How Often Should LEV Systems Be Tested? The 14-Month Rule

If you own or manage a workshop, you already know your LEV system needs testing. The question most people search for is the simple one: how often? For most local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, the answer is a thorough examination and test at least once every 14 months. That interval comes from COSHH, and it applies whether your system serves a welding bay, a woodworking shop, a paint booth or a grinding bench. Foreword: what this guide covers. You do not need a technical background to get this right. Below you will find the interval that applies to you, how to work out your own due date, the records you should keep, and the simplest way to arrange testing without a maze of phone calls. Section one: the short answer, every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9. Regulation 9 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) requires that any LEV system used to control exposure to substances hazardous to health is thoroughly examined and tested at regular intervals. For the large majority of systems, the maximum interval is 14 months. Two words do the real work here. Thorough means the whole system is looked at, not just a glance at the fan. Examined and tested means performance is measured against a benchmark, not eyeballed. A visit that only confirms the fan spins is not a thorough examination and test. Section two: why 14 months and not 12. The extra two months are deliberate. If the rule were a strict 12 months, a delay caused by a busy production week or a provider's availability could push you into non-compliance. Fourteen months lets you book slightly ahead of the anniversary without losing time. Flexibility, though, is not drift. Your last test date sets the clock, not the date you meant to book. Section three: who the 14-month rule applies to. If your process produces dust, fume, mist, vapor or gas and you use extraction to control it, you almost certainly fall within the rule. That includes welding and fabrication shops with fume arms or fixed ductwork; woodworking extractors on saws, planers and sanders; grinding, polishing and linishing benches; paint, solvent and coating operations; vehicle exhaust extraction in garages and workshops; and laboratory fume cupboards and similar enclosures. A two-person fabrication unit with one extraction arm carries the same duty as a factory floor with fifty of them. One exception is worth knowing. Some higher-risk processes carry a shorter interval of six months rather than 14, so it is worth checking which applies to you before you book. Any competent provider will confirm it. Section four: how to work out when your next LEV test is due. Find your last thorough examination and test report, because that document sets your clock. Note the date of the test, not the invoice date or the day the report arrived. Add 14 months, and that is your deadline. Bring the booking forward if the date falls in a busy period. If you are already inside the final month, book now. Testing a few weeks early is fine. It simply resets the 14-month clock from the new test date. Section five: what records you need to keep. COSHH does not only require the test, it requires evidence that you did it, kept available. Hold, for each system, the most recent test report; the dates of every previous test so the 14-month history is visible; any remedial actions identified, plus confirmation they were completed; and basic details of the system itself so a new engineer can understand it quickly. A tidy folder, or a single digital file per system, is enough. The test is what regulators ask about first. The records are what prove you did it. Section six: how to arrange testing without the hassle. Booking feels harder than it is. The job is to find an independent provider who can carry out a thorough examination and test, confirm the results, and leave you with a report you can file. You do not need to learn airflow calculations or read up on ductwork design. You need three things: what you have, where it is, and when it was last tested. With those answers you can compare providers on plain terms, namely availability, scope and cost. If you would rather not spend an afternoon ringing around, our LEV testing and inspection quote service lets you submit what needs inspecting and compare independent providers who can respond. You choose who to work with, and nothing happens without your say-so. The takeaway. Most LEV systems must be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, and some need it more often. Find your last report, add 14 months, keep the paperwork in one place, and book early enough that a busy week cannot push you past the deadline.