The Danish Working Environment Authority's crane guidelines are gone — what applies now?
The old At-meddelelser on cranes and slinging lapsed on 15 December 2025 — the rules are in the executive orders
Introduction
For many years, crane operators and slingers looked things up in the Danish Working Environment Authority's At-meddelelser and guidelines: on tandem lifts, on lifting accessories, on crane operator certificates. On 15 December 2025, most of them lapsed (SKR no. 10233 of 12/12/2025). The Authority had approx. 180 guidelines, and now there are 25. The new ones are purely legal guidelines that supplement the executive orders.
These guidelines disappeared
| Old guideline | Subject |
|---|---|
| Former At-meddelelse 2.02.11 (VEJ 3500, 1995) | Use of hoisting, lifting and transport equipment |
| Former At-meddelelse 2.02.3 (VEJ 3608, 1995) | Tandem lifting with cranes |
| Former At-anvisning 2.3.0.4 (ANV 3200, 1997) | Rigging |
| Former guidance (VEJ 60101, 1998) | Load testing of hoisting and lifting equipment |
| Former At-meddelelse 2.02.10 (VEJ 9071) | Rigging equipment |
| Former At-vejledning 1.9.4-1 | Crane operator certificate |
| Former AT guideline 2.3.2 | Use of lifting equipment |
The rules are still there — in the executive orders
A guideline explains the rules. The rules themselves are in the executive orders, and they still apply. Here is where you find them:
| Subject | Where it is now |
|---|---|
| Crane certificate: Crane Basics, mobile cranes over 8 and over 30 tonne-metres, tower cranes | Danish Executive Order BEK 1978/2021 §§ 4-6 |
| Age and health for getting a certificate | Danish Executive Order BEK 1978/2021 §§ 22-23 |
| Doubt about the lift, weight of the load, people under the load | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 §§ 44-45 |
| Stability, signaller and planning of lifts | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 §§ 52-55 |
| Tandem lifts: a fixed work procedure | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 § 55 |
| The weather: outdoor lifts are stopped in bad weather | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 § 57 |
| Main inspection at least every 12 months | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 § 58 |
| Lifting people by crane | BEK 428/2022 § 59 and annex 1 |
| Static load test with 125 % | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 §§ 70-71 |
| Crane logbook | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 § 72 |
| 10-year examination | Danish Executive Order BEK 428/2022 § 73 |
| Safety distances to overhead lines | Danish Executive Order BEK 1112/2016 §§ 5-7 |
The industry's own advice
Some figures known from the old guidelines live on as industry practice. BFA Bygge & Anlæg writes, for example, about tandem lifts that the load «must at no time exceed 75 % of the individual crane's capacity», and that both cranes should be of the same type. That is good advice from the industry, but it is not in any section of the law. Tandem lifts always require a certificate, regardless of the size of the cranes (BEK 1978/2021 § 4, subsection 7).
Will there be new guidelines?
It is not yet known. TUR wrote in August 2026: «It is still uncertain whether they will be replaced by new guidelines. If new guidelines come in this area, they are expected to be prepared by BFA Transport.» Until then you work according to the executive orders, the manufacturer's instructions and the industry guidelines.