elevator regulation at a glance
- Regulator
- Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, Engineering Division
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. § 8-2-100 et seq.; Rules Chapter 120-3-25
- Who inspects
- State inspectors and Office-certified third-party inspectors (QEI-certified, 3+ years’ experience, tested on Georgia law; firms carry $500,000 liability coverage and file a contract per location)
- Frequency
- Annual inspection and recertification of every elevator, escalator, dumbwaiter, manlift and moving walk
- Permits
- Installation and alteration permits requested through the Office’s Citizenserve portal; certificates of authority for installing and servicing companies
- Note
- Industry reporting in 2025 put roughly a third of Georgia’s elevators behind on annual inspection; the Office has said it will add inspectors and use third-party firms
How elevator compliance works in Georgia
Georgia regulates elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, manlifts and moving walks through the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, Engineering Division, under O.C.G.A. § 8-2-100 and following and the rules at Chapter 120-3-25. Every unit must be inspected and recertified annually, and the office issues certificates of authority to the companies that install, maintain and service equipment.
In practice the state’s own inspection staff is small for the number of units it covers. Industry reporting in 2025 put roughly a third of Georgia’s elevators behind on their annual inspection, and the office has said it will add inspectors and lean on certified third-party inspection firms. Georgia’s rules already provide for that: inspectors must hold current QEI certification, have at least three years of experience and pass a test on Georgia law, and private inspection firms must carry liability coverage and file a contract for each location they inspect.
For owners, the message is simple. An overdue certificate is still the owner’s problem, and a certified independent inspector is how to avoid being one of the buildings waiting.
What we do for Georgia owners
Elevator Compliance Group is an independent, QEI-licensed inspection and consulting firm. We do not sell maintenance, repairs or modernization, so our work in Georgia is only for the owner: inspections and inspection witnessing, review of inspection reports and violations, deficiency tracking to verified correction, maintenance contract review, modernization planning and owner representation when the contractor and the inspector disagree.
- Annual inspections by QEI-licensed, Georgia-certified inspectors so certificates don’t lapse while the state catches up
- Permit and acceptance inspection support for new installations and alterations through the Citizenserve portal
- Violation tracking and verified correction, documented for the office
- Maintenance contract review and contractor performance audits
- Portfolio compliance reporting for owners with buildings across metro Atlanta and the state
Where we work in Georgia
Metro Atlanta is the center of our Georgia work: Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead towers, Perimeter and Cumberland office, Emory, Piedmont, Northside and Grady hospital campuses, Georgia Tech and Georgia State, and Hartsfield-Jackson’s escalators and people movers. We also serve Savannah, Augusta, Macon and Columbus.
Regulatory summary based on the agency sources below; requirements change, so confirm current rules with the agency or with us before relying on them.