All Valid PAL Cards Now Officially Smart Cards

All valid Powered Access Licence (PAL) Cards issued by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) to MEWP and MCWP operators in circulation worldwide are now Smart cards, as since January 2015 all cards issued by the global PAL Card processing team at IPAF’s head office in Cumbria, UK, have been Smart-capable.

The use of Smart technology was mandated by IPAF from 1 January 2015 to help prevent fraud, misuse and to interact with security, telematics and tracking systems on machines themselves to ensure only authorised, qualified and correctly familiarised personnel are able to operate Smart-enabled and compatible machines. As all PAL Card training must be refreshed or renewed at least every five years, it now stands that no cards issued pre-1 January 2015 will still be valid in the world today.