White articulating boom lift beside a half-built commercial building at sunrise

Last updated: November 13, 2026

Scissor Lift Financing for Contractors: New, Used and Boom Lifts

How reach, inspection records and a rental buyout shape a lift loan or lease.

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White articulating boom lift with its platform raised against the steel frame of a half-built commercial building

Scissor lift financing spreads the cost of a new or used scissor lift or boom lift over a set term, as a loan, an equipment finance agreement or a lease, with the lift itself usually securing the deal.

This page sits under Paramount Financial’s heavy equipment financing overview and covers three things:

  • How the two machines differ on paper
  • What a used lift’s file should hold
  • What a rental buyout involves

Start with the section you need.

White scissor lift raised inside an unfinished retail space with two workers hanging ductwork from the platform

How scissor lift financing works

Scissor lift financing means a lender or lessor pays the dealer or rental company, and your business pays it back over a set term. With a loan or an equipment finance agreement, you own the lift and the lender holds a security interest, while with a lease the lessor owns it until the term ends. Ownership is the dividing line.

Lenders usually file a UCC-1 financing statement that names the collateral. On a lift, the make, model and serial number should read the same on every record:

  • The dealer’s or rental company’s invoice
  • The bill of sale
  • The serial plate on the chassis
  • The collateral description in the UCC-1, explained in our guide to what a UCC filing is

Match them exactly.

Scissor lift or boom lift? Start with where the work sits

JLG’s maintenance guide sorts the two machines by the work:

  • Scissor lifts suit vertical ascent and descent, like hanging drywall or running electrical work
  • Boom lifts, carried on a hydraulic arm, go around an obstacle or up to a higher elevation
  • Either type comes as a slab model for flat floors or a rough-terrain model for outdoor sites

Scissor lift

  • The platform rises straight up, over the work
  • Slab models for finished floors, rough-terrain models for outdoor pads
  • JLG’s ES1930M is 30 in wide and reaches 18 ft 6 in indoors

Articulating boom

  • Jointed sections, so it’s also called a knuckle boom
  • JLG calls it the ideal for getting up and over objects
  • A fit when something sits between the machine and the job

Telescopic boom

  • One straight boom that reaches farther, with more capacity
  • Also sold as a straight boom
  • JLG’s comparison sets the two boom types side by side

OSHA treats them differently.

How it reachesWhat OSHA’s rules sayList on the agreement
Scissor liftStraight up from the chassis, though some platforms extend past the wheelbaseA scaffold under 1926.451, not an aerial lift; no tie-off needed with properly maintained guardrailsModel, serial number, platform capacity, slab or rough-terrain, any deck extension
Boom liftUp and out on a boom; an articulating boom also goes up and overAn aerial lift under 1926.453: controls tested daily, authorized operators, a lanyard on the boom or basketModel, serial number, outreach, both capacity ratings, each option listed apart

Say a boom lift goes onto the application as a scissor lift. Its serial number won’t match the class, and the file goes back for correction. Check it twice.

Boom lift financing follows the reach

JLG’s spec sheet for the 600S lists a platform height of 59 ft 8 in, a horizontal outreach of 50 ft 2 in, and two capacity ratings: 1,000 lb restricted and 600 lb unrestricted. One machine, two ratings. Ask which one.

Options come priced apart from the machine. JLG’s 600S page lists these:

  • A welder built in beside the control station
  • A generator with a power cable to the platform
  • A glass and panel tray

Itemize each one. Then ask whether the agreement carries them with the machine.

White telescopic boom lift extended up and out toward the facade of a commercial building from a gravel pad

Same maker, two different jobs

18 ft 6 in

JLG ES1930M scissor lift, platform height indoors

Source: JLG, ES1930M specifications

59 ft 8 in

JLG 600S boom lift, platform height

Source: JLG, 600S key specs

50 ft 2 in

The same 600S, horizontal outreach

Source: JLG, 600S key specs

JLG rates the ES1930M’s platform at 500 lb and the 600S’s at 1,000 lb restricted, so compare the shapes, not the models: a scissor lift climbs, a boom lift climbs and reaches, and the plate on the machine decides what either one can carry on the day.

Used white scissor lift lowered at a seller's yard with a worker crouched beside its scissor arms

Used scissor lift financing starts with the inspection record

  • JLG’s maintenance guide says it and most other makers recommend an inspection at least every 13 months, done by a factory-trained technician
  • It adds that detailed maintenance records protect a machine’s value when it’s time to sell
  • So the first request to a seller is the last annual inspection

The lift

  • Scissor arms, pins and wear pads, with no leaks, dents or cracked welds
  • Platform rails and gate that latch and sit true
  • Tires or tracks sound, with drive and steering working
  • Decals and placards still clean and legible

The power

  • Batteries and charger on an electric model
  • Engine oil and hydraulic fluid on an engine-powered one
  • Ground controls and platform controls both working
  • An hour meter that looks untampered with

The paper

  • The dated annual inspection record
  • Work orders and service records
  • The operator’s manual, kept in the weather-resistant compartment
  • A serial plate that matches the bill of sale

Operators train first

  • JLG’s summary of the ANSI A92.24 standard says operators run only the machines they’re trained, authorized and familiarized on
  • Other people on the platform get instruction too, starting with fall protection
  • Anyone who directly supervises operators gets supervisor training

Buying from a private seller? Search first

  • UCC section 9-315 generally keeps a security interest attached to collateral after a sale, unless the secured party authorized the sale free of it
  • A seller’s unpaid loan can ride along with a lift
  • Run a UCC search in the seller’s state
  • If a balance turns up, get a payoff letter before you pay
  • Our page on used equipment financing goes further

Financing a lift you’ve been renting

  • A rental purchase option, or RPO, lets part of your rent count toward buying the lift you’re renting
  • The rental company owns the machine until you exercise it
  • Then the credit comes off the price and the balance gets financed
  • It isn’t automatic

How two rental companies run theirs

  • RDO Equipment rents for typically three to six months, applies rent at milestones like three and six months, and hands over a complete service record at conversion
  • ALL Crane has you sign the option with the original rental, doesn’t oblige you to buy, and lets you exercise it any time in the quoted term
Two white scissor lifts and a white boom lift parked in a row on gravel at an equipment rental yard

Four answers to get in writing first

  • What share of the rent counts toward the price, and for how long
  • Whether exercising the option costs a fee
  • Whether the end price is fixed now or set at market later
  • The lift’s inspection record and service history

How the end of the paper reads

Four jobs a lift gets hired for

Ceilings and drywall

JLG’s ES1930M includes leak containment as standard, to protect the finished floors it works over.

Wiring and ductwork

JLG calls slab scissor lifts the models for flat, level surfaces, like a finished floor under an overhead run.

Steel and exteriors

JLG’s 600S reaches 50 ft 2 in out, past obstacles a scissor lift can’t clear.

Facility upkeep

A lift parked between jobs still needs an annual inspection, at least every 13 months, by JLG’s guidance.

Other machines, trades and the financing side

What contractors ask before financing a lift

Can you finance a used scissor lift?

Used scissor lifts do get financed. Say a seller hands over a dated annual inspection, a service history and a serial plate that matches the bill of sale: a lender can work with that file, and no single age or hour cutoff applies everywhere, so ask before you make an offer.

Can a business that’s just starting out get scissor lift financing?

Short answer: it varies by lender and by deal, and no rule says a new business can’t. Lenders reviewing a newer business tend to look harder at the lift and the owner’s experience, so bring the quote, the serial number and a description of the work the lift will do.

Do I need a down payment for scissor lift financing?

Whether a down payment is required depends on the lender, the structure and the deal, so no single answer holds. Say two lenders quote the same lift, one as a loan and one as a lease: what each wants at signing can differ, and only the written terms show it.

What does a lender look at before financing a boom lift?

Start with the lift: make, model, year, serial number, hours and the inspection record. Then the seller, then your business, and on a boom the options too: JLG’s 600S lists a welder, a generator and a glass tray, and whether any of them ride on the same agreement is a question for each lender.

Should I rent, lease or buy a scissor lift?

Rent for a short project, and buy when the lift works most of the year. Say a crew needs one for six weeks on a single job: that’s a rental, while a crew hanging ceilings all year may find ownership makes sense, with leasing between the two.

What happens to my rent if I buy the lift I’m renting?

Under a rental purchase option, part of your rent counts toward the price and the balance is financed. RDO Equipment publishes a schedule at three and six months, ALL Crane has you sign its option with the original rental, and a plain rental carries no credit.

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