ASME A17.1 / CSA B44 — United States & Canada
Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. Published jointly by ASME (US) and CSA (Canada) since 2000; harmonised editions are released on a roughly three-year cycle. Current edition: A17.1-2022 / B44-22.
Inspection categories
- Periodic (monthly to annual): visual checks, operating tests, safety devices verified by the maintenance contractor.
- Category 1: annual full-load no-load tests of safeties, governors, brakes, hoistway entrance equipment.
- Category 5: every 5 years, full-load buffer test, governor over-speed test, safety drop test, rope inspection.
Enforcement
Adopted by reference at state / province level. The AHJ (state elevator inspector, city building department, or third-party QEI inspector) issues operating certificates. Annual third-party inspection is required in most jurisdictions; insurance carriers (Liberty, Travelers, OneCIS) frequently act as the QEI for non-public buildings.
What changed recently
A17.1-2019 introduced explicit electronic-record provisions: maintenance logs can be electronic if they meet legibility, retention (5 years), and audit-trail requirements. A17.7-2020 added the performance-based "Alternative Code" which lets manufacturers self-certify designs that don\'t fit the prescriptive code — relevant for IoT-monitored modernisations.
EN 81-20 / EN 81-50 — European Union, UK, EFTA
Harmonised standards under the Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU. EN 81-20 covers design and construction; EN 81-50 covers component testing. Mandatory in the EU, UK (post-Brexit retained law), and EFTA states.
Inspection categories
- Periodic maintenance: monthly to quarterly visits by a competent maintenance company. Frequency set per member state — Germany TRBS 1201 typically quarterly, France monthly for high-traffic lifts.
- Periodic inspection (EN 13015): six-monthly to annual third-party inspection by a notified body (TÜV, Bureau Veritas, SGS).
- Major inspection: every 2–6 years depending on member state, full safety-system test.
Enforcement
Each member state transposes the Lifts Directive into national law (Germany BetrSichV, France Code du Travail, Italy DPR 162/99, UK LOLER 1998). Inspection cadence and documentation requirements vary — a multi-country service operation must track per-country compliance, not assume EU-wide uniformity.
What changed recently
EN 81-20:2020 amendment introduced explicit requirements for evacuation lifts (firefighter lifts EN 81-72, evacuation lifts EN 81-73, accessibility EN 81-70). The Lifts Directive consolidation in 2014 unified the CE marking process, but national inspection cadence remains member-state law.
AS 1735 — Australia & New Zealand
Australian/New Zealand Standard "Lifts, escalators and moving walks". A 20-part standard covering design, installation, periodic inspection, and modernisation. Current core part: AS 1735.1-2023.
Inspection categories
- Routine maintenance: monthly visits per AS 1735.18, scope defined by the maintenance contract.
- Annual inspection: registration renewal in most states; documentary inspection by accredited inspector.
- Comprehensive inspection: every 5 years, full safety-system testing and rope examination.
Enforcement
State-level workplace safety regulators (WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe NZ) enforce the standard via the Plant Regulations under each state\'s Work Health and Safety Act. Annual lift registration is mandatory and a current Compliance Plate must be displayed in each car.
GB/T 7588 — People\'s Republic of China
Chinese national standard "Safety rules for the construction and installation of electric lifts", aligned (with deviations) to EN 81. Current edition: GB/T 7588.1-2020 / GB/T 7588.2-2020.
Inspection categories
- Routine maintenance: twice-monthly visits per TSG T7001, scope and checklist mandated by the regulator.
- Annual inspection: annual third-party inspection by an SAMR-accredited inspection institute.
- Acceptance inspection: required for new installation, modernisation, or change of use before lift can be put into service.
Enforcement
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and provincial Special Equipment Safety Bureaux. Every lift must have a current Special Equipment Safety Certificate. Maintenance companies must hold a Special Equipment Maintenance License. The 2024 amendments to the Special Equipment Safety Law tightened liability for both building owner and maintenance company in the event of an incident.
Side-by-side: cadence summary
| Region | Routine maintenance | Annual inspection | Major / load test |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASME A17.1 (US / CA) | Monthly–quarterly | Annual Category 1 | 5-year Category 5 |
| EN 81 (EU / UK) | Monthly–quarterly (per state) | 6-monthly to annual (notified body) | 2–6 year major inspection |
| AS 1735 (AU / NZ) | Monthly | Annual registration renewal | 5-year comprehensive |
| GB 7588 (CN) | Twice-monthly (mandated) | Annual SAMR institute | Acceptance on modernisation |
Above is general guidance — your AHJ or notified body sets the binding cadence for any specific installation. Hospital, high-rise, and high-traffic profiles often face stricter cadence than the baseline shown.
How LiftGrid handles multi-jurisdiction compliance
Every elevator in the system carries a jurisdiction tag. Maintenance cadence, certificate format, and inspection report templates are driven by that tag — not hardcoded into a slug or buried in a configuration screen. A multi-country service operation can run a US portfolio under ASME and a German portfolio under TRBS from the same back office, with the right defaults applied automatically per site.