Planning an Elevator or Lift Project in NJ and PA: From First Questions to Final Inspection

How does an elevator or lift project run, from first call to final inspection?

Most elevator and platform lift projects follow one order: define the need, choose equipment, compare proposals, draw and permit, prepare the site, install, pass acceptance, then maintain the lift.

The steps below are for elevators and platform lifts; stairlifts follow the stairlift note. Each step depends on the one before it. In New Jersey, where DCA reviews the elevator plans, no permit is issued until it releases them (5:23-3.11(c)), and no elevator device may be operated without a valid certificate. In Pennsylvania, the state inspects a regulated lift before it goes into service. The order holds for homes and public buildings; the approvals differ.

1. Step 01

   Define the need

   Who will ride (seated, walker or wheelchair), which levels the lift must serve, indoors or outdoors, and whether the public will use it.

2. Step 02

   Site visit and measurements

   The installer measures the stair, floors, ceiling heights, structure and power, and checks where a pit, hoistway or floor opening can go.

3. Step 03

   Choose the equipment

   Match the equipment type and model to the rider, the travel, the space and the use. Public buildings also follow the accessibility rules described below.

4. Step 04

   Compare proposals

   Check the license, registration and dealer status of each installer, and compare what each proposal includes and excludes.

5. Step 05

   Drawings and permits

   Site-specific drawings come first. In New Jersey, elevator layout drawings are signed and sealed by a licensed architect or engineer; the permit follows plan review.

6. Step 06

   Prepare the site

   The builder completes the pit, hoistway, support walls or floor opening, and the electrician runs the lift circuit, disconnect, lighting and phone line.

7. Step 07

   Install

   The lift is installed under the permit. In New Jersey, by a licensed elevator mechanic or a person working under one's supervision.

8. Step 08

   Acceptance

   The acceptance inspection and test, or for a New Jersey home a sealed acceptance report where the State reviews elevators, comes before anyone uses the lift.

9. Step 09

   Handover and service

   The owner receives the manuals and the certificate where one is issued, registers the warranty where the maker requires it, and starts the maintenance schedule.

What makes a project take longer. The timing set by code is listed under Timing set by code. Beyond that, the steps that add time are the construction the site needs (a hoistway, a pit, structural work or a floor opening), plan review corrections and resubmissions, and any change made after the drawings are approved. Common mistakes lists what causes rework.

Which equipment fits, and what decides it?

The rider, the levels served, the space and structure, indoor or outdoor use, and whether the public uses it decide between a stairlift, platform lift, home elevator or LULA.

This site's guides cover the home elevators and through-floor lifts, wheelchair lifts and stairlifts that Mobility123 sells. It has no LULA guide. ASME A17.1 and A18.1 are the American Society of Mechanical Engineers safety standards for elevators and for platform lifts and stairlifts. The code reference page explains which standard applies to which device.

What decides the choice:

• The rider. A stairlift carries a seated rider only. A wheelchair user needs a platform lift, a LULA, or a home elevator or through-floor lift whose maker states wheelchair use: Savaria says the Telecab takes wheelchairs and the Luma is not wheelchair accessible.
• Levels and travel. Most through-floor lifts serve two stops; Stiltz offers an extended-travel Trio Alta for three floors. The Savaria Eclipse home elevator travels up to 50 ft with up to 6 stops. The unenclosed Savaria Multilift travels 48 in, or 72 in as an option.
• Space and structure. A home elevator needs a hoistway, usually a pit, and overhead space; the Eclipse needs an 8 in pit and 96 in overhead with its standard cab. The Cibes Ascenda needs no pit. A Telecab support wall must resist 700 lb of pull-out force at any bracket.
• Indoors or outdoors. The Eclipse is for indoor use from 14°F to 104°F. The Multilift works indoors or outdoors from -20°F to 122°F. Outdoor stairlifts are separate models, such as Bruno's SRE-2010E.
• Public use. Some products are for homes only: Cibes says the Ascenda "is not certified for commercial or public installations", and the Bruno VPL is a residential lift. Where the ADA allows a platform lift explains the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rules for public buildings.

What drives the cost of a lift or elevator project?

The equipment and its travel, the construction and electrical work the site needs, design and approvals, and for public buildings the enclosure, inspection and prevailing wage rules.

This page gives no prices. Every quote depends on the model and the site, so compare proposals line by line (what belongs in the proposal). The factors below come from the manufacturers' planning documents and the codes.

• Equipment type and options. Enclosures, cab size, door and gate types, finishes and outdoor packages change the price of the same model. Savaria, for example, builds the V-1504 as the Standard, Enclosure, Prestige and Lux.
• Travel and stops. More travel and more landings mean more rail, more doors or gates and, for many models, a hoistway.
• Site construction. Hoistway framing (the Eclipse needs a framed hoistway built to Savaria's finished inside dimensions), pits (8 in for the Eclipse; 3 in for the V-1504, or a ramp on its Standard and Enclosure), floor openings, support walls and slabs (the Multilift anchors to a slab that supports at least 3,000 lb).
• Electrical work. Each lift needs its own supply. The Eclipse needs 230 V through a 30 A fused disconnect plus a separate 120 V, 15 A lighting circuit. The V-1504 needs 120 VAC, 20 A through a fused disconnect. Several models also need a phone line.
• Design and approvals. In New Jersey, elevator layout drawings are signed and sealed by a licensed architect or engineer. DCA publishes its plan review and inspection fees per device, and Pennsylvania's certificate of operation is not valid until DLI collects its fee.
• Public buildings. Enclosures or hoistways for taller public platform lifts, power-operated doors or gates where the ADA requires them, registration and yearly inspections, and on public work, prevailing wage and certified payroll (public works).
• Life of the lift. Maintenance visits, and for public-use lifts the periodic inspections and certificates the state requires (maintenance and inspections).

Which permits, inspections and licenses apply to a lift at home?

In New Jersey a home elevator or platform lift needs a permit and licensed mechanic; Pennsylvania's state rules exclude one used by one household in a solely residential building.

New Jersey homes

• Permit. Elevators and wheelchair lifts are "elevator devices" under N.J.A.C. 5:23-12 and need a construction permit to install (5:23-12.1(e); 5:23-2.14). New Jersey's 2024 codes took effect August 17, 2026.
• Plan review. Each town has an elevator subcode official: the State (DCA), the town's own official or a third-party agency. Where the State has elevator subcode jurisdiction, DCA reviews the elevator plans, and the layout drawings are signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed architect or engineer. Check the town on DCA's Elevator Subcode Jurisdiction list.
• Acceptance. Where DCA is the elevator subcode official, no State inspector performs the final acceptance of a private home elevator or platform lift. A New Jersey licensed engineer or registered architect seals a report instead (DCA policy SLCI-Admin 001-2020). In other towns, ask the construction office.
• No periodic inspection. Private residence elevators and platform lifts (Groups R-3, R-4 and R-5, not accessible to the public) are exempt from periodic inspection and from registration (5:23-12.3(a)5; 12.4(b)).
• Installer. State law requires a licensed elevator mechanic, or a person working under one's supervision, to install, service and maintain elevators (N.J.S.A. 45:14H-5a). DCA applies the licensing board's rules to home elevators and through-floor lifts built to ASME A17.1 Section 5.3 and to A18.1 platform lifts. The permit application shows the mechanic's license number (5:23-2.15(b)11), and a contractor without the license subcontracts the elevator work (45:14H-10).
• Home improvement registration. A business that offers or makes home improvements registers with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (N.J.S.A. 56:8-138). When home improvement work on a Group R-2 to R-5 building is done by a contractor, the permit application shows the contractor's registration number (5:23-2.15(b)9). Registration is not a license for elevator work; that work takes the mechanic's license.

Pennsylvania homes

• Outside the state elevator rules. Elevators and platform lifts used only by the occupants of one dwelling unit in a solely residential building are outside the Uniform Construction Code's elevator chapter (34 Pa. Code § 405.1(b)(3)). Ask the municipal building code official about permits for the related construction and wiring.
• Shared lifts are covered. An elevator or platform lift used by, or open to, the occupants of more than one dwelling unit is covered and needs the state permit, acceptance inspection and certificate (§ 405.1(b)(3); see public buildings).
• Contractor registration. Contractors who perform at least $5,000 of home improvements a year register with the Attorney General under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (73 P.S. §§ 517.2, 517.3), and show the registration number in advertisements and on every contract, estimate and proposal (§ 517.6). Check it on the Attorney General's registration search.
• Mechanic licensing. The official sources checked for this page, including DLI's Elevators page and 34 Pa. Code Chapters 403 and 405, show no statewide elevator mechanic or elevator contractor license in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia licenses contractors separately.

Stairlifts

Permit and inspection requirements for stairlifts vary by state, building type and local code office. Confirm them with the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) before installation. Stairlifts in commercial buildings and in the common areas of apartment buildings need a permit and yearly inspection.

Timing set by code

• New Jersey permit. The construction official approves or denies a permit application within 20 business days (5:23-2.16(a)). Where DCA reviews the elevator plans, it releases or rejects them within 20 business days of submission, and within seven business days of a resubmission (5:23-2.15(f)4i).
• New Jersey inspections. With at least 24 hours' notice, inspections are performed within three business days of the time requested, or at another time within 30 days agreed with the enforcing agency (5:23-2.18(c)).
• Pennsylvania lift permit (shared and public lifts). DLI grants or denies a lift permit within 30 business days of a complete application (34 Pa. Code § 405.3(e)). It schedules the acceptance inspection for the first available date, or within 3 calendar days when an expedited inspection is requested.
• Pennsylvania building permit. Where the related construction in a home needs a building permit, a building code official enforcing the Uniform Construction Code decides it within 15 business days, or 5 business days with a design professional's certification, or the application is deemed approved (§ 403.63(a)).

No rule sets how long construction, manufacturing or installation takes. Those depend on the site and the equipment, so this page gives no project durations.

What changes for a business, church, school or other public building?

Public-use lifts need plan review, an acceptance inspection, registration or a certificate, and recurring inspections, and the ADA limits where a platform lift may serve.

Apartment buildings fall between the two. In New Jersey, an elevator or platform lift wholly within one apartment and not accessible to the public is exempt from periodic inspection (5:23-12.3(a)5); in our reading, one in the common areas is not. In Pennsylvania, an elevator or platform lift used by the occupants of more than one dwelling unit is covered by the state rules (§ 405.1(b)(3)).

New Jersey

• Plan review. A commercial elevator installation includes signed and sealed layout drawings and, where DCA reviews the plans, DCA's 15-question architect questionnaire, completed by the licensed architect or engineer.
• Platform lift letter. Where DCA reviews the plans, its process calls for a Platform Lift Certification letter with a commercial "Inclined vertical chair or inclined vertical platform lift". DCA's process says the municipal construction official completes it; the form is signed by the building subcode official and records whether the lift is approved and, for a lift on a stair, whether it reduces the stair's required egress capacity. Confirm with DCA whether a vertical platform lift needs it.
• Certificate. After the device passes the final acceptance inspection, the municipal construction office issues the certificate of occupancy or approval once every part of the permit is approved, and the device may not be used before then (5:23-2.8(a)). A certificate of compliance follows at the first cyclical inspection; after that, no device may be operated without a valid one (5:23-12.9(a), (f)).
• Registration. The owner registers each new elevator device with DCA before the certificate of occupancy or approval is issued (5:23-12.4(b)).
• Inspections. Wheelchair lifts are inspected at intervals not exceeding one year (5:23-12.3(a)1). Elevators, including LULAs, follow the intervals in ASME A17.1 Appendix N-1, but not more often than once a year.
• Owner duties. All elevator devices are maintained in safe operating condition, and owners of A17.1 devices keep the six-month maintenance checklists for the AHJ (5:23-12.2(b)). After an accident that causes death, an injury needing a physician's treatment beyond first aid, or damage that affects safe operation, the owner notifies the construction official immediately, and the device stays out of use until the elevator subcode official examines and approves it (5:23-12.11).
• Fire alarm. In DCA's Spring 2025 Construction Code Communicator, written under the previous codes, DCA said a vertical platform lift is not tied into the fire alarm control panel, needs no fire recall and needs no sprinkler shunt trip breaker.

Pennsylvania

• Permit. The owner or an authorized agent applies to DLI for a permit before the construction, alteration, replacement or repair of a lift (34 Pa. Code § 405.3(a)). DLI grants or denies a permit within 30 business days of a complete application (§ 405.3(e)).
• Acceptance and certificate. DLI inspects a new lift before it is put into service (§ 405.5), and no lift may be operated without a certificate of operation (§ 405.6(a)). For equipment with a machine room, the certificate is posted in the car or enclosure or at the controller; for equipment without one, it is shown to the inspector at each periodic inspection (§ 405.6(d)).
• Periodic inspections. LULAs and elevators are inspected at intervals of not more than 6 months, and all other lifting devices at intervals of not more than 12 months (§ 405.7). In our reading, platform lifts fall in the 12-month group. A certificate of operation is valid for 24 months for equipment on the 6-month cycle and 48 months for equipment on the 12-month cycle (§ 405.6(b)).
• Platform lift tests. From December 20, 2026, platform lifts are tested under ASME A18.1-2017 sections 10.3.1, 10.3.2 and 10.3.3 at 1, 3 and 5 year intervals (§ 405.8(c)).
• Editions. Permit applications made before December 20, 2026 use ASME A17.1-2000 and A18.1-1999 (with addenda); applications on or after that date use A17.1-2016 and A18.1-2017 (§ 405.2).
• Accidents. After an accident causing death, an injury needing hospitalization (from December 20, 2026, professional medical care), or damage that makes the lift unsafe, the owner's report must reach DLI within 24 hours (§ 405.11).

Where the ADA allows a platform lift

• New construction. A platform lift may be part of an accessible route in new construction only in the locations listed in 206.7 of the 2010 ADA Standards, such as performance areas and speakers' platforms, wheelchair spaces, incidental spaces that are not public use spaces and are occupied by five persons maximum, judicial spaces, and where existing exterior site constraints make a ramp or elevator infeasible.
• Existing buildings. In an existing building, a platform lift is permitted as part of an accessible route (206.7).
• Operation and doors. Platform lifts comply with ASME A18.1, are not attendant-operated and give unassisted entry and exit (410.1). Doors and gates are low-energy power-operated, with 32 in clear width at an end and 42 in at a side; a lift serving two landings with doors or gates on opposite sides may use self-closing manual doors or gates (410.6).
• Stairway chairlifts. The U.S. Access Board says stairway chairlifts cannot be used where the ADA permits platform lifts.
• LULAs. A LULA car is at least 42 in wide and 54 in deep, or 51 by 51 in with a 36 in door (408.4.1). Under New Jersey's exception to IBC 1110.10, a LULA may provide the vertical accessible route where its travel does not exceed 25 feet in small buildings, small tenancies, floors or mezzanines under 3,000 sq ft, and "In Group A-3, places of religious worship, or Group E occupancies of any size"; the code reference page gives the exact conditions.
• Home elevators. The U.S. Access Board's ADA guide says private residence elevators are permitted only within a dwelling unit or, in a multiple dwelling unit facility, as access to a single private residence (§409). They are not a public building's elevator.

Enclosure and travel-height limits

No New Jersey, Pennsylvania or federal agency text checked for this page states the travel height at which a public vertical platform lift needs a full enclosure, or a maximum travel for public use. The Access Board's ADA guide says ASME A18.1 "specifies platform and runway enclosures for vertical platform lifts" and "limits the travel distance", and that platforms cannot exceed 18 sq ft. A18.1 itself is sold by ASME, so its clauses are not quoted here.

The manufacturers publish the limits they build to:

Two more limits matter early. Savaria says no vertical platform lift may pass through a floor; a lift that does needs a hoistway. Symmetry adds that some state and local jurisdictions have more travel height restrictions, so confirm the limit with the AHJ and the manufacturer before design development.

What applies when a public body pays for the project?

Public work adds contractor registration in New Jersey, prevailing wage and certified payroll in both states, and employment verification in Pennsylvania, on top of the code rules.

New Jersey

• Contractor registration. The Public Works Contractor Registration Act (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.48 et seq.) requires every contractor and subcontractor, at any tier, who bids on or performs public work to register with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL).
• When. A contractor may not bid unless registered, may not list a subcontractor that is not registered when the bid is made, and no contractor or subcontractor may work on the project unregistered (34:11-56.51(a)). After the bid and before award, the contractor gives the public entity its listed subcontractors' certificates; an application is not a substitute (34:11-56.55).
• Check it. NJDOL publishes a list of registered public works contractors and says public bodies are expected to require proof of registration from every bidder and listed subcontractor.
• Elevator crafts. NJDOL lists "Elevator Constructor" and "Elevator Modernization & Service" among the crafts in its contractor registration FAQs and publishes prevailing wage rates for both.
• What is public work. Construction, alteration, repair or maintenance work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part by a public body is public work. So is construction work on property a public body owns, and on property where a public body leases at least 55 percent and more than 20,000 sq ft (34:11-56.26(5)).
• Prevailing wage threshold. Since July 1, 2024, NJDOL's threshold is $19,375 for contracts a municipal governing body awards and $2,000 for every other public body, including boards of education (N.J.A.C. 12:60-1.4).
• Assisted projects. Projects undertaken with the Economic Development Authority, the Redevelopment Authority, the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and other listed authorities also require prevailing wage, according to NJDOL.
• Payroll and posting. Each contractor and subcontractor submits certified payroll records to the public body and to NJDOL online, each payroll period, within 10 days of paying wages (34:11-56.29), and posts the prevailing wage rates at the site (34:11-56.32).
• The owner's own rules. Local contracting units award contracts above the bid threshold to the lowest responsible bidder after public advertising (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4). On State projects, a contractor needs a classification from the Division of Property Management and Construction to bid (N.J.A.C. 17:19-2.1).

Pennsylvania

• Prevailing wage. Under the Prevailing Wage Act, public work is construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration or repair work, other than maintenance work, paid for in whole or in part by a public body, where the estimated cost of the total project exceeds $25,000 (43 P.S. § 165-2(5)).
• No splitting. DLI says a project may not be divided to fall below $25,000, and that a private developer receiving any public financing for a commercial project pays prevailing wage; the total project cost decides, not the amount of public money.
• Rates and payroll. The Secretary of Labor and Industry sets the rates (§ 165-7), and the public body gets them from the Secretary and references them in the bid notice (§ 165-4). Each contractor and subcontractor files a sworn payroll statement each week (34 Pa. Code § 9.103(12)) and posts the rates at the site (§ 165-9).
• Registration. The official sources checked for this page show no statewide public works contractor registration in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia licenses contractors separately.
• Employment verification. On public work, contractors and subcontractors of every tier use the federal E-Verify program and give the public body a verification form: the contractor before award, a subcontractor before starting work (71 P.S. § 656.1 et seq., Act 141 of 2022).

Mobility123 and public work. NJDOL's list of registered public works contractors showed Mobility123 as registered on October 5, 2026. In Mobility123's practice, it bids New Jersey public works jobs and pays prevailing wage on them.

How do you choose an installer, and what belongs in the proposal?

Check each installer's license, registration and dealer status, and get a written proposal that names the model, who does which work, the permits and the warranty terms.

What to ask every installer

1. Who will install and service the lift? For an elevator or platform lift in New Jersey, ask for the elevator mechanic's license number and check it on the Division of Consumer Affairs License Verification System (profession EEMW).
2. Is the company registered for home improvement work? New Jersey registrations are on the same lookup, and Pennsylvania's on the Attorney General's registration search. The Attorney General notes that registration is not an endorsement of a contractor's skill.
3. Is the company an authorized dealer for this brand? Savaria and Bruno publish warranties that require installation by their authorized dealers, and so do Cibes' published terms for the Symmetry VPL. Several also require service by one.
4. Who prepares the drawings, and in New Jersey, who signs and seals them?
5. Who files which permits: the elevator permit, and the building and electrical permits for the related work?
6. Who builds the pit, hoistway, support walls and floor opening, and who runs the electrical supply and phone line?
7. Who requests the acceptance inspection, or in a New Jersey home where DCA has jurisdiction, who prepares the sealed acceptance report?
8. What does the manufacturer's warranty cover, when does it start, and what conditions does it carry? Get any labor terms in writing.
9. Who services the lift after installation, and are parts and maintenance available locally?
10. For public work: the NJDOL registration certificate, prevailing wage and certified payroll in New Jersey, or the E-Verify form in Pennsylvania.

What a complete proposal shows

• The manufacturer, model and configuration, and the standard and edition the manufacturer states the model meets.
• Rated load, travel, number of stops, entrances, door or gate types, and platform or cab size.
• Who prepares the site-specific drawings, and who seals them where the state requires it.
• A scope split: what the installer does, and what the owner's builder, electrician and finish trades do.
• Which permits and inspections the installer files and schedules, and which the owner does.
• What is excluded, in writing.
• The manufacturer's published warranty: parts, labor, start date and conditions such as dealer maintenance.
• Maintenance and service terms after installation.
• For work on a home, a written contract that meets the state rules below.
• For public work: registration, prevailing wage and payroll terms.

What the law requires in a home improvement contract (homes only)

New Jersey and Pennsylvania set contract rules for home improvements. Neither law names lifts; in our reading, installing a lift in a house, with its construction work, falls within both definitions.

• New Jersey. A home improvement contract over $500, and every change to it, is in writing and signed. It shows the contractor's legal name, business address and registration number, a copy of its liability insurance certificate, the work and the principal products by make and model, the total price, and the start and completion dates (N.J.S.A. 56:8-151(a); N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)12).
• New Jersey cancellation. The buyer may cancel for any reason before midnight of the third business day after receiving a copy of the contract (56:8-151(b)).
• New Jersey permits. The contractor may not start work until it is sure every required building permit is issued, and it gives the buyer copies of inspection certificates before final payment is due (13:45A-16.2(a)10). It also gives the buyer written copies of all guarantees and warranties.
• Pennsylvania. A home improvement contract is in writing and signed, and shows the registration number, the approximate starting and completion dates, the work and materials, the total price and the down payment (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)). The owner may rescind within three business days of signing (§ 517.7(b)).
• Pennsylvania payments. No payment is due before the contract is signed, and on a contract over $5,000 the deposit is capped at one-third of the price, plus the cost of special-order materials named in the contract (§ 517.9).

How Mobility123 handles these steps

Mobility123 sells, installs and services home elevators, platform lifts and stairlifts in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. It is an authorized dealer for every manufacturer with a guide on this site. In Mobility123's practice, it handles the elevator permit and the inspection or acceptance for the elevators and platform lifts it installs.

In Mobility123's practice, it either does the construction and electrical work itself, or the owner's contractor does that work and Mobility123 supplies and installs the lift and handles the elevator permit.

What happens during installation and the final inspection?

The site is prepared to the drawings, the lift is installed under the permit, and acceptance comes before anyone uses it.

• Before installation. The builder finishes the work the drawings call for: the pit, hoistway or enclosure base, support walls, floor opening and landing finishes. The electrician runs the dedicated circuit and disconnect, the lighting circuit where the model needs one, and the phone line. Each guide's trades table lists this work for its model.
• New Jersey homes. Where DCA is the elevator subcode official, DCA no longer performs the final acceptance inspection of private residence elevators and platform lifts. A report sealed by a New Jersey licensed engineer or registered architect, with the test data and proof of mechanic licensure, closes the elevator portion of the permit. In other towns, ask the construction office.
• New Jersey public buildings. The owner registers the device with DCA before the certificate is issued (5:23-12.4(b)). The elevator company requests the final acceptance inspection. When the device passes, the municipal construction office issues the certificate of occupancy or approval once every other part of the permit is approved; the device may not be used before then (5:23-2.8(a)).
• Pennsylvania. For a lift the state rules cover, when all work is complete, including all trades, the permit holder sends DLI's Request for Inspection form. DLI inspects the lift before it is put into service and issues the certificate of operation (§§ 405.5, 405.6).

At handover, ask for:

• the owner's manual, and a walk-through of the controls, the alarm and the emergency lowering;
• the certificate, where the state issues one;
• the warranty terms and any registration the manufacturer requires (Cibes asks for its warranty card within 30 days in the terms it publishes for the Symmetry VPL);
• the maintenance schedule, and a place to keep service records (several Savaria warranties ask the owner to keep them).

What maintenance, warranty and service should you plan for?

Plan for maintenance by a qualified technician on the manufacturer's schedule, inspections for public-use lifts, and a manufacturer warranty that usually covers parts, with limited or no labor.

Maintenance and inspections

• Who services it. In New Jersey, state law requires a licensed elevator mechanic, or a person working under one's supervision, to service and maintain elevators (N.J.S.A. 45:14H-5a), and DCA applies the licensing board's rules to A17.1 Section 5.3 home elevators and A18.1 platform lifts. New Jersey requires elevator devices to be kept in safe operating condition (5:23-12.2(b)).
• How often. Manufacturers set the schedule. Savaria's V-1504 owner's manual lists service every 6 months for commercial lifts, and every year for residential lifts in normal or heavy use. Cibes' published terms for the Symmetry VPL require service at least every six months. Stiltz and Access BDD recommend yearly service.
• Public-use inspections. New Jersey inspects wheelchair lifts outside private residences at least yearly. Pennsylvania inspects LULAs every 6 months and other lifting devices every 12 months. Private residence elevators and platform lifts in New Jersey, and those used by one household in Pennsylvania, have no state periodic inspection.

Manufacturer warranties

Each guide on this site gives the manufacturer's published warranty with its source. The terms differ, but the same conditions recur:

Most published warranties exclude wear items, consumables such as batteries and bulbs, and misuse. Savaria gives parts bought after the warranty period their own 90-day warranty on most models, and Savaria may ask for maintenance records before it releases parts. Read the warranty section of the guide for your model.

Service after installation

Ask who will answer a service call, who holds parts, and who will perform the inspections the state requires. In Mobility123's practice, it offers yearly maintenance plans. This page does not describe plan terms; ask for any plan's terms in writing.

Who does what on a lift or elevator project?

The owner decides, the design professional draws and seals, the trades build and wire, the licensed installer installs, and the code official approves.

What mistakes cause rework or delay?

Most rework comes from choosing equipment the rider or the use cannot accept, building before approval, and skipping the license, registration or maintenance a rule requires.

• A stairlift for a wheelchair user. A stairlift carries a seated rider only; the rider needs a platform lift or an elevator instead.
• Home-only equipment in a public building. A product the maker limits to private residences, such as the Cibes Ascenda, cannot serve a public building; the order and the design change.
• An open platform lift above the public limit. Above the 60 in that Savaria and Symmetry allow for an unenclosed public lift, the design needs an enclosure or hoistway.
• Building before plans are released. Where DCA reviews New Jersey elevator plans, no permit is issued until DCA releases them; work built ahead of approval may have to change.
• An unlicensed installer in New Jersey. The permit application needs the elevator mechanic's license number; a contractor without the license subcontracts the elevator work.
• Using the lift before acceptance. In both states a regulated lift may not be operated without its certificate.
• Missing power or phone line. A supply added after the finishes means electrical rework.
• Skipped maintenance. Savaria and Cibes warranties can be void without the required maintenance.
• An unregistered subcontractor on public work. In New Jersey, a contractor may not list one in a bid, and no unregistered firm may work on the project.

What should you check before you sign?

The checklists split into a homeowner list and a list for business and public building owners.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and revision history