Elevator Safety – Information

The Bureau of Elevator Safety works to ensure elevators and escalators throughout the State of Florida remain the safest mode of transportation by enforcing elevator safety laws and licensing and regulating industry professionals, elevators, escalators, and other vertical and inclined conveyance devices such as dumbwaiters, moving walks, stairway chairlifts and inclined or vertical wheelchair lifts.

The bureau is charged with enforcing Chapter 399, Florida Statutes (FS), Chapter 30 of the Florida Building Code, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, the State Fire Marshal’s Uniform Fire Safety Standards (NFPA 72), and portions of the National Electrical Code (NEC 70) and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bureau also provides administrative support to the Elevator Safety Technical Advisory Council.

Administrative support personnel located in Tallahassee process elevator licenses, permits, and elevator professional registrations and licenses. The Tallahassee office also maintains inspection, accident and complaint data for response and follow-up. Annual service maintenance contract status verification and Certificate of Operation renewals are coordinated with the division’s licensing office.

The bureau’s elevator inspectors conduct complaint investigations, private elevator inspector oversight, accident follow-up, on-site safety inspections, and monitor licensees and local-partner programs. Privately-employed certified elevator personnel perform the required annual inspections, tests, and maintenance. Only Certified Elevator Inspectors with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI) credential who are registered with the department are able to conduct elevator inspections.

Elevator construction in the state continues to increase, seeing a 47% increase in elevator licenses from 2005 to 2018.  The division’s five-year growth from 2013 to 2018 saw an 11% increase in elevator licenses and a 150% increase in elevator installation and alteration permits. The number professional licenses issued is also growing, with a 16% increase in certified elevator inspectors and a 24% increase in registered elevator companies from 2013 to 2018.

More information on bureau activities is available in the division’s annual reports.

Recent History of the Bureau

The 2000 Florida Legislature passed legislation amending Chapter 399, FS, which changed the structure and responsibility of the Division of Hotels and Restaurants with regard to regulation of the elevator and vertical transportation industry. For more about these changes, please see Important Information Sheets 2000-03 and 2000-06.

The 2001 Florida Legislature enacted additional changes to Chapter 399, Florida Statutes (FS), regarding elevator safety. These changes took effect on January 1, 2002. The Division of Hotels and Restaurants released Important Information sheet 2001-08, summarizing some of the most important changes.

Contracted Jurisdictions

Elevator Safety Technical Advisory Council

Employment Information