Pennsylvania is adopting ASME A17.1-2016 and restructuring how elevators are tested. The change building owners will feel first is that Category 1 testing becomes a stand-alone annual requirement, and every test must be witnessed by an inspector holding a specific certification.
On December 20, 2026, Pennsylvania's elevator regulations at 34 Pa. Code Chapter 405 change substantially. Two changes matter most if you own or manage a building in the Commonwealth:
Together those mean more witnessed test events per device, each one requiring a specifically certified person present. Pennsylvania is also replacing a 2000-edition national standard with the 2016 edition, a sixteen-year jump.
This is the change most likely to alter your budget and your schedule.
Under the previous regulations, Category 1 testing was required to be performed in conjunction with the Category 3 (3-year) and Category 5 (5-year) tests. In practice that bundled the annual test into the larger test events.
The Department reviewed the periodic testing requirements in ASME A17.1-2016 and, with the Elevator Safety Board, concluded that Category 1 testing "should be performed annually as a stand-alone requirement to ensure additional safety and protect residents of this Commonwealth from harm, to align with neighboring jurisdictions and to reduce costs by incentivizing regular maintenance by property owners."
The practical consequence is that each device needs its own annual Category 1 test, witnessed, in every year, rather than only in the years when a larger category test is already scheduled.
Pennsylvania has required a construction code official to witness testing for some time. What the final rule does is state the qualification affirmatively.
The Department "requires that all testing under these standards shall be witnessed by a construction code official certified as a UCC Elevator Inspector," and amended the final-form rulemaking specifically "to state affirmatively that the official must be 'certified as a UCC Elevator Inspector.'" The Department describes this as bringing Pennsylvania into alignment with other jurisdictions in the United States.
The enacted text of § 405.8(a) is direct: periodic testing under ASME A17.1-2016 is required at the intervals in Table N-1 for Category 1, Category 3 and Category 5 testing, and "a construction code official shall witness all of the testing."
A practical point that is easy to miss: the party that performs your test and the party that witnesses it are not the same role. Your maintenance contractor performs the test. A certified official witnesses it and reports it.
Pennsylvania has been operating on ASME A17.1-2000 with the 2002 addenda. The final rule adopts newer editions across the board:
| Standard | Covers | New edition | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASME A17.1 | Elevators and lifting devices | 2016 | 2000 with 2002 addenda |
| ASME A18.1 | Platform lifts and stairway chairlifts | 2017 | 1999 with 2001 addenda |
| ASME B20.1 | Reciprocating conveyors | 2018 | earlier partial adoption |
| ASME A90.1 | Belt man-lifts | 2015 | 1997 with addenda |
| ANSI B77.1 | Ropeways, aerial lifts, tows | 2022 | 2017 |
| ASME A17.8 | Wind turbine tower elevators | 2016 | newly adopted |
A sixteen-year gap in the elevator standard is significant. If your equipment was designed and permitted against the 2000 edition, the questions worth asking your maintenance provider are which requirements have moved, and whether anything you plan to alter or modernize will now be assessed against the newer edition.
This is the question every building owner asks first, and the answer has two parts.
Design and construction standards are not retroactive. Permits and applications submitted to the Department before December 20, 2026 remain valid, and devices permitted under prior standards continue to be governed by those standards. You are not required to rebuild an existing elevator to the 2016 edition because the calendar turned.
Testing and inspection requirements are a different matter. Periodic testing, inspection and reporting obligations attach to the operation of the device, not to the year it was permitted. The annual Category 1 requirement and the witnessing requirement are where existing buildings will feel this.
The distinction is worth being precise about with your vendors, because "we are grandfathered" is true of the construction standard and not of the test schedule.
Devices under ASME A18.1-2017, which covers wheelchair platform lifts and stairway chairlifts, get explicit intervals in § 405.8(c):
| Test | Interval | Who must witness |
|---|---|---|
| Section 10.3.1 | Every 1 year | Construction code official certified as a UCC Elevator Inspector |
| Section 10.3.2 | Every 3 years | Construction code official certified as a UCC Elevator Inspector |
| Section 10.3.3 | Every 5 years | Construction code official certified as a UCC Elevator Inspector |
If you operate platform lifts in a school, municipal building, house of worship or medical office, these are easy devices to forget. They are now on a written annual schedule with a named certification requirement.
If you operate a ski lift, aerial tramway, surface lift or tow, the witnessing requirement is not satisfied by an elevator inspector.
Section 405.9 requires that a Department construction code official certified as a UCC Passenger Ropeway Inspector witness all periodic dynamic testing, and submit a test report within 15 days. The Department is explicit about why: "a certified UCC Elevator Inspector is not trained nor certified to conduct these inspections and observe the testing."
Dynamic testing also moves to ANSI B77.1-2022, replacing the 1999 standard.
Section 405.5 previously required an acceptance inspection only for new devices or devices under repair. It now also applies when a device under alteration or modification is put into service. If you are modernizing, that is a new inspection touchpoint.
Under § 405.7(f), a construction code official must notify the Department by electronic communication within 1 business day when a lifting device fails a periodic inspection. Inspection results generally are due within 15 days, in a format acceptable to the Department, with the official's certification number and signature.
Section 405.3 reduces permit validity from five years to two, which the Department explains is intended to prevent stalling an approved permit installation. If you hold a permit for work that has not started, this is worth checking.
Section 405.11 previously required an accident report on "fatal injury or hospitalization." It now requires a report on fatal injury or the necessity for professional medical care. That is a meaningfully lower bar. Devices involved in a nonfatal accident caused by mechanical or electrical failure may not return to service without Department approval.
Section 405.13 is new. An owner or owner's agent may petition the Elevator Safety Board for a variance, an extension of time, or to appeal a building code official's decision, within 30 days of the decision. Filing automatically suspends enforcement of an order to correct until the matter is resolved. The Board may not grant a variance that would jeopardize public or worker safety.
Fees for witnessing periodic testing and periodic dynamic testing, along with certificate of operation and variance fees, will be updated annually and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and on the Department's website.
The final-form rulemaking appears in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, volume 56, number 25, June 20, 2026, beginning at page 3611. The IRRC approval order is at 56 Pa.B. 2784 (May 9, 2026). The regulations themselves are at 34 Pa. Code Chapter 405, and the Department of Labor and Industry maintains an elevators page for third-party agency and inspector information.
This guide summarizes the rulemaking for planning purposes and is not legal advice. Where a detail matters to a decision, read the Bulletin text or ask the Department.
Send us your building list and device inventory. We will map every Category 1, 3 and 5 test date, show you which years change under the new stand-alone annual requirement, and tell you where your schedule is tightest.