Lift Inspection, Passport and Owner Obligations in Georgia

Is lift inspection mandatory in Georgia?

Yes. Under the Product Safety and Free Movement Code, lifts and escalators are objects of increased technical hazard and are subject to periodic technical inspection. Supervision is the job of the LEPL Technical and Construction Supervision Agency, and the lift owner is responsible for having the inspection carried out.

The Technical Regulation on Safe Operation of Lifts (Government Resolution No. 446 of 31 December 2013) puts it directly: the lift owner must ensure that periodic technical inspection is carried out in the manner set by Georgian law. The regulation covers permanently installed lifts with a rated load of 180 kg or more. It does not cover, among others, lifts with a speed of no more than 0.15 m/s, lifts used for construction work and rack-and-pinion lifts.

How often must a lift be inspected?

Planned periodic technical inspection of a lift takes place every third year. Government Resolution No. 173 of 10 July 2013, as amended in 2015, puts lifts and escalators in risk category III with a three-year interval, counted from the last inspection. An unscheduled inspection can also be required between those dates.

• Reasonable suspicion — a report of a possible hazard or a well-founded concern about the lift’s condition.
• Accident — an accident on the lift, or an incident causing serious injury or death.
• Force majeure — for example an event that may have damaged the building or the installation.

Separately, the safe-operation regulation requires annual static and dynamic tests to confirm the lift’s reliability, carried out according to the manufacturer’s documentation or, where it has none, according to the standard. Between inspections the lift must be serviced by a qualified provider: the inspection checks the result of that work, it does not replace it.

Who carries out the inspection?

An inspection body accredited under Georgian law carries out the on-site inspection. The Technical and Construction Supervision Agency inspects directly only in a field where no accredited inspection body operates. Inspection bodies accredited in OECD or EU member states may also inspect once they register with Georgia’s national accreditation body.

If the lift fully meets the requirements, the inspection body issues an inspection certificate and sends a copy to the agency within 5 days. The inspection report (protocol) is handed to the owner within 1 day, and the owner must give the agency information about the inspection and its results within 5 working days. Your maintenance company, WestLift included, is not the inspector: the inspection is independent by design.

What happens if the inspection finds a problem?

Each non-conformity is classed as non-essential, essential or critical and recorded in the inspection report. A non-essential one is noted in the register; an essential one leads to a fine and a deadline to fix it; a critical one can lead to full or partial suspension of the lift until the inspection body confirms the fix.

• Non-essential — noted by the agency and recorded in the register of objects.
• Essential — the owner is fined and given a reasonable deadline; the agency checks that it is met.
• Critical — the agency may suspend operation of the lift fully or partially; it returns to service after the fix is confirmed.
• No inspection at all — the owner is fined and given a deadline to have the lift inspected; a repeated failure doubles the fine.

The safe-operation regulation spells out which defects belong in which class. Critical examples include a car that can move while a landing door is not closed and locked, a brake that cannot hold the load, and counterweight risks. Essential examples include rope defects beyond the permitted limits, a faulty overspeed governor, a lift that starts when overloaded, faulty protection against free fall, and missing means of evacuating trapped passengers.

What is a lift passport, and what if it is missing?

In everyday use, the “lift passport” means the lift’s technical documentation. Georgian rules require every lift to come with technical documentation compiled by the manufacturer: operating instructions, information on adjustment, maintenance and repair, electrical and kinematic diagrams, and instructions for rescue and emergency situations.

If a lift in service has no technical documentation, which is common with older lifts, the documentation must be restored according to the standard. The lift itself must carry clear, durable markings: the manufacturer’s name and address, the series and type, the serial number and the year of manufacture. Repair work done on the lift must also be recorded. Keep the documentation, the latest inspection certificate and the maintenance records together, because the inspector will ask for them.

Does a lift have to be registered?

Yes. Before a lift is put into operation it must be registered in the departmental register of objects of increased technical hazard, under the rules approved by Government Resolution No. 317 of 31 July 2012. The same register is where the agency records non-conformities found during inspections.

What are the lift owner’s obligations?

The owner must keep the lift safe and compliant: assess its hazards, have it serviced by a qualified provider, organise the timely release of passengers trapped by a power cut or fault, make instructions for use available, keep the technical documentation and arrange the periodic inspection.

• Hazard assessment — assess every hazard connected with the lift and take the measures it calls for.
• Qualified maintenance — the lift is serviced by a provider with the right qualifications.
• Passenger rescue — a plan to release trapped passengers quickly during power cuts and breakdowns. See what to do if you are stuck in a lift.
• Instructions for users — the lift’s instructions for use are available to the people who ride it.
• Repairs — only with components that match the technical documentation, and every repair is recorded.
• Building structure — the load-bearing capacity of the shaft structure must not be reduced.
• Inspection and documents — periodic technical inspection on time, and the technical documentation kept with the lift.

Who acts as the owner depends on the building. In practice it is often the developer until the common parts are handed over, then the homeowners’ association or a management company acting for the residents; in a hotel, business centre or hospital it is the operating company. Whoever it is should hold a signed maintenance contract and name one person responsible for the lift.

How does WestLift help owners stay compliant?

WestLift maintains lifts under a service contract and gets them ready for inspection. Our packages include preventive visits every month (Base Care), twice a month (Business Support) or every week (Industrial Premium), plus 24/7 response to breakdowns and trapped-passenger calls. Standard contracts run for 12 months.

Before an inspection we check the safety-critical items the inspector will look at, fix what we find and go through the documents you hold so you know what is missing. If an old lift fails because its equipment is worn out, we quote for repair or modernization. See our service packages and technical support.