Rule reference

State Lift and Escalator Acts — Lift Safety

Plain-language overview for organisations checking what may apply to them. This is a reference guide — not a substitute for the official gazette or legal advice.

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Reference only — not legal advice. This page is EarthReheal WasteLedger's plain-language interpretation of the rule, written to help organisations understand what may apply to them. It can be incomplete or inaccurate. Always read the official gazette notification or statute, and confirm with your regulator or a qualified adviser, before relying on it for compliance decisions.

Quick Summary

India has no central lift Act. Lifts and escalators are regulated by state Acts, usually administered by the state Electrical Inspectorate. Where an Act exists, the premises owner typically needs a licence or registration per lift, a maintenance contract, periodic tests, a log book, and must report accidents within 24 or 48 hours. Licence validity and test frequency differ sharply between states. Where no Act exists, the National Building Code 2016 and good practice still set the standard, and a July 2026 Supreme Court judgment, as reported, makes owners jointly liable with manufacturers and maintainers where a known defect goes unfixed.

What This Rule Is

Legal basis: Lifts are a state subject in practice. Each state that regulates them does so through its own Act and Rules. There is no single national licensing regime.

Technical standard: The National Building Code of India 2016, Part 8 (Building Services), Section 5 covers design, installation, operation and maintenance of lifts, escalators and moving walks. The NBC is a model code: it becomes binding only where a state Act, its Rules or local building bye-laws adopt it.

Typical structure of a state Act: permission to erect, then a licence or registration to work the lift; government inspection before licensing and periodically after; periodic tests by an authorised person; a maintenance contract (AMC); safety features such as an automatic rescue device (ARD); accident reporting; and penalties, including powers to seal a lift.

Case law: In Otis Elevator Co. (India) Ltd v. Rashmi Handa, 2026 INSC 756 (July 2026), the Supreme Court is reported to have held that passenger lifts are common carriers and that manufacturer, maintenance contractor and premises owner are jointly liable for user safety, in a fatal accident where a known fault had reportedly gone unfixed for months. A signed AMC does not transfer the owner's responsibility.

Who This Applies To

Any organisation that owns or occupies premises with a lift, escalator or moving walk in a state with a lift Act — residential societies, hotels, hospitals, colleges, offices, malls and transport hubs, for example.

Carve-outs to check: Karnataka excludes lifts covered by the Factories Act; Uttar Pradesh exempts private dwellings (up to basement plus ground plus two floors) from several duties. Transition windows for existing lifts (for example Andhra Pradesh 2025) are deadlines, not exemptions.

State-Level Variations

The list below summarises the Acts as we read them. Always confirm current validity periods and forms with the state Inspectorate.

  • Maharashtra — Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act 2017 (Mah. XV of 2018): working licence valid for up to 20 years, renewable for up to 5 years, application at least 30 days before expiry; periodic inspection at least annually (s.17); mandatory contract with an approved contractor (s.18); third-party insurance (s.23); log book (s.24); replacement after 20 years (s.27). An amendment Bill (L.A. Bill VII of 2026) regionalises licensing and inspection. Older lifts may still hold licences under the Bombay Lifts Act 1939 — confirm with the Chief Electrical Inspector which Act your licence is issued under.
  • Karnataka — Lifts, Escalators and Passenger Conveyors Act 2012 and Rules 2015: licence for 10 years, then 5-year renewals; test and maintenance by a registered person every 3 months, entered in a register; annual test report to the Inspector (s.14(3)); AMC mandatory (s.15).
  • Tamil Nadu — Lifts and Escalators Act 1997: historically a 1-year licence renewed after inspection. The Tamil Nadu Lifts and Escalators (Amendment) Act 2025 moves permissions and licences online and provides for a licence valid for five years; it is reported to have come into force on 3 February 2026 — confirm the start date for your renewal with the Inspectorate.
  • Gujarat — Lifts and Escalators Act 2000 (amended 2013): licence for 3 years, renew at least 30 days before expiry; owner arranges a test every 6 months by an authorised person with the report to the Chief Inspector (s.16(2)); government inspection every 3 years.
  • West Bengal — Lifts, Escalators and Travelators Act 2019 (in force 10 January 2020): annual licence renewal; 6-monthly test by an authorised person; Inspector visit at least once in 5 years; accident report in Form XIII within 48 hours.
  • Kerala — Lifts and Escalators Act 2013: 1-year licence; apply for renewal at least 3 months before expiry.
  • Haryana (2008), Jharkhand (2017), Bihar (2024): registration; government inspection once in 3 years; annual copy of the AMC and a safety certificate to the Inspector; automatic rescue device; insurance; 20-year service life; accident report within 24 hours.
  • Uttar Pradesh — Lifts and Escalators Act 2024: registration valid for the life of the lift; comprehensive AMC with monthly maintenance; two mock drills a year; CCTV; ARD; insurance for public premises; accident report within 24 hours to the District Magistrate and police. Rules were reported approved in 2024 — confirm the current Rules with the state portal.
  • Assam — Act 2006 and Rules 2010: licence for 3 years; 6-monthly test; accident report within 48 hours.
  • Himachal Pradesh — Lifts Act 2007: inspection at least once in 6 months (s.11).
  • Delhi: Bombay Lifts Act 1939 as extended to Delhi, with the Delhi Lifts Rules 1942. The Labour Department describes the licence as perpetual until revoked, with a periodical inspection certificate since a 2017 amendment.
  • Andhra Pradesh — Lifts and Escalators Act 2025 and Rules 2025: existing lifts are required to apply within a set window (we read it as 12 months); confirm the deadline and forms with the AP Electrical Inspectorate.
  • No state Act found (as of September 2026): Telangana (Bill reported approved June 2026), Madhya Pradesh (draft), Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Odisha, among others. Local bye-laws may still impose lift conditions.

Compliance Requirements — What You Actually Have to Do

1. Identify the Act for each site (or confirm there is none) and the authority that licenses lifts there.

2. Hold a valid licence or registration for every lift, track its expiry and renew within your state's window.

3. Keep an AMC in force with an approved or registered contractor; send a copy to the Inspector where required.

4. Keep a log book or register of every maintenance visit, test, fault and rescue.

5. Arrange the periodic tests and inspections at your state's frequency and send reports to the Inspector where required.

6. Keep safety equipment working — rescue device, alarm, intercom, emergency lighting — and run mock drills where required.

7. Insure where your Act requires it.

8. Report accidents within your state's deadline and keep the lift out of service until the Inspector permits restart.

9. Plan replacement where your Act assumes a 20-year life.

How EarthReheal WasteLedger tracks it: each lift carries its licence or registration and its AMC with expiry reminders; a monthly maintenance log; state-specific periodic tests (quarterly, six-monthly or annual as the state requires); rescue-device checks; and an accident report task. In states without a lift Act, the licence item drops out but the maintenance, rescue-device and accident checks remain as good practice.

Penalties & Enforcement

Penalties are set by each state Act and vary widely: fines for working an unlicensed lift or failing to report an accident, sealing of unsafe lifts, and suspension or cancellation of the licence. Read your state's penalty section for exact amounts.

Owners also face civil liability for injury, and after the July 2026 Supreme Court ruling, gaps in maintenance records can matter in a claim as much as in an inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do we need a licence for each lift, or one for the whole premises? A: For each lift. Where a state Act applies, every lift and escalator is licensed or registered on its own, with its own number, expiry and tests, so a building with six lifts holds six licences. One maintenance contract (AMC) can cover all of them, but each lift keeps its own log book and test reports.

Q: Our state has no lift Act. Do we need to do anything? A: There may be no licence to hold, but the NBC 2016 standard, local bye-laws and civil liability still apply. Keep an AMC, a maintenance log and working rescue devices.

Q: Our Maharashtra lift has a licence under the old Bombay Lifts Act. Is it still valid? A: Confirm with the Chief Electrical Inspector; do not assume the transitional position.

Q: How often must a lift be tested? A: It depends on the state — from every 3 months (Karnataka) to at least annually (Maharashtra). Maintenance visits are usually more frequent than statutory tests.

Q: Who must be told after a lift accident? A: The state Inspector, usually within 24 or 48 hours; in Uttar Pradesh also the District Magistrate and police.

Government / Official Sources

Related Rules

  • RULE_FIRE_SAFETY — fire lifts and evacuation are usually fire NOC conditions.
  • RULE_BUILDING_OCCUPANCY — occupancy approval often depends on lift permission.
  • RULE_AIR_ACT_DG — standby DG sets backing up lifts need their own consent.
  • RULE_LABOUR_SITE_DUTIES — worker safety during lift installation or modernisation.

Additional Reference Content

Secondary sources (law firm explainers, news, consultancy blogs, or official-body sites on a non-.gov.in/.nic.in domain) — useful context, not primary legal authority.