# Home Elevator Permits and Codes by Country Which safety codes apply to home elevators, platform lifts and stairlifts in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, who issues permits, who inspects, and the door-gap rule that protects children. Updated 2026-10-29. Also on the [web page](https://privateelevators.fyi/guides/home-elevator-permits-and-codes). Home lift rules differ by country, and often by state, province or city. This guide sets out the main codes and who signs off. It is not legal advice. Before you buy, confirm the rules with your local building department or elevator authority. ## United States ### The codes | Code | What it covers | |---|---| | ASME A17.1, Section 5.3 | Private residence elevators | | ASME A18.1 | Inclined stairway chairlifts and inclined and vertical platform lifts for a mobility-impaired person, typically in household use | | ASME A17.3 | Safety code for existing elevators | ASME describes A18.1 as covering design, construction, installation, operation, inspection, testing, maintenance and repair. The current edition is A18.1-2023. Each state adopts its own edition. In 2017, CPSC staff found that almost all states reference ASME A17.1, but many do not reference the latest version. Ask which edition your state enforces. ### The door-gap rule This is the most important safety rule for families with children. - Between 1981 and the 2013 edition, ASME A17.1 allowed a **5-inch** space between the residential car door and the hoistway door. - ASME A17.1-2016 (effective 30 May 2017) added section 5.3.1.8.3. It limits the space to **4 inches** for five door combinations. It also added door strength and deflection rules. - CPSC says installers should **never allow any gap greater than four inches deep**. Children aged 2 to 12 have been crushed to death in this gap. - In January 2022, CPSC announced recalls by Bella Elevator, Inclinator and Savaria covering about 69,000 residential elevators, and warned consumers about Waupaca elevators. - Florida's "Max Grablin Act" (section 399.031) sets its own rules for private-residence elevators. For example, the space between a swinging hoistway door and a folding car door or gate must reject a 4-inch-diameter sphere at all points. CPSC's fixes are space guards on the back of the hoistway door, or an electronic device that stops the elevator when a child is in the gap. If you are not sure about an existing lift, CPSC says to lock it out of use and have a qualified elevator inspector check it. ### Permits and sign-off: two state examples | State | Permit | Inspection | |---|---|---| | Florida | A registered elevator company applies for the permit, with a sworn statement that plans meet the codes. All new installations must be done by a registered elevator company. | Private residences are exempt from the pre-use inspection by a certified inspector. Lifts in private residences need no certificate of operation. | | Washington | A licensed elevator contractor applies for the permit before installation. | The state inspects every new, altered or relocated private-residence conveyance. No annual inspection unless the owner asks. | Other states and cities have their own rules. Ask your dealer and your local building department. ## Canada The national codes are CSA standards. Technical Safety BC and the City of Markham list: - CAN/CSA-B44 Section 5.3: private residence elevators. - CAN/CSA-B44 Section 5.4: private residence inclined elevators. - CAN/CSA-B355: lifts for persons with physical disabilities. - CAN/CSA-B613: private residence lifts for persons with physical disabilities. - CSA C22.1: the Canadian Electrical Code. Markham notes that CSA B44 sentence 5.3.1.7.2 allows up to 5 inches (127 mm) between the hoistway door and the car gate or folding door. It says gaps in many elevators can be 7 inches or more, and that a door baffle should be considered when the gap is too large. **Ontario.** TSSA rules do not apply to elevating devices in a private dwelling house used only by the occupants and their guests, unless the owner asks in writing. Markham's building inspector asks for a document from a TSSA-certified elevator installer that the lift meets the CSA standard. **British Columbia.** Technical Safety BC says lifts and elevators in private residences are not regulated by any provincial or municipal authority. It says you will likely need a building permit, except for the simplest stair lift, and an electrical permit for wiring changes. ## United Kingdom - **Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.** HSE says stair lifts and slow platform lifts (under 0.15 m/s) come under these rules, not the Lifts Regulations 2016. A new stair lift must come with instructions, a Declaration of Conformity and conformity marking. - **Product standards.** LEIA lists BS EN 81-40 (stairlifts and inclined lifting platforms) and BS EN 81-41 (vertical lifting platforms for persons with impaired mobility). - **LOLER 1998.** Regulation 9 requires a thorough examination of equipment for lifting people at least every 6 months, or under an examination scheme. It applies to employers. HSE says stair lifts in private dwellings are in most cases outside LOLER. It can apply when people at work use the lift. Building work for a shaft or floor opening may need building control approval. Ask your local council. ## Australia Australia uses the AS 1735 series for lifts, and each state runs its own registration. - **New South Wales.** SafeWork NSW has a form to register a lift in a private residence. Private single-dwelling lifts pay no fee. The form includes a declaration that a competent person inspected the lift. - **Queensland.** A Business Queensland page, last updated in 2019, lists lifts in a private residence (as defined in AS 1735.1:2003) as exempt from registration. Check the current rule with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. ## Other markets We did not find official sources for Ireland, New Zealand, the UAE, Switzerland, Singapore or Hong Kong that we could cite here. Ask the dealer which standard the lift meets, and confirm permits with your local authority. ## Next step Ask each dealer which code and edition they work to, who applies for the permit, and who signs off. You can compare installers in this directory. ## Sources - [A18.1 Safety Standard for Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts](https://www.asme.org/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/a18-1-safety-standard-platform-lifts-stairway-chairlifts), ASME, accessed 2026-10-29. - [Letter denying Petition CP 15-1 on residential elevators](https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Residential%20Elevators%20Petition%20Denial%20042617.pdf), US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 26 April 2017. - [CPSC Alert: Protect Children from a Deadly Gap between Doors of Home Elevators](https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2019/CPSC-Alert-Protect-Children-from-a-Deadly-Gap-between-Doors-of-Home-Elevators), US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 8 August 2019. - [CPSC Announces Additional Steps Towards Eliminating Child Entrapment Hazard in Residential Elevators](https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2022/CPSC-Announces-Additional-Steps-Towards-Eliminating-Child-Entrapment-Hazard-in-Residential-Elevators-Three-Recalls-and-One-Warning-Issued-Consumers-Warned-to-Check-Residential-Elevators-including-at-Rental-Homes), US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 11 January 2022. - [Chapter 399, Elevator Safety](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399%2F0399%2F0399.html), The 2026 Florida Statutes, accessed 2026-10-29. - [WAC 296-96-01045 Residential elevator inspections](https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=296-96-01045), Washington State Legislature, effective 1 November 2025. - [Am I Regulated?](https://www.tssa.org/am-i-regulated-4), TSSA, accessed 2026-10-29. - [Builder Tip No. 96: Elevating Devices In Houses](https://www.markham.ca/sites/default/files/2024-12/Builder%20Tip%20No.%2096%20-%20Elevating%20Devices%20In%20Houses.pdf), City of Markham, 1 January 2025. - [Home Elevating Devices](https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/technologies/elevating-devices/home-elevating-devices), Technical Safety BC, accessed 2026-10-29. - [Passenger lifts and escalators](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/passenger-lifts.htm), Health and Safety Executive, updated 2024-11-20. - [The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2307/regulation/9/made), legislation.gov.uk, accessed 2026-10-29. - [LM01 2013: Maintenance requirement for lifts, lifting platforms, escalators and moving walks](https://www.leia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/upload_image/file/LM01%202013.pdf), LEIA, 13 May 2013. - [Registration of an item of plant: private lift application (PIR-PL)](https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1083168/registration-of-an-item-of-plant-private-lift-application.pdf), SafeWork NSW, June 2022. - [Plant equipment requiring registration in Queensland](https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/whs/plant-registration/required), Business Queensland, last updated 22 July 2019. ## Questions ### Which code covers a home elevator in the US? ASME A17.1, Section 5.3, covers private residence elevators. ASME A18.1 covers platform lifts and stairway chairlifts. States adopt different editions, so ask your state or local elevator authority which edition applies. ### Is a home elevator inspected every year? Not always. Washington requires no annual inspection for a single-family private residence conveyance unless the owner asks for one. Florida does not require a certificate of operation for lifts in private residences. Other places differ. ### Does LOLER apply to a lift in my house in the UK? Usually not. HSE says lifting equipment not used by people at work, such as stair lifts in private dwellings, is in most cases not subject to LOLER. It can apply if people at work, such as paid carers, use the lift.