IPAF course: the categories, the PAL card and what the law asks

Which category you need

3a, mobile vertical

A scissor lift or other platform that moves straight up and can be driven at height.

3b, mobile boom

A self-propelled boom, the machine most people call a cherry picker, which can be driven with the platform raised.

1b, static boom

A boom on a vehicle, trailer or outriggers that must be set up before it is raised.

Harness and MEWPs for Managers

Add-on courses: harness use in a boom, and planning and supervising MEWP work for those who manage operators.

The PAL card

IPAF's own page says the PAL card is valid for five years from the first day of the training course, lists the categories the holder is trained on, and is now also issued digitally through the ePAL app in the UK and Ireland (IPAF, the PAL card).

Why an employer has to train

The Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 5, say no one may work at height unless they are competent or being trained under a competent person (legislation.gov.uk). PUWER 1998, regulation 9, requires every employer to make sure people who use work equipment have had adequate training (legislation.gov.uk). HSE's MEWP guidance says operators should have attended a recognised training course and hold a card listing the categories they may operate, plus familiarisation on the make and model they will use (HSE).

Funding

CITB's short course grant page, read on 28 October 2026, lists set grant rates for plant, scaffolding and a few other standards, and tells employers with a course not on that list to look at Employer Networks or ask their local CITB adviser (CITB short course grants). Ask the training centre whether your booking qualifies before you assume it does.