Plant, lifting and lift truck operator cards
Operator cards that can be checked on site in seconds
BETA sets the standard for plant and lifting equipment operator training. We approve the centres that deliver it, check every test result, and keep a live register of the operators who passed.
Check a card
Confirm a card is valid and see which machines it covers.
Become an approved centre
What you need to deliver BETA courses and how approval works.
Machine categories
The machines a BETA card can cover and the routes to a test.
Report a concern
Tell us about a suspect card or a centre cutting corners.
- Machine categories, each with its own written standard
- 14
- Card levels: red, blue and gold
- 3
- Safety questions every candidate must get right
- 5 of 5
- Card check for any employer, from a phone
- Free
An awarding body for plant and lifting equipment
BETA Qualifications writes the training standard for each machine, approves the centres and instructors who teach it, audits their work, and issues the operator cards. We do not run courses ourselves, which keeps the body that checks the results separate from the people who deliver the training.
Every card sits on a central register. An employer, a site manager or an inspector can check one from a phone, free of charge, without an account.
- Legal name
- BETA Qualifications Ltd
- Registered in
- England & Wales, number 17570279
- Covers
- Lift trucks, plant and access equipment
Machines a BETA card covers
Trained and tested at an approved centre
Every BETA course runs at a centre that BETA has visited and approved, with instructors whose experience on each machine has been checked. The course follows a written standard that sets its length and how many trainees one instructor may teach.
The test has two parts: a theory paper on screen and a practical test marked on penalty points against the fault list for that machine.
How a card is earned
Train at an approved centre
Every course follows a written standard for the machine. It sets how long the course runs and how many trainees one instructor may teach.
Sit the theory and practical tests
The theory paper has 25 questions. Five are on safety and all five must be right. The practical is marked on penalty points.
BETA checks the result
The centre sends in the scores and the signed test sheet. Our system works out the result and a reviewer approves it.
The card is issued
The operator goes on the register straight away. The QR code on the card links to their record.
Three cards
2 Jun 2028
Red card
For a trained operator who has passed the tests. Valid for 2 years.
16 Mar 2031
Blue card
For a competent operator. Valid for 5 years.
3 Feb 2031
Gold card
For operators with two clean renewals behind them. Five years, renewed by audited logbook and test.
What a site check shows
Scan the QR code on the back of the card. The page opens with one word in large type: Active, Expired, Suspended or Revoked. It is built to be read outdoors, at arm's length, in bright sun.
Under the status are the operator's photo and name, and each machine they have passed on with its expiry date. A machine that is missing from the list is a machine they are not covered for.
The page reads the register every time. If BETA suspends a card at ten o'clock, a scan at one minute past shows Suspended.
- Active
- Expired
- Suspended
- Revoked
16 Mar 2031
Active
Card valid until 16 Mar 2031
Can operate
- Counterbalance forklift
- Reach truck
Sample card. The name and number are not real.
What stands behind a card
A card is only as good as the checks behind it. BETA reviews every result before a card is issued, audits each centre on a schedule set by its risk rating, and can turn up unannounced at any notified test.
Centres keep the signed test sheets and course records, and BETA's quality assurers sample them at every visit.
- The system works out every result
- Instructors record scores. They cannot enter a pass. If the result on the signed sheet differs from the calculated one, a reviewer sees it.
- One dangerous fault ends the test
- Driving without the seatbelt, travelling with an unstable load, a collision, or dangerous driving is an immediate disqualification, whatever the points.
- Centres are visited without warning
- A centre tells BETA when and where each test will run, so an auditor can turn up and watch.
- Any card can be withdrawn
- BETA can suspend or revoke a card at any time. The reason is recorded and the public check changes at once.
Guidance for you
Operators
How to get a card, keep it valid, and what to do if your details are wrong.
Employers and site managers
How to check a card on site, what each result means, and what a card does not cover.
Training centres
The requirements for approval, the steps, and what BETA expects once you are approved.
Deliver BETA courses at your centre
A centre applies with evidence of its site, machines, insurance and instructors. An assessor visits before approval is given. Applications are open now.