There's no such thing as a forklift license. There is 1910.178.

OSHA doesn't issue forklift licenses and doesn't recognize third-party "certifications" as sufficient by themselves. The employer certifies each operator after three components: formal instruction (lecture, video, written material), practical hands-on training, and an evaluation of the operator's actual performance in the workplace — on the truck type they'll use, in the environment they'll use it. The certification records the operator's name, training and evaluation dates, and the evaluator's identity.

Training content spans truck-related topics (controls, capacity, stability, refueling/charging) and workplace-related topics (surface conditions, pedestrian traffic, narrow aisles, ramps). An operator trained on a sit-down counterbalance in an empty lot isn't certified for a reach truck in a live warehouse — the standard is explicit that differences require additional training.

Two clocks run simultaneously: every operator's performance must be re-evaluated at least once every three years, and refresher training is mandatory after any accident or near-miss, observed unsafe operation, assignment to a different truck type, or workplace changes affecting safe operation. Citations concentrate where the clocks stop — evaluations that never recur, and post-incident returns to the seat with no documented refresher.

Beyond training, enforcement reaches truck condition and use: removing damaged trucks from service, matching truck designations (D, E, EE, EX and the rest) to hazardous locations per Table N-1, load handling practices, and the seat belt question OSHA enforces through §1910.178's requirement to use trucks per manufacturer specifications.

Warehouse supervisors field the same questions on repeat: can a 17-year-old operate a forklift (no — federal law prohibits it in nonagricultural employment), does a pallet jack need certification (powered ones, yes), how long are certifications valid. RegLogic answers each from the standard and its interpretation letters in seconds, and team notes let you attach your fleet list and evaluation schedule directly to §1910.178(l).