Overview of Lift license

Lift installation is no more a premier feature in today's society. Nowadays, lifts are prominently being utilized across residential and commercial apartments having more than two floors. Obtaining a Lift license is a legal mandate for every developer of residential and commercial buildings or establishments. Such individuals also need to comply with prevailing lift rules in India.

Several States in India lack a defined Lift Act. Consequently, there is an ambiguity among the real-estate companies and lift makers about the legal aspects of lift installation in a building.

Noteworthy facts:

• Lift Act regulates the construction and maintenance of lift in a few states.
• In addition to that, Indian standards also set out certain requirements for elevator on account of technical specifications, recommended dimensions, and testing method.
• Also, the Indian standards have underpinned code of practice for procedure, installation, and maintenance of passenger as well as service lifts.

Requirement for securing a lift license for an existing apartment or building

Presently, lift license is offered by ten states including Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, WB, HP, Assam, Haryana, Kerala, and Haryana.

Each state's Lift Act entails the procedures, fee arrangement, and standard timeline for securing various permissions for lifts within the state. There are certain guidelines for securing a license for existing multi-story apartments and buildings as well.

The applicant needs to refer to the relevant state-specific lift Act to learn about the exact procedure. Lift installation in residential, commercial, other establishments, etc., (excluding the lift cited under the Factories Act, 1948) are manually examined and licenses are granted/renewed to ensure protection to the ones using the lift. 

The building owners before initiating the erection of new lift within the premise shall

check the authenticity of the Lift Erection Company and make sure it has the approval of the Chief Electrical Inspector.

File an application in form A, not without consulting the lift company.

Enclose three copies of technical drawing enclosing the signature of applicant and Authorized Person of Lift Company. The said drawing must entail

• Layout pertaining to the lift erection
• Plan
• Arrangement of Doors
• Section Elevation
• Lift well Enclosure
• Size and exact positioning of the machine relating to the lift well
• Position of hoisting machine
• of floor in a building
• Total travel

1. Enclose three copies of technical drawing authorized by the applicant and Electrical Contractor, reflecting wiring and earthling layout for the complete lift installation.
2. Enclose approval copy secured from the Urban Local Body concerned for the Building Plan
3. Enclose treasury challan (original one) for

• 2500/- for lift having 5 landings;
• 5000/- for lift having more than 5 landings; (The amount should be deposited to Govt. Treasury

Forward the above to the respective Divisional Electrical Inspector.

Permission in Form –B for lift erection shall be granted within one month, if the application is in order.

Permission accorded in Form – ‘B’ remains validity for six months

The Permission in Form – ‘B’ can be extended to a period of 6 months on receipt of application reflecting the reasons along with the original challan for;  

• INR 2500 for lift having 5 landings;
• INR 5000 for lift having more than 5 landings

Before applying for lift license with the respective authority, make sure to secure the following documentation:

Documentations for Securing Lift License in India

Documentations for securing Lift clearance differ state-wise. The list below just gives a general idea about what type of documents is applicable in such a case.

• Application in Form A or as recommended by the respective municipal corporation.
• Original Treasury Challan for application fees of One hundred rupees.
• Original Treasury Challan for License fees worth Rs 15000- for erection & maintenance) & of INR 10000 (for maintenance)
• 2 latest passport photos with specimen signature applicant. The same should be duly attested and affixed to the application
• Drawing of the lift installation
• Experience certificates of the personals liable for lift maintenance (attested ones)
• Certificates of Competency Class II (attested ones)
• Two self-addressed stamped envelopes (recommended size 9″ x4″)

Note: the application for lift license should be signed in the presence of Gazetted Officer/ Gazetted Officer/ or Municipal councilor.

Standard Fees for obtaining Lift license

The fee charged for lift inspection is mentioned below:

1. Lift with a travel speed of 1 m/sec = Rs.520/-(each lift)
2. Lift with a travel speed of 1.5m/sec = Rs. 770/-( each lift)
3. Lift with a travel speed more than 1.5m/sec = Rs. 1020/-(each lift)

Underlying recommendations for lifts and escalators

Building owners from states where the lift act is yet to be enacted need to install IS-compliant lifts and escalators to ensure the safety of the equipment. The apartments in the residential area need to comply with the Indian Standards are IS 14665 and IS 15259 for lift installation and safety.

The Indian Standards such as IS 15785 have provisions regarding the machine room-less elevator. Likewise, IS IS 14671 sets out guidelines for hydraulic lift.

As per IS 15259:2002 Clause 5, the load capacity of the home lift should be ranged between 204-272 Kg. The car speed should not surpass 0.2 mps.

Installing a lift in a particular establishment or building seeks prior consent from the inspector in charge of the respective jurisdiction. There is no central authority that grants the lift clearance certificate. It is accorded by the municipal corporation of the respective state.

National Building Code (NBC) for Lift erection in India

Presently, no regulation talks about the number of lifts in accordance with the number of floors.

National Building Code (NBC) of India 2016 and IS 14665 Part 2, Section 1 provides provisions for traffic analysis calculations, which pinpoint the lift capacity and response time. Given this, there are different guidelines for different types of multi-story apartments.

For multi-story apartments higher than 15 m, there is a requirement of installing an eight-passenger fire lift, equipped with automatic doors). There is a speed criterion for such lifts as well. The lift must reach the top floor in 1 min i.e. 6- seconds. Apart from that, the installation of such a lift attracts few regulations from the Fire Prevention Act and rules of each State.

Furthermore, according to the NBC 2016, there should be an arrangement of a stretcher lift in apartments having a height of more than 30 m. All these requirements differ state-wise and one must take assistance from a technical expert for specific cases.