EN 15567: the standard for rope courses and zip lines
Reviewed by the Meiqi Play engineering team · Last reviewed
In short
EN 15567 is the European standard series for ropes courses, published in two parts. EN 15567-1 covers the construction and structural design of the course, and EN 15567-2 covers its operation, including supervision, participant briefing, inspection and rescue. It applies to commercial ropes courses used by paying participants, which is why it applies instead of EN 1176.
Why it is not EN 1176
EN 1176 applies to playground equipment intended for children, where the design assumption is unsupervised free play. A commercial ropes course is a supervised, operated attraction used by participants of different ages who have given informed consent, and it depends on a belay system and staff supervision for its safety. Because the risk model is different, the standard is different.
This distinction is the first thing to check with a supplier. A ropes course offered with EN 1176 certification has been assessed against the wrong framework, which usually indicates the supplier does not work in this category.
What part 1 covers
Part 1 addresses the structure: platform design and loading, anchor points, lifelines and cables, the fall-protection system, and the inspection of the installation before it is put into service.
It covers the choice and treatment of anchor points, including where existing trees are used, and it requires the structural design to be documented.
What part 2 covers
Part 2 addresses operation: supervision ratios, the briefing and instruction given to participants, inspection of harnesses and personal protective equipment, and the rescue procedures that must be in place.
It assumes that every participant position on the course can be reached for retrieval, which is a design constraint as much as an operational one. A course where a stuck participant cannot be reached without them self-rescuing does not satisfy part 2, regardless of how well the structure is built.
Belay systems
Continuous belay uses a captive trolley running on a fixed track that the participant cannot detach. Traditional clip-in belay requires the participant to move a lanyard between cables, and depends on discipline and supervision.
Continuous belay costs more but removes the most common cause of serious incident. Many insurers now require it regardless of what the standard permits, which means the insurance requirement may be the binding constraint rather than the standard.
North America
In North America the applicable framework is normally the ACCT standards rather than EN 15567. The two differ in inspection intervals and in belay requirements, so a course built to EN 15567 is not automatically acceptable to a US or Canadian insurer.
Frequently asked questions
What is EN 15567?
EN 15567 is the European standard series for ropes courses, in two parts. Part 1 covers construction and structural design; part 2 covers operation, including supervision, participant briefing, inspection and rescue. It applies to commercial ropes courses and zip lines used by paying participants.
Why does a ropes course not use EN 1176?
EN 1176 is written for children's play equipment used in unsupervised free play, where safety is achieved through design alone. A commercial ropes course is a supervised, operated attraction that relies on a belay system and staff supervision, so its risk model is different and it falls under EN 15567 instead. A ropes course certified to EN 1176 has been assessed against the wrong standard.
Is annual inspection required for a ropes course?
Yes. Annual inspection by a competent person is a legal requirement in most European markets and an insurance condition in most others, and EN 15567-2 assumes a documented inspection regime. Budget for it as an ongoing operating cost rather than a one-off commissioning item. Rope, harness and connector replacement intervals should be established from inspection rather than from a fixed calendar.
What is continuous belay and why do insurers prefer it?
Continuous belay uses a captive trolley on a fixed track that the participant cannot detach, making it impossible to be unclipped while at height. Traditional clip-in belay requires participants to transfer a lanyard between cables, which depends on discipline and supervision and is the most common cause of serious ropes course incidents. Continuous belay costs more, but many insurers now require it even though EN 15567 permits either system.