A life raft lives sealed in a canister or valise, and nobody sees it work until the day it has to. A service is the only proof it will: an approved station unpacks it, inflates and tests it, renews what's expired inside and repacks it, then labels it with the next due date.
Practical Sailor sets out the rules. US recreational boats have no inspection requirement, so the maker's guidance applies. In Europe, ISO 9650-1 allows up to three years between services, and makers often ask for less.
What a surveyor checks
Read the label: last service, next due date, capacity and maker. Ask for the service certificate. Check the stowage: can one person launch it in a seaway, is it secured so it won't go over on its own, and is the painter made fast to a strong point. If it sits in a cradle with a hydrostatic release, check the release's own expiry date.
In the report
"Life raft, 6-person canister on the pushpit, service label shows next service overdue by 14 months, hydrostatic release also expired. Service the raft and renew the release before going offshore." See expired life raft.