Aerial, Scissor & Boom Lift Certification: What Is a MEWP?

If your work takes you up in the air rather than moving loads along the ground, you're operating a MEWP — and a forklift certification does not cover it. This is one of the most common compliance gaps, so it's worth getting right.

MEWP stands for Mobile Elevating Work Platform. It's the modern industry term (under the ANSI A92 standards) for what used to be called aerial work platforms or 'aerial lifts.' The two types most people use are scissor lifts, which raise a platform straight up vertically, and boom lifts, which extend up and out on an articulating or telescoping arm to reach over obstacles. Both put a worker on an elevated platform, and both carry serious fall and tip-over risks — which is exactly why they require dedicated training.

OSHA requires operators of aerial and scissor lifts to be trained on the specific type of equipment they'll use, including how to inspect it, operate it safely, recognize hazards, and respond to emergencies. Just like with forklifts, the certification is tied to the equipment type: being certified on a forklift, or even on a scissor lift, does not automatically certify you on a boom lift.

The key takeaway for operators and employers: forklift certification and MEWP certification are two separate credentials. A warehouse worker who runs both a sit-down forklift and a scissor lift for picking high stock needs both. Plenty of OSHA citations come from assuming one covers the other.

Our MEWP (Aerial Lift) certification is a separate online course for $39, covering both boom lifts and scissor lifts. Like the forklift course, it handles the formal instruction and issues an instant printable certificate; the hands-on evaluation on your specific lift happens at your workplace. If you operate both forklifts and lifts, you can certify on each — the forklift course ($59) and the MEWP course ($39) together cover the ground equipment and the elevated platforms.

Not sure which you need? If the machine lifts a load, it's a forklift. If it lifts a person to work at height, it's a MEWP — and it needs MEWP certification.