Florida Elevator Code: Permits, Inspections, and Fines

The Florida elevator code is set by Chapter 399 of the Florida Statutes and Rule 61C-5 of the Florida Administrative Code, administered by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). If you own a building with an elevator, escalator, dumbwaiter, or moving walk, the code requires you to pull a permit before any installation or material alteration, post a current certificate of operation on the car, have the equipment inspected every year by a certified inspector, and use only certified technicians for work on it. The current baseline is ASME A17.1-2019 for new installations and ASME A17.3-2020 for existing equipment, both effective December 31, 2023.¹ Fall short and you face fines up to $1,000 per violation, loss of your certificate of operation, and the kind of liability exposure that makes compliance one of the easier calls in building management.

What the Code Covers and What It Doesn’t

Chapter 399 applies broadly to elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walks, and other vertical conveyances in commercial and public buildings. It does not apply to private residence elevators, stairway chairlifts, and wheelchair lifts in homes; automated people movers at airports; construction hoists and material lifts; automobile parking lifts; hand-operated dumbwaiters; cranes, derricks, and industrial trucks governed by other ASME standards; or elevators in television and radio towers.¹

The home elevator exemption catches people off guard. Chapter 399’s permit and inspection apparatus generally does not reach equipment in a private residence, though separate building code provisions and the ASME A18.1-2020 standard may still govern the equipment itself.

Each elevator must comply with the edition of the Florida Building Code or Elevator Safety Code in effect when the construction permit application was received. The same rule holds for alterations and relocations: they follow the code in effect when the alteration permit was filed, not the code that applied when the elevator was originally installed.²

Permits and the Certificate of Operation

No elevator may be erected, installed, or materially altered in Florida until the owner obtains a permit from the DBPR. Only a registered elevator company in good standing can apply, and the application must include a sworn statement that the plans comply with all applicable elevator safety and building codes. A copy of the permit and plans has to stay at the job site until the certificate of operation is issued.²

Once the installation passes inspection, the division issues the certificate of operation. You must post it in a conspicuous location on the elevator, framed under a transparent cover. Running an elevator without a valid certificate is itself a finable offense, and starting work without first obtaining a permit triggers a fine of up to $1,000.³

Annual Inspection Requirements

Every elevator subject to Chapter 399 must be inspected annually by a certified elevator inspector, or by a municipality or county that contracts with the division for inspection services. These inspections cover mechanical and electrical components and are the main mechanism for catching problems before someone gets hurt.⁴

One exception is worth knowing. If an elevator is not an escalator or dumbwaiter, serves only two adjacent floors, and is covered by an active service maintenance contract, the annual inspection requirement is waived for as long as that contract remains in effect. A statement verifying each service maintenance contract must still be filed with the division every year, and any cancellation must be reported.⁴

When an inspection reveals an unsafe condition, the division can seal the elevator or order it out of service immediately. It stays shut down until a follow-up inspection confirms the problem is repaired or the equipment replaced. For code violations that are not immediately dangerous, the division issues an order to correct, giving the owner a window to fix the problem and schedule a reinspection. Keep detailed maintenance logs. When DBPR inspects or investigates, past inspection records, repair invoices, and service contracts are the first things they ask for, and gaps can lead to orders to correct and fines if the division concludes that required maintenance wasn’t performed.⁴

Who Can Legally Work on Your Elevator

Florida law requires anyone who constructs, installs, maintains, or repairs an elevator to hold a valid elevator certificate of competency issued by the division. Applicants need four years of documented work experience in elevator construction, maintenance, service, and repair, verified by registered elevator companies. On top of the experience, the applicant must pass a written examination administered or approved by the division, complete an equivalent apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, or hold a license from another state with standards at least as stringent as Florida’s.⁵ Licensed mechanical engineers in good standing can obtain a certificate of competency without meeting the standard experience requirements.

Each certified technician re-registers annually, completes eight hours of continuing education from an approved provider, and maintains general liability insurance at minimums set by the division.⁶ If you hire someone to work on your equipment and they don’t hold a current certificate, both of you are exposed. The division can issue citations that function as stop-work orders for unlicensed activity.¹

Retrofit Deadlines for Older Elevators

Older elevators are not grandfathered out of modern safety standards. ASME A17.3-2020 sets retrofit requirements for existing elevators and escalators on staggered timelines, and Florida modified several of those deadlines to give owners more time:

Door restrictor devices (Part 3.10.12): compliance deadline extended from December 31, 2023 to August 1, 2025. All covered elevators must have compliant door restrictors installed.
Additional safety retrofits (Parts 3.8.5, 3.10.13, 3.10.14, 3.13.1, and 3.13.2): deadline extended to August 1, 2028.

Door restrictor devices prevent elevator doors from being opened when the car is not at a landing, which eliminates one of the most dangerous scenarios in elevator operation: someone stepping into an open shaft. If your building has pre-code equipment, pull the inspection history now and confirm with your service company exactly which parts of A17.3 apply and whether the required components are already in place.⁷

Fines and Loss of Certificate

The fine structure under Chapter 399 is more nuanced than a flat “per violation” figure. Different violations carry different consequences:

Failing to comply with reporting requirements or reasonable DBPR requests about service maintenance contracts: up to $1,000 per violation.
Operating, installing, relocating, or altering an elevator without the required permit or certificate: up to $1,000 per violation.
Continuing to operate an elevator after it has been sealed or after a notice to discontinue use: up to $1,000 per day the elevator stays in operation after notice or sealing.
Failing to correct a violation within 90 days of an order to correct: up to $1,000.

Only one category carries the daily fine: running a sealed elevator. That’s the scenario the legislature treated as dangerous enough to warrant escalating penalties. All fines collected go into the Hotel and Restaurant Trust Fund.³

Beyond fines, the DBPR can suspend or revoke elevator certificates of operation, inspector certifications, company registrations, and technician certificates of competency. Grounds for disciplinary action include fraud or misrepresentation in applications, violation of any provision of Chapter 399, negligence or misconduct, and inspectors’ failure to provide timely reports. A revoked certificate of operation means the elevator cannot legally run until the issues are resolved and the certificate is reinstated, a serious disruption for any commercial property.¹

Liability If Someone Is Injured

Administrative fines are often the least of your worries when something goes wrong. If someone is injured in an elevator that wasn’t up to code, the code violation itself can serve as powerful evidence of negligence in a personal injury lawsuit. Florida courts recognize negligence per se: violating a safety statute designed to protect a particular class of people from a particular type of harm can establish the duty and breach elements of a negligence claim automatically.⁸

Chapter 399 exists to protect elevator passengers from injury caused by unsafe equipment. An owner who skips inspections, ignores correction orders, or uses uncertified technicians has handed a plaintiff’s attorney a roadmap. The injured person still has to prove the violation caused the injury, but the harder part of the case, proving the owner was negligent, is largely done once the violation is established.

Insurance adds another layer of risk. Carriers frequently investigate whether the elevator was current on inspections and in code compliance before paying a claim. A lapsed certificate of operation or a missed inspection can give an insurer grounds to deny coverage, leaving you personally exposed to the full cost of a lawsuit, settlement, or judgment.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 399 – Elevator Safety
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 399.03 – Permits
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 399.105 – Administrative Fines
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 399.061 – Inspections, Service Maintenance Contracts, Correction of Deficiencies
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 399 – Elevator Safety
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 399.01 – Definitions
7
Florida DBPR. Florida Administrative Code 61C-5 – Elevator Safety Code
8
The Florida Bar. Florida Standard Jury Instructions – Statute or Ordinance