How to Get Forklift Certified in New York

New York has an OSHA-approved State Plan, but it is a limited one. According to OSHA’s State Plans page, New York’s plan covers only state and local government workers. Private-sector employers in New York, including nearly every warehouse, factory and store, fall under federal OSHA. For them the forklift rule is 29 CFR 1910.178(l).

That rule requires a combination of formal instruction, practical training and an evaluation of the operator’s performance in the workplace, after which the employer certifies the operator. Certification is the employer’s statement that you were trained and evaluated. It is not a state-issued card, and OSHA does not approve, certify or accredit online training providers.

This split is the most useful thing to know before you search for a class.

• Private employers (warehouses, distributors, manufacturers, retailers, construction suppliers): federal OSHA applies. Use 1910.178(l).
• Public employers (state agencies, counties, cities, towns, school districts and similar): covered by New York’s Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) program, run by the New York State Department of Labor. If you drive a forklift for a public employer, ask your safety office which written program applies. We have not independently verified PESH’s detailed forklift wording, so this guide does not describe it beyond noting that the program exists.

Either way, there is no one general New York forklift card that works for every employer. Your proof is your training record.

1. Take the online forklift course covering controls, stability and capacity, inspection, battery charging or refueling, load handling, pedestrians, ramps and ventilation.
2. Pass the exam. The Gama Safety pass mark is 80%, with unlimited free retakes.
3. Download the certificate and wallet card as soon as you pass.
4. Do practical training on the type of truck you will drive with a trainer who has the knowledge and experience to train operators.
5. Pass the workplace evaluation, where the evaluator watches your pre-shift inspection and your driving and load handling in the real work area.
6. Get certified by your employer and keep a copy of the record.

Interactive computer learning is an accepted way to deliver formal instruction, so the classroom portion can be done online. Practical training and the evaluation cannot. Be wary of sites promising a New York “forklift license” or instant full certification. New York does not issue one to general operators, and a website cannot sign off on how you actually handle a truck.

What the online certificate does do is show a hiring manager that you already understand the rules. That is useful in a market where staffing agencies and warehouse supervisors want people who can start practical training immediately.

Many searches for this topic are really about New York City. This guide is based on the federal OSHA rule and the state structure above. It does not describe city permits, fire-code requirements or building rules, and a particular site, such as a building with its own loading dock requirements, may impose its own conditions. If a New York City employer or property manager asks for a specific city document, ask them to name it. For the training itself, the question is the same everywhere in the state: has your employer trained you, evaluated you on its truck in its workplace, and certified you?

Space is tight in the city, so expect narrow aisles, ramps, elevators and mixed pedestrian traffic. Those are exactly the workplace topics the standard requires employers to cover.

• The port and logistics network around New York Harbor, including container terminals, rail and trucking yards, and the warehouses that serve them in the New York and New Jersey region.
• Long Island, Westchester and the Hudson Valley, where distribution centres supply the metro area.
• Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, with a mix of warehousing, manufacturing, food processing and building supply.
• Retail back rooms, beverage and food distribution, and construction supply yards across the state.

Trucks vary from narrow-aisle reach trucks to rough-terrain machines, and operators moved to a new truck type need new training on it.

• Online instruction: about 2 hours, self-paced.
• Practical training and evaluation: commonly a few hours at the employer, depending on experience and truck type.
• Online course price: Gama Safety’s forklift course is US$59, with certificate, printable wallet card and unlimited retakes.
• In-person classes with truck time generally cost more.

If you already have a New York job, ask whether the employer pays or has an in-house trainer before you buy anything.

Under 1910.178(l)(4) the employer must evaluate each operator’s performance at least once every three years. Refresher training is needed sooner after unsafe operation, an accident or near-miss, a poor evaluation, assignment to a different type of truck, or a change in workplace conditions that could affect safe operation. A new employer must still certify that you are competent on its trucks.

Gama Safety does not currently run in-person classes in New York. Our only in-person forklift class is in Fresno, California (forklift certification in Fresno, CA). New York operators normally complete the practical training and evaluation with their employer. Companies that want help with crew training can make a request through our in-person page.

Team pricing is on the forklift course page. Under 1910.178(l)(6), the certification record must include the operator’s name, the training date, the evaluation date and the name of the person who trained or evaluated. Keep these records for every operator, schedule the three-year evaluations, and re-train when a truck type or workplace condition changes.

• OSHA, State Plans, covering the New York public-sector plan.
• OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered industrial trucks.
• New York State Department of Labor, Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH).
• U.S. Department of Labor, Child labor rules for non-agricultural occupations.