How to Get Forklift Certified in Utah

Utah is a State Plan state. Its program, UOSH, is part of the Utah Labor Commission, and it writes its rules in Title R614 of the Utah Administrative Code. Rule R614-1-4 incorporates federal OSHA general industry standards by reference: its current text incorporates 29 CFR 1910.6 and 1910.21 through the end of part 1910 of the July 1, 2024 edition. That range includes 1910.178, so the federal forklift operator rule in 29 CFR 1910.178(l) applies in Utah workplaces.

In plain terms, your Utah employer must give you formal instruction, practical training and a workplace evaluation, and certify that you completed all three. Utah does not issue a state forklift license or card.

1. Complete the online instruction. Choose a course that covers the 1910.178(l)(3) topics: truck controls, steering, visibility, capacity and stability, inspection and maintenance, refueling or battery charging, surface conditions, load handling, pedestrians, narrow aisles, ramps and ventilation.
2. Pass the exam. Gama Safety’s pass mark is 80%, and retakes are unlimited and free.
3. Save your certificate and wallet card. Both are available as soon as you pass, so you can send them with job applications.
4. Get practical training on the actual truck. A qualified trainer demonstrates the truck and its controls, then supervises while you practice stacking, travel and parking.
5. Be evaluated at work. The evaluator watches your pre-shift inspection, travel, stacking and load handling in the real work area.
6. Receive your employer’s certification. Keep a copy. The employer’s record lists your name, the training date, the evaluation date and the trainer’s or evaluator’s name.

The formal instruction part of 1910.178(l) may be delivered through computer-based learning, so a good online course counts toward the first element in Utah. The evaluation cannot be remote. Someone qualified has to see you operate the truck in your actual workplace.

In Utah, as elsewhere, an online certificate is evidence of classroom training, not a state credential. UOSH does not approve or accredit online providers, so employers decide whether to accept a certificate when they hire.

Utah’s way of adopting federal rules has a few useful implications:

• The adopted edition is fixed. R614-1-4 points to a specific year of the Code of Federal Regulations, so the operator rule your employer follows is the text in that edition. For forklift training, the substance has not changed.
• Utah can add its own standards. UOSH adopts most federal standards the same way but sometimes supplements them. For forklifts, the operator training requirement is the federal one.
• Private and public employers are covered. UOSH’s authority includes state and local government workplaces, so a city or school district forklift operator follows the same rule.
• Some work stays with federal OSHA. Federal OSHA keeps jurisdiction over a few specific areas in Utah, so a worker on certain federal sites or in particular agricultural operations should ask their employer which agency applies.

Utah’s forklift jobs follow its central position on the I-15 and I-80 corridors:

• Salt Lake Valley logistics: warehouses in Salt Lake City, West Valley City and the area around the Utah Inland Port.
• Northern Utah: the Freeport Center in Clearfield, Ogden and Layton distribution and aerospace suppliers.
• Utah County: Lehi, American Fork and Spanish Fork manufacturers and e-commerce centers.
• Food and building products: Cache Valley food makers and lumber and building supply yards statewide.
• Southern Utah: St. George and Cedar City regional distribution.

Winter conditions in yards and loading docks make traction and visibility a regular training topic for Utah operators.

• Online instruction: about 1.5 to 2 hours, self-paced.
• Practical training and evaluation: often a few hours at the employer’s site, depending on the truck.
• Online course price: US$59 for Gama Safety’s course, with a certificate, wallet card and unlimited retakes. Online courses commonly cost $40 to $80.
• In-person programs with truck time often cost several hundred dollars.

Evaluation is required at least once every three years under 1910.178(l)(4), as incorporated by UOSH. Additional refresher training is due if an operator drives unsafely, has an accident or near-miss, gets a poor evaluation, moves to a different type of truck, or if conditions in the workplace change. A Utah employer who hires an experienced operator still has to evaluate that person on its own trucks.

Gama Safety runs in-person forklift classes only in Fresno, California (forklift certification in Fresno, CA). We do not run a class in Utah. If a Utah employer wants hands-on training for a crew, ask about it through our in-person training page. Most Utah workers complete the practical part at the employer’s warehouse, plant or yard.

Utah employers need written proof for each operator: name, training date, evaluation date and the name of the person who trained or evaluated (29 CFR 1910.178(l)(6)). Re-evaluate every three years and after any incident or truck change.

Gama Safety’s online course covers the formal instruction and issues certificates with team seat pricing available on the course page. Your qualified evaluator then covers the hands-on training and the workplace evaluation.

• OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered industrial trucks, paragraph (l) Operator training.
• Utah Administrative Code, R614-1-4, Incorporation of Federal Standards.
• OSHA, State Plans, which lists states that run their own programs.
• Utah Labor Commission, UOSH.