Germany’s Expert Certification Overhaul Targets Fire Safety, Workplace Equipment, and Even Dog Owners
13.06.2026 - 01:11:09 | boerse-global.de
German companies that fail to meet new inspection deadlines for elevators, forklifts, and electrical systems now risk fines of up to €20,000. The December 2025 revision of the Betriebssicherheitsverordnung (BetrSichV) – the country's workplace safety ordinance – tightened the intervals at which technical equipment must be checked. Elevator systems require a certified inspection body every two years, forklifts must be examined annually by a competent person, and stationary electrical installations need a licensed electrician every four years. The hazard assessment remains the regulatory core, the ministry says.
The hazard assessment is indeed the foundation of workplace safety compliance. Yet many employers underestimate the gaps in their safety documentation. A free Risk Assessment Toolkit with 41 ready-to-use checklists and templates helps you document hazards, assess risks, and stay compliant with current requirements. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
A further rewrite of the rules into a separate Arbeitsmittelbenutzungsverordnung was slated for the first half of 2026, though the exact date has not been announced.
Parallel to those national changes, North Rhine-Westphalia’s state government is moving to narrow the pool of professionals allowed to draw up fire-safety concepts. A statement from the responsible ministry, issued in June 2026, confirms plans to delete §54(3) of the state’s 2018 building code. Currently, the law permits a case-by-case assessment: individuals with comparable qualifications can be hired. Under the new rule, only officially recognized or publicly appointed experts will be permitted to create fire-safety plans.
The ministry argues the change will reduce administrative burden and increase legal certainty during building-permit procedures. Critics warn that hundreds of expert offices could face closure, dealing another blow to an already sluggish construction sector.
Court rulings add another layer of liability for these experts. A 2016 decision by the Higher Regional Court of Celle clarified that a surveyor must personally perform or supervise the opening of building components for defect inspections – though the expert is not obliged to restore the original condition afterward.
Outside the industrial and construction spheres, proof of expertise is also spreading into private life. In Lower Saxony, anyone getting a dog for the first time has been required since July 2013 to pass both a theoretical and a practical examination. The test focuses on the owner’s suitability, not the breed. A 2023 ruling by the Wolfach District Court further underscored the role of accident-reconstruction reports in animal-holding liability cases.
