Lift and Elevator Codes and Standards in Bahrain

No Bahraini lift-specific law, ministerial order, building-lift inspection regime or lift-contractor licensing rule was found (English and Arabic searches, official legislation portal). The nearest binding rule is occupational: Minister of Labour Decision No. 5 of 2014 on protecting workers from lifting-equipment hazards applies to all lifting machines that persons operate or work on; it covers 'hoists' (a lifting machine with a carriage platform or cabin), requires hoist cabins with interlocked landing gates, requires lifting equipment to be certified by an authority approved by the Ministry of Labour, and requires thorough examination by a qualified person before first use and every six months for hoists. It does not name building passenger lifts or escalators, so its reach over lifts in ordinary buildings is not confirmed. Fire safety of buildings is certified by the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Civil Defence under Decree-Law 5/1990 (amended by Law 22/2014), Ministerial Edict 167/2002 and Edict 49/2009; no lift content of those instruments was seen. Lifts appear in building rules only incidentally (2023 zoning requirements; Green Building Guide art. 61 energy features, voluntary). The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (BSMD) publishes Gulf lift standards as Bahraini standards (GSO EN 81-20:2025, GSO EN 81-50:2025, GSO EN 115-1:2023), none found to be mandatory; Bahrain sits on the GSO working group drafting a Gulf technical regulation for lifts (WGTR-L), which had no published number or date. A 2025 draft building law would widen municipal inspection powers but does not mention lifts.

Who regulates lifts

Not identified for lift safety in buildings. Ministry of Labour for workplace lifting equipment (Decision 5/2014); Ministry of Interior General Directorate of Civil Defence for building fire safety; Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning for building rules; Ministry of Industry and Commerce (BSMD) for standards

Periodic inspection

Workplace lifting equipment only: hoists (platform or cabin lifting machines operated or worked on by persons) must be thoroughly examined by a qualified person before first use, after substantial alteration, and every six months; equipment certified by a Ministry of Labour-approved authority (Decision 5/2014). No periodic inspection rule for passenger lifts in buildings found.

Installer and maintenance licensing

Not found (Decision 5/2014 only requires hoist erection under a qualified person's supervision)

Laws, codes and standards

Green Building Guide (Ministerial Decision 212/2019), art. 61 (2019) — Green Building Guide - lifts and escalators energy requirements
Voluntary · Decision 212/2019 art. 2: only the articles in its phased schedule are mandatory; art. 61 is not listed, so it is an additional requirement for the green-building rating · Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning
Minister of Labour Decision No. 5 of 2014 (2014) — Identification of the necessary conditions and precautionary measures for the protection of workers from hazards associated with the use of lifting equipment
Mandatory · Ministry of Labour decision; replaces Minister of Labour Decision No. 14 of 1977; in force three months after publication in the Official Gazette · Ministry of Labour, Kingdom of Bahrain
BH GSO ISO/TR 8100-24 (2022) — Lifts for the transport of persons and goods - Part 24: Global safety comparison (technical report)
Voluntary · None found · Ministry of Industry and Commerce (BSMD), Bahrain
GSO EN 115-1 (2023) — Safety of escalators and moving walks - Part 1: Construction and installation
Voluntary · GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)
GSO EN 81-20 (2025) — Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts - Lifts for the transport of persons and goods - Part 20: Passenger and goods passenger lifts
Voluntary · GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)
GSO EN 81-50 (2025) — Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts - Examinations and tests - Part 50: Design rules, calculations, examinations and tests of lift components
Voluntary · GCC Standardization Organization (GSO)

Lift associations and bodies

General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU)
General Directorate of Civil Defence
Bahrain Standards and Metrology Directorate (BSMD)

Last verified 2026-10-19. Standards are copyrighted: we list which one applies and its legal status, not its text.