Lift Licence Renewal in India: State Rules, Documents and Process for Lifts and Escalators

This lift licence renewal guide is for mall engineering heads, facility managers and compliance teams who keep the licences for lifts, escalators and travelators current. A mall can have dozens of installations, each with its own licence, inspection date and maintenance contract, and each can be stopped or sealed if its paperwork lapses.

Several state lift laws were amended in 2025 and 2026, so confirm the current position with your state's electrical or lift inspectorate before you file. Day-to-day lift and escalator checks are covered in our preventive maintenance checklist.

Why Lifts and Escalators Need a Licence

The licence attaches to each installation, not to the building, and without a valid one the equipment may not legally be used. Lift licence renewal (often spelt lift license renewal) extends the permission once the installation is shown to be safely maintained.

Escalators were brought under licensing more recently in some states: Maharashtra's 2017 Act notes that escalators and moving walks were not covered by its 1939 lifts law, and Karnataka's Act states that escalators and passenger conveyors are machines and cannot be treated as fixed staircases even when switched off. For a mall, that means every passenger lift, goods lift, escalator and travelator is a separate licensed installation.

Who Issues and Inspects Lift Licences

Titles differ from state to state:

• Maharashtra: the Chief Electrical Inspector grants the licence after the Electrical Inspector (Lifts) inspects. A 2026 amendment bill moves licensing to regional Superintending Engineers from a date to be notified.
• Karnataka: the authorised officer under the Karnataka Lifts, Escalators and Passenger Conveyors Act grants the licence; since the 2025 amendment the authorised officer decides directly instead of forwarding to the Chief Inspector.
• Delhi: the Electrical Inspector in the Labour Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi administers the Bombay Lifts Act, 1939 as extended to Delhi and the Delhi Lifts Rules, 1942.
• Tamil Nadu: the Inspector of Lifts under the Tamil Nadu Lifts and Escalators Act, 1997, within the Electrical Inspectorate.
• West Bengal: the Chief Electrical Inspector under the West Bengal Lifts, Escalators and Travelators Act, 2019, which replaced the 1955 Act.

Permission to Erect Versus Licence to Operate

Every state separates two approvals. Mixing them up is a common reason a new escalator sits idle after installation.

• Permission to erect or install: before installation starts, with drawings and specifications. Valid for one year in Maharashtra, extendable by six months at a time; twelve months in Karnataka, then a fresh application; six months in Tamil Nadu.
• Licence to work or use (working licence): after installation, on notice of completion (within one month in Maharashtra and Karnataka) and inspection. Validity is in the state table below.
• Renewal of licence: before the working licence expires.
• Permission for additions or alterations: before any change to capacity, speed, stops or major components, granted per change.

Lift Licence Renewal Rules by State

This table includes only what we could verify from the Act or rules; where a cell says "check portal", confirm with the inspectorate.

A long licence period does not mean nothing happens in between: Maharashtra still expects an inspection every year and Karnataka a quarterly maintenance test, so track inspections and tests as well as the licence date. Tamil Nadu's 2025 and Maharashtra's 2026 amendments change the process from a notified date; pending applications in Tamil Nadu are handled under the old provisions.

Documents for Lift Licence Renewal

Each state prescribes its own form. Hold these for every installation, ready to upload:

• Current licence and erection permission: identifies the installation, its licence number and conditions.
• Annual maintenance contract: Maharashtra and Karnataka require one with a licensed or registered person.
• Contractor's test and inspection certificate: confirms the unit is fit for use (Maharashtra requires the approved contractor's certificate with the application).
• Periodic test register and annual report: Karnataka's quarterly tests; Delhi's yearly safety certificate by an authorised person.
• Log book of operation, breakdowns and accidents (required in Maharashtra).
• Last government inspection report with closure of observations.
• Third-party insurance policy: required for lifts, escalators and moving walks in Maharashtra.
• Owner's authorisation and ID for the signatory or competent person filing on the owner's behalf (Tamil Nadu's amended process uses an authorised competent person).
• Fee payment proof as notified by the state.

Lift licence renewal fees

Fees are notified by each state, revised from time to time and sometimes vary by type and number of landings. Use the current schedule on the inspectorate's portal, not figures from older guides.

How to Renew a Lift Licence Step by Step

1. Know the date and the lead time. Record each installation's licence expiry and the state's filing window, for example not less than three months before expiry in Tamil Nadu and before expiry in Maharashtra.
2. Brief the maintenance contractor 90 days out to run the full test and close every open defect.
3. Collect documents from the list above for each unit, and check the AMC and insurance will not expire during the new licence period.
4. File online on the state portal (Delhi lists lift services on its e-District portal; Karnataka's Electrical Inspectorate offers a lifts and escalators renewal service; Tamil Nadu's amended Act moves filing to an online portal), and pay the fee.
5. Host the inspection with the contractor's engineer present, then close observations within the time given.
6. File the renewed licence, display it where your state requires, and record the new expiry and next reminders the same day.

Escalators and Travelators in Malls

Escalators carry more people than lifts and run longer hours. Treat each escalator as its own compliance item, with its own licence, contractor test record and log; the daily operator checks are in the escalator maintenance checklist. Escalators do not count as exits in a fire (see the fire evacuation plan), so stopping one for repair does not affect evacuation routes, but barricading must not block a staircase or exit.

What Happens If a Lift Licence Lapses

• The unit may not be used. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal law prohibit working a lift or escalator except under a licence.
• Fines: up to ₹50,000 plus up to ₹1,000 a day for continuing contraventions in Maharashtra; up to ₹10,000 or six months' simple imprisonment or both, plus up to ₹100 a day, in Karnataka; up to ₹10,000 plus up to ₹500 a day in West Bengal.
• Stoppage and sealing: inspectors can order an unsafe unit to be stopped until repaired, and in Maharashtra a unit used in breach of such an order can be sealed.
• Suspension or cancellation of the licence for contravening the Act, rules or licence conditions.
• Liability after an accident: accidents must be reported to the inspector and the unit left untouched until permitted; in Maharashtra the erection or maintenance company can also be prosecuted where a safety failure is attributable to it.
• Knock-on effects: lift licences are often asked for during fire NOC inspections and by insurers, so one lapse can hold up other approvals.

Maintenance Records That Make Renewal Easy

Renewal goes quickly when the inspector can see a continuous record. Keep, for each installation: the AMC with its scope and response times, monthly maintenance reports, the test reports your state requires, breakdown and entrapment logs (our incident report format includes a sample lift entrapment report), inspection reports with closure evidence, and the insurance policy. The monthly lift recall test in your fire safety checklist adds to the record.

How LazyMonkey Compliance Tracks Every Lift and Escalator

In LazyMonkey Compliance, each lift, escalator and travelator becomes its own item with a responsible person, recurrence and due date, and the current licence, AMC, test certificate and insurance attached. Reminders go to the owners at the lead times you set, for example 60, 30 and 7 days before the due date, by email, WhatsApp or mobile push. The dashboard shows what is overdue, due soon and up to date across all your malls.

Conclusion

Lift licence renewal is simple when it is tracked per installation, starts 90 days out and rests on continuous maintenance records. Know which Act applies in your state and how recent amendments change the process.

Frequently Asked Questions