Boom truck inspection rules in Canada

R 03 mTwo inspections: the crane and the truck

The crane answers to the province's occupational health and safety rules: periodic inspection, non-destructive testing (NDT) in some provinces, a log, load charts and safety devices. The truck answers to commercial vehicle rules: brakes, steering, tires and frame, on a separate schedule. A current vehicle inspection decal says nothing about the boom, and an engineer's crane certificate says nothing about the brakes. Keep both sets of paper.

Shift checks sit underneath all of this. Manitoba writes the pre-shift operator inspection into its regulation¹², and the NWT requires a competent person to inspect every hoist, crane or lifting device at the start of each shift and at the intervals the manufacturer recommends⁷; Nunavut's text is similar⁸. Wherever you work, the manufacturer's manual sets the daily list.

R 06 mAnnual engineer inspections: BC, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Yukon

British Columbia names boom trucks outright. A mobile crane or boom truck must be inspected at least once every 12 months to good engineering practice, and may not be used until a professional engineer certifies it safe¹. WorkSafeBC treats following the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC guideline on annual equipment inspection as good engineering practice, and the engineer must be licensed where the inspection and repair work is done¹⁴.

Yukon also names both: inspections at intervals not over 12 months, certified safe by a professional engineer, the manufacturer or its authorized representative, with up to 3 months' delay allowed at a remote site².

New Brunswick requires a mobile crane to be inspected every 12 months by an engineer, or a competent person supervised by one, to CSA Z150-20 clause 5.3.5.2.1, with the written certification in the cab³. The section speaks of mobile cranes, and WorkSafeNB's guide lists a boom truck crane among them, with the 12-month engineer inspection as a mobile crane requirement⁴. The 25-tonne operator rule is still open³.

Nova Scotia requires a competent person to inspect a hoist at least once a year and, for a mobile or overhead crane over 5 t, an engineer's certificate every year⁵. Its regulations define a mobile crane as one to which the latest CSA Z150 applies, and we did not confirm that a boom truck is one. Separately, the owner of a regulated crane must keep a logbook with it, and a load chart if the manufacturer requires one¹⁵.

Example: a BC boom truck certified on March 15, 2026 must be inspected and certified again by March 15, 2027 at the latest.

When you rent or buy, ask for the latest certificate: the date, who signed it, any deficiencies listed and proof they were closed.

R 09 mEvery two years or 1,800 hours: Saskatchewan, the NWT and Nunavut

Saskatchewan requires a mobile crane to get a thorough inspection, including non-destructive testing, under a professional engineer every 2 years or 1,800 operating hours, whichever comes first, with the results available on site⁶. Because its mobile crane definition covers truck-mounted cranes⁶, the rule reaches boom trucks.

The Northwest Territories has the same rule, every two years or 1,800 hours of operation, whichever occurs first⁷, and its mobile crane definition also covers a crane mounted on a truck⁷. Nunavut's regulation has the same interval for a mobile crane, a crane on a truck, wheel or crawler base, and the results must be readily available at the work site⁸. It never says boom truck; ask whether yours counts as a mobile crane.

NDT means testing load-bearing parts for cracks and defects without damaging them, with methods such as magnetic particle, dye penetrant or ultrasonic testing. The engineer directing the work and the manufacturer's specifications set which parts and which method.

Example: a truck that runs 1,100 hours a year reaches 1,800 hours in about 20 months, so the hours come due before the two-year date. A truck that runs 600 hours a year reaches the two-year date first, at about 1,200 hours. Record the hour meter in the log at every inspection so you can show which trigger applied.

R 12 mAlberta: what the Code says and does not say

Alberta needs care, because its OHS Code treats boom trucks and mobile cranes as different machines.

• The Code defines a boom truck as a truck with a hydraulically driven, turret-mounted, stabilized structure whose telescoping or articulating boom can swing, hoist or raise and lower a load⁹.
• It defines a mobile crane as a crane other than a boom truck. So s.88, which requires a mobile crane to meet CAN/CSA Z150-98 (R2004), does not by its terms cover boom trucks⁹.
• Section 89 requires NDT of all load-bearing components under a professional engineer at 12-month intervals, and it applies to mobile cranes as defined⁹.

The plain answer: Alberta's OHS Code has no annual NDT rule that names boom trucks. No reference to CSA Z150.3, the knuckle-boom standard, was found in the consolidation checked⁹.

That does not leave a boom truck uninspected. The Code's general equipment rules make the manufacturer's schedule the working rule, and one section names boom trucks directly:

• Equipment must be tested, maintained and repaired to the manufacturer's specifications or specifications certified by a professional engineer (s.12). Where the manufacturer's specifications are not available, the employer follows engineer-certified procedures or has the equipment certified safe by an engineer at least every 12 calendar months (s.13)⁹.
• Part 6 covers lifting devices rated 2,000 kg or more. Each one at a work site needs a log book recording inspections, including those the manufacturer specifies, with defects, repairs and time in service; the log transfers with the equipment when it is sold (s.59, s.65).
• Structural repairs are made under an engineer's direction and certified (s.73).
• A mobile crane or boom truck must carry load charts at all times (s.63(1))⁹.

Clients and prime contractors can require more than the Code, so read the contract. See boom trucks in Alberta.

R 15 mOntario's crane log

On Ontario construction projects the owner keeps a crane log of all inspections, tests, repairs and maintenance. Before the crane is used on a project, the operator must be given at least the previous 12 months of it; if the log is incomplete, the crane must first be inspected to CSA Z150-16 clause 5.3.5¹⁰.

The same regulation requires a load rating chart readable at the controls, or a model and serial plate linked to crane-specific charts (s.151(3))¹⁰, and rated capacity determined to CSA Z150-16, or CSA Z150.3-17 for articulating boom cranes¹⁰.

For an Ontario rental, especially bare (operator not included), ask for the 12 months of log before the truck arrives. An incomplete log means an inspection before the first lift. On an industrial establishment, Regulation 851 requires a thorough examination by a competent person before first use and at least once a year, with a signed record¹¹. See boom trucks in Ontario.

R 18 mQuebec: devices the crane must have

Quebec's construction safety code requires a mobile crane to meet CSA Z150-1974 and its 1977 supplement (except clause 4.3.2.5), with the logbook in Annex 9¹³. It also lists devices an inspection should find working:

Two practical points. If a truck bought elsewhere will work on Quebec construction sites, check these devices are fitted and working before you buy. And the date of manufacture on the data plate decides which overload rule applies. Rules outside construction were not checked. See boom trucks in Quebec.

R 21 mWhich CSA edition applies where

CSA Z150:26, the 2026 edition, is the sixth edition of the national mobile crane safety code, superseding the 2020, 2016, 2011, 1998 and 1974 editions¹⁶. A standard becomes law only when a province adopts it, and none of the provinces below cites the 2026 edition:

The edition matters at inspection: New Brunswick and Ontario, above, name a clause of their adopted edition for the inspection itself. Ask which edition the truck's last certification refers to, and whether it matches the province where the truck will work. Knuckle booms follow their own standard; see knuckle boom trucks.

R 24 mCommercial vehicle inspections

The chassis has its own annual inspection, run by the province's commercial vehicle program:

• Alberta: a CVIP inspection every 12 months by a licensed facility and technician, for trucks over 4,500 kg registered gross vehicle weight operating outside Alberta and over 11,794 kg operating only within it²¹.
• British Columbia: trucks licensed over 8,200 kg gross vehicle weight are in the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Program²².
• Ontario: most trucks over 4,500 kg need an annual safety inspection, valid 12 months, by a licensed technician at a DriveON Vehicle Inspection Centre²³.

Other provinces' programs were not researched. Licence classes and carrier rules are in licence class and NSC.

The paperwork to ask for

1. The latest periodic crane certificate, its date, signer and next due date.
2. The NDT report, where the province or manufacturer requires one.
3. The crane log or log book, with hours and repairs.
4. Load charts that match the crane's serial number.
5. The chassis inspection report and decal.

Buying? The full checklist is in buying a used boom truck.