The Michigan elevator code is built from two state statutes — the Elevator Safety Act (1967 PA 227) and the Elevator Contractors Licensing Act (1976 PA 333) — together with the Michigan Elevator Rules at R 408.7001 through R 408.8695 and the ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, which Michigan adopts with state-specific amendments. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), through its Bureau of Construction Codes, enforces the whole package: it issues installation permits, licenses contractors and journeymen, inspects equipment, and issues the operating certificates that let an elevator carry passengers or freight.1Cornell Law School. Michigan Elevator Rules
What the Code Covers
Rule 1 of the Michigan Elevator Rules sets out the purpose in one line: minimum safety requirements for the inspection, construction, installation, alteration, maintenance, repair, and operation of elevators.2Cornell Law Institute. Michigan Administrative Code R 408.7001 – Scope The reach is wide. Passenger elevators, freight elevators, escalators, moving walks, dumbwaiters, material lifts, personnel hoists, stairway chairlifts, and platform lifts are all covered, along with residential and inclined lifts including the shoreline lifts used by homeowners’ associations along the Great Lakes.
A handful of municipalities that had their own elevator codes in place before the 1967 act are exempt from state oversight, but most of Michigan falls under LARA.
Private residence elevators sit inside the code on softer terms. Michigan amends the ASME standard so that inspection language for a single-residence elevator reads as “should” rather than “shall,” making inspections recommended instead of mandatory. Inclined elevators that serve multiple residences do not get that treatment; they face the same mandatory inspection regime as commercial equipment.3Cornell Law School. Michigan Administrative Code R 408.7060a – Private Residence Elevators
Because Michigan adopts ASME A17.1 rather than writing from scratch, any elevator built in the state has to satisfy both the national standard and Michigan’s amendments. One example of a state addition: mandatory rupture or overspeed valves on all roped hydraulic jacks, so that a broken line stops fluid flow and arrests the car.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Elevator Code – Installation, Safety, and Compliance
Permits Before Installation or Alteration
Nobody installs or substantially alters an elevator in Michigan without a LARA permit. Plans and specifications go to the Bureau of Construction Codes for approval before work starts. Skipping the permit exposes the owner to penalties and puts the equipment at risk of being shut down.
LARA’s fee schedule, effective through June 27, 2026, splits an installation permit into a nonrefundable application fee, a base permit fee, a certificate fee, and per-floor or per-hoistway-opening charges. A standard passenger or freight elevator starts at $473.80 before the $51.50 per-floor surcharges are added; a four-story installation runs roughly $680 in permit fees. Private residence elevators start at $412.00 plus per-floor fees. Platform lifts and stairway chairlifts start at $267.80.5State of Michigan. LARA Elevator Fees
Alteration permits are cheaper. Most devices cost $180.25 for the first alteration, with $77.25 for each additional alteration and per-floor surcharges on top. Emergency alteration permits jump to $515.00 and cover up to two alterations.5State of Michigan. LARA Elevator Fees
Inspections and Operating Certificates
Once installation is finished, an elevator cannot carry passengers or freight until a Bureau of Construction Codes inspector has evaluated it against ASME A17.1 and Michigan’s amendments, cleared any deficiencies, and issued a certificate of operation. That covers mechanical and electrical components, safety devices, and structural integrity.
Michigan runs two inspection cycles. Most commercial passenger and freight elevators are inspected annually, and the annual inspection fee for a “1-year device” is $242.05 plus per-floor charges. Some categories operate on a biennial cycle, with a “2-year device” inspection at $190.55. If an owner needs equipment running before a full inspection is complete, a temporary certificate of operation is available for $257.50.5State of Michigan. LARA Elevator Fees
Between inspections, the code puts maintenance on the building owner. Brakes, alarms, and communication systems should be tested on the schedule the ASME code specifies. Keep the records. Two things depend on them: proving compliance at the next inspection, and giving a technician a working history when something starts failing.
Who Can Do the Work
Elevator work in Michigan is licensed work. The Elevator Contractors Licensing Act creates two main credentials, the elevator contractor license and the elevator journeyman license, both administered by LARA with input from the Elevator Safety Board.6State of Michigan. Elevator Safety Board
A journeyman’s license requires at least three years of continuous employment in elevator construction, service, maintenance, or repair, followed by a board-approved examination. A degree in electrical or mechanical engineering from a recognized college or university counts as one year toward the three-year requirement. Anyone unlicensed can work on an elevator only under the immediate supervision of a licensed journeyman.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 338.2156 – Elevator Journeymans License Licenses renew on a three-year cycle, and technicians are expected to keep up with code and technology changes between renewals.
Retrofits for Older Elevators
An elevator that met code the day it was installed may not meet current expectations. Michigan has adopted ASME A17.3, the Safety Code for Existing Elevators and Escalators, which LARA describes as a baseline safety code created “to ensure that devices installed or updated prior to the present code requirements all meet a basic minimum safety standard.”8State of Michigan. LARA ASME A17.3 Communication
A17.3 is not one-size-fits-all. A licensed elevator contractor has to evaluate the specific device and identify which retrofits actually apply. Common areas include ascending car overspeed protection, unintended car movement safeguards, speed governors, and hydraulic valve upgrades. Elevators installed or substantially upgraded after certain dates may already have the required features.
Michigan is phasing the standards in on a tiered schedule. The first set took effect January 1, 2025, and the final deadline is January 1, 2028. LARA has said its inspectors will issue violations after each standard’s effective date, most likely during annual inspections.8State of Michigan. LARA ASME A17.3 Communication Building owners who have not had their older equipment evaluated should do that well before 2028.
A note on accessibility, because it is easy to assume Michigan’s code answers everything: it does not cover ADA compliance. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design set federal minimums for cab dimensions, control markings, hall signals, and emergency communications in ADA-covered buildings, and they apply on top of the state code. Any renovation or new installation needs to satisfy both.
Penalties and Real Exposure
Michigan enforces the code through two separate penalty schemes. Under the Elevator Safety Act, operating an elevator without the required approval carries a penalty of $25 per day the elevator remains in service. Under the Elevator Contractors Licensing Act, a first offense for violating any provision of the act or its rules is punishable by a fine of up to $50. Each subsequent offense can bring a fine of up to $100, imprisonment for up to 90 days, or both.9Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 338.2160 – Elevator Licensing Violations
The statutory fines are the smaller part of the picture. LARA can mandate corrective actions, refuse to issue or renew operating certificates, and order noncompliant equipment out of service. An elevator taken out of service stays out until every deficiency is corrected and the device passes reinspection. For a commercial owner, that means lost tenants, lost revenue, and potential lease disputes.
The bigger exposure is liability. If someone is injured in an elevator that lacked a valid operating certificate or had known deficiencies, a building owner faces negligence claims with little to defend on. Commercial general liability policies cover third-party injuries and property damage, but insurers examine maintenance records and compliance history closely, and a lapsed inspection or an ignored violation can turn into a coverage dispute exactly when coverage is needed.