internal-combustion trucks share most of them, so there's one sheet with the power-specific lines marked, rather than two sheets for people to mix up.

Where the paper checklist stops

A sheet on the truck records that someone looked. It can't keep a truck parked. When the operator on the second shift finds a hydraulic leak and ticks the box, nothing stops the first shift from taking the same truck out in the morning if the tag has fallen off.

So the workbook has three more tabs behind the checklist:

Inspection Log. One row per truck per shift, with the hour meter and PASS or FAIL. A FAIL stays an OPEN DEFECT until someone enters the date it was repaired.

Forklift Register. One row per truck. It reads the log, so the last check, the current hours, and the open defects fill themselves in, and the Status column shows OUT OF SERVICE while any defect is still open. It also tracks planned maintenance on two clocks at once, calendar days and hour-meter hours. A truck that runs two shifts reaches 250 hours well before its 90 days are up, and a PM plan that only counts days misses it. PM OVERDUE shows as soon as either clock runs out, and PM DUE SOON 14 days or 25 hours before.

Operators. OSHA 1910.178(l) requires each operator to be evaluated at least once every three years, and again after an accident, a near miss, or a change to a different type of truck. The tab holds the training date, the last evaluation, and who did it, which is the record 1910.178(l)(6) asks the employer to certify. Status turns red when the three years are up.

If the site has other equipment on a service schedule, the maintenance log template does the same job for it, and the fire extinguisher inspection checklist covers the extinguishers mounted on the trucks and around the racking.

Who uses a forklift inspection checklist

Operators do the check. Someone else has to know which trucks are parked and which PMs are late.

Warehouses & distribution

Mixed fleets on two or three shifts, where hours climb faster than the calendar.

Manufacturing plants

Trucks moving raw material and finished goods, checked at every shift change.

Lumber, building supply & yards

Diesel and LPG trucks outdoors, with more wear on tires, forks, and chains.

Cold storage

Electric trucks where batteries and hydraulics suffer in the cold.

Retail backrooms & stores

One or two trucks and several occasional operators whose evaluations are easy to forget.

Equipment rental & dealers

Trucks going out to customers, checked before they leave and when they come back.

Spreadsheet or UNIO24 — what fits your fleet?

The workbook is enough for a few trucks and one supervisor. Past that, the log is only as current as whoever types it in.

CapabilityFree TemplateUNIO24 FreeRecommended for multi-shift fleets
The daily check
Pre-shift checklistThe template prints a weekly sheet per truck. UNIO24 runs the checklist on the operator's phone.PartialYes
Proof the check was done on that truckA tick on paper can be filled in later. A QR scan records the truck, the time, and the operator.NoYes
Photo of the defectThe leak or the damaged fork, attached to the record.NoYes
Defects and maintenance
Keep a failed truck out of serviceThe register shows OUT OF SERVICE from the log. UNIO24 also raises a repair ticket and assigns it.PartialYes
PM by date and hour meterBoth track it. UNIO24 raises the PM work order on schedule instead of waiting for someone to open the file.PartialYes
Data & reliability
Several operators and shifts at onceA shared file gets overwritten. UNIO24 handles simultaneous users across shifts and sites.PartialYes
Full history per truckEvery check, defect, repair, and PM kept together and never overwrittenPartialYes
Full support0/ 77/ 7

Frequently Asked Questions

About the daily check, the records, and the template

Is the forklift inspection checklist free?

Yes. No cost, no subscription, no card. Enter your name and email and the Excel file downloads straight away.

How often does a forklift need to be inspected?

Before it goes into service each day, and after every shift if it runs around the clock. Planned maintenance comes on top of that, usually every 90 days or 250 hours for many trucks, but use the interval in your operator manual or service contract. Change it per truck on the register.

How often do forklift operators need to be re-evaluated?

At least once every three years under 1910.178(l)(4)(iii). Refresher training is also required after an accident or near miss, when an operator is seen driving unsafely, or when they are assigned a different type of truck. The Operators tab tracks the three-year date; the other triggers still need someone to act on them.

Does OSHA require a written daily forklift checklist?

OSHA requires the examination itself, before each use and at least daily, but 1910.178 does not say it has to be written down. Most sites keep a written record anyway, because it is the only way to show the check happened when an inspector or an insurer asks after an incident.

What happens if a truck fails the daily check?

It comes out of service and is tagged until it is repaired. Report the defect to the supervisor straight away. In this workbook, a FAIL in the Inspection Log shows the truck as OUT OF SERVICE on the register until the repair date is entered.

Is there a separate checklist for electric and propane forklifts?

One sheet covers both. Most checks are the same, and the lines that are not, battery and cables for electric trucks and the tank, hose, and valve for LPG, are marked so the operator skips the ones that do not apply.

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