Texas Elevator Code: Inspections, Certificates & Penalties

The Texas elevator code, set out in Health and Safety Code Chapter 754 and enforced by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), requires building owners to have covered elevators, escalators, and lifts inspected each year by a registered inspector, keep a written maintenance program, file for a certificate of compliance within 30 days of inspection, display that certificate where the public can see it, and report accidents or reportable conditions within 24 hours.¹ Missing any of those steps exposes the owner to administrative penalties of up to $5,000 per day for each violation.²

What Equipment the Code Covers

Chapter 754 defines regulated equipment broadly. It covers passenger and freight elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, platform lifts, chairlifts, wheelchair lifts, and automated people movers. The rules apply in government buildings, public and private commercial buildings, and multiunit residential buildings, meaning any building with more than two residential units housing more than two independent families.³

The exemption list is longer than most owners realize. Outside TDLR regulation:

Elevators, platform lifts, and stairway chairlifts inside a private residence
Equipment in buildings designed for single-family residential use
Construction and demolition hoists, material hoists, and mobile scaffold towers
Grain elevators, belt manlifts, steam-powered hoists, skip hoists, conveyors, and similar industrial equipment
Stage, orchestra, and theater lifts and special purpose personnel elevators
Platform lifts or stairway chairlifts in buildings that are not places of public accommodation, or in public accommodations where ADA accessibility is not required

The TDLR commission can adopt rules requiring registration even for otherwise exempt equipment, so the list is not permanently fixed.³

The Technical Standards Texas Uses

Texas does not write its own engineering rules for elevators. TDLR adopts codes published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and incorporates them into Texas Administrative Code Chapter 74. Two do the heavy lifting: ASME A17.1/CSA B44, the Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, which governs design, installation, and alteration of new equipment; and ASME A17.3-2002, the Safety Code for Existing Elevators and Escalators, which sets the minimum safety features required for older units built under earlier rules.⁴⁵

These codes cover governor systems, emergency lighting, door closing force limits, fire service operation, and more. One requirement that catches owners off guard is fire service testing. ASME A17.1 requires Phase I emergency recall, a key switch at the main lobby that sends the elevator to a designated landing with doors open, and Phase II emergency in-car operation, a separate key switch inside the car that gives firefighters manual control of floor selection and doors. Both must be tested regularly and the results logged in the maintenance records.

Annual Inspections and the Five-Year Test

Every piece of regulated equipment must be inspected annually. The inspection covers mechanical systems, electrical controls, safety devices, and compliance with the applicable ASME code.⁶ Hydraulic elevators, escalators, platform lifts, and other conveyances all follow the same annual cycle.

Electric traction elevators carry an extra requirement: a Category 5 full-load safety test every five years. That test verifies performance at 125% of the elevator’s rated capacity, stressing the safety brakes, governor, and suspension ropes in a way the annual inspection does not.⁴ Missing it is a common compliance failure because the five-year cycle is easy to lose track of, and the consequences match those of missing an annual inspection.

If an elevator runs on standby power, that system must also be tested annually. Buildings with multiple elevators sharing a standby generator must test them simultaneously so the generator’s full load is confirmed.

Who Can Inspect or Work on Your Elevator

Inspections must be performed by a Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI) who is registered with TDLR. The QEI certification comes from ASME QEI-1, which sets uniform experience, training, and competence criteria.⁷ Registered Texas inspectors follow the procedures in Administrative Code Section 74.74.⁸

Contractors who install, alter, or maintain elevators register separately. Contractor registration requires a $115 fee and proof of general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death and $500,000 per occurrence for property damage. That insurance must stay active for the full registration period and must include a 30-day cancellation notice to TDLR.⁹ Inspectors evaluate whether equipment meets code; contractors perform the work. TDLR tracks both through separate processes.

The Maintenance Control Program

Passing the annual inspection is only part of the obligation. ASME A17.1 Section 8.6 requires each piece of equipment to have a written Maintenance Control Program (MCP). Inspectors and TDLR personnel can ask to see it at any time, and gaps are citable.

A compliant MCP includes a list of every maintenance task the equipment needs (cleaning, lubrication, adjustments, component testing), the frequency for each task based on manufacturer specifications and code requirements, step-by-step procedures, and a completion log documenting maintenance performed, repairs, replacements, callbacks, oil levels, and fire service testing results.

Maintenance records must be kept for at least five years and made available on request. The people performing the work must be trained on the specific equipment they service. An MCP that exists on paper but was clearly never followed will not satisfy an inspector.

Filing and Displaying the Certificate of Compliance

Once the QEI completes an inspection and the equipment passes, the owner has 30 days from the inspection date to file for a certificate of compliance with TDLR.¹⁰ The filing includes:

A completed inspection report on TDLR form ELE-LIC-002, signed by the QEI, certifying that all violations have been corrected or are under contract to be corrected¹¹
Written proof that each violation has been addressed or is under a correction contract, if any were found
Any delay or waiver application, if applicable
A filing fee of $20 per piece of equipment⁶

The TDLR Online Licensing Services portal is the fastest route; paper submissions to TDLR in Austin are also accepted but take longer to process.

Missing the 30-day window triggers escalating costs. A late filing fee of $10 applies for each 30-day period after the 60th day past inspection.⁶ Failing to file at all can bring administrative penalties of up to $5,000 per day per violation under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 51.¹² Owners of multiple units often underestimate this because each unit counts as a separate violation.

Where the Certificate Has to Go

Texas Administrative Code Section 74.67 requires the certificate to be displayed where the public can see it.¹³ Three placements satisfy the rule:

Inside the elevator car, mounted between 3 and 7 feet above the finished car floor
In the main lobby, within 10 feet of the call button and between 3 and 7 feet above the landing floor
In a common area accessible to the public, but only if a plaque is mounted inside the car or near the lobby call button directing the public to the certificate. The plaque must use at least 18-point font and state that the equipment is “Regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation,” with TDLR’s phone number and the building management’s number.

The third option gives larger buildings some flexibility, but the plaque requirements trip up owners who consolidate certificates in a management office without proper signage. Without a current, properly displayed certificate, the equipment cannot legally operate.

Reporting Accidents and Reportable Conditions

When something goes wrong, the reporting window is 24 hours. All accidents, incidents, and reportable conditions, including entrapments, must be reported to TDLR on form ELE216N within 24 hours of occurrence.¹⁴

After an accident the equipment must be immediately removed from service. It cannot be moved except to free an injured person, and it cannot return to service until TDLR issues written approval. The same 24-hour notification and shutdown rules apply to reportable conditions, meaning safety hazards discovered during inspection or by other means. The equipment stays out of operation until the condition is corrected, re-inspected, and re-certified. TDLR enforcement in this area is essentially automatic; there is no grace period and no discretion for the owner.

Penalties and How Owners Get Into Trouble

Administrative penalties for violations of Chapter 754 or the associated rules can reach $5,000 per day for each violation, and each day of continued noncompliance counts as a separate violation.² For a building with three elevators running without valid certificates, that exposure theoretically reaches $15,000 per day.

TDLR typically starts with notices and opportunities to cure before escalating to formal penalties. Operating without a certificate, failing to report an accident, or obstructing an inspection accelerates enforcement. The most common path to trouble is not dramatic negligence. An owner lets the 30-day filing deadline slip, then the 60-day late-fee window, and eventually loses track entirely. By then the equipment is operating without a valid certificate, and every day of continued operation is a separate violation. Treating the annual inspection like a tax deadline (scheduling it well in advance, having a contractor address deficiencies promptly, and filing the paperwork the day the inspector signs the report) is the cleanest way to stay clear of the penalty structure.

1
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Elevator and Escalator Safety
2
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 51
3
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 754 – Regulation of Elevators, Escalators, and Related Equipment
4
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Elevators, Escalators and Related Equipment At A Glance
5
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 16-74-10 – Definitions
6
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Elevator Safety and Licensing Frequently Asked Questions
7
ASME. Standard for the Qualification of Elevator Inspectors
8
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code Chapter 74 – Elevators, Escalators, and Related Equipment
9
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Texas Elevator Contractor Registration Application
10
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 16-74-50 – Reporting Requirements – Owner
11
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Elevator Safety and Licensing Forms
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Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Instructions for Obtaining an Elevator or Escalator Certificate of Compliance
13
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 16-74-67 – Certificates of Compliance
14
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Changes to Elevator and Escalator Accident, Incident and Reportable Condition Report