Do i need a special licence to operate a forklift?

at my work place, me and a couple of other people are working the evening shift and it just so happen that we work in a warehouse and we needed to get something out of a crate up at the very top of the stack. i offered to use the forklift to get it down, but the girl i work with said not to just because apparently you need a special license. i am 16, have my intermediate license and i have operated this kind of machinery before, along with many other farm equipment. so, just so i know for next time, if i had to, would i be able to operate the forklift, or do i need special training through the company just to meet a standard of some kind? please respond. thanks!