Lift and Elevator Codes and Standards in China
Lifts and escalators are 'special equipment' under the Special Equipment Safety Law (in force 1 Jan 2014), supervised by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and local market-regulation bureaus. Manufacture, installation, alteration and repair need an SAMR licence, and installation, alteration and major repair pass a supervisory inspection before use. In service, TSG T7001-2023 (statutory inspection) and TSG T7008-2023 (self-testing) replaced most annual statutory inspections of younger lifts with self-testing by the user, a qualified maintenance unit or an approved inspection/testing body; SAMR notice 国市监特设发〔2024〕28号 forbids extra approval steps for self-testing units. Since a 2020 SAMR opinion (国市监特设〔2020〕56号) provinces have piloted IoT-based 'on-demand maintenance' (按需维保) alongside the TSG T5002-2017 maintenance rules.
Who regulates lifts
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), Special Equipment Safety Supervision Bureau, and local market-regulation bureaus
Periodic inspection
TSG T7001-2023 (in force 2 Apr 2023, one-year transition, full implementation from April 2024 per SAMR notice 国市监特设发〔2024〕28号): lifts up to 15 years old get a statutory periodic inspection in years 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 with self-testing under TSG T7008-2023 in the other years; lifts over 15 years old are inspected every year. Self-testing may be done by the user with its own staff and instruments or by a qualified maintenance unit or approved inspection/testing body. Users must request inspection one month before the certificate expires (Law Art. 40).
Installer and maintenance licensing
Yes: manufacture, installation, alteration and repair units need an SAMR special-equipment licence (Law Art. 14; licensing rule TSG 07-2019); maintenance only by the manufacturer or a licensed installation/alteration/repair unit (Art. 45); workers need special-equipment operator certificates.
Laws, codes and standards
- Special Equipment Safety Law of the PRC (Presidential Order No. 4) (2013) — Special Equipment Safety Law of the People's Republic of ChinaMandatory · Adopted by the NPC Standing Committee 29 Jun 2013, in force 1 Jan 2014 · National People's Congress Standing Committee
- TSG 07-2019 (2019) — Regulation for Production and Filling Licensing of Special Equipment (incl. lift installation, alteration, repair)Mandatory · Special Equipment Safety Law Art. 14 · SAMR
- TSG 08-2017 (2017) — Special Equipment Use Management RulesMandatory · Special Equipment Safety Law · AQSIQ (now SAMR)
- TSG T5002-2017 (2017) — Rules for lift maintenanceMandatory · Safety technical specification under the Special Equipment Safety Law · SAMR (former AQSIQ)
- TSG T7001-2023 (2023) — Rules for supervisory inspection and periodic inspection of liftsMandatory · Safety technical specification (TSG) issued by SAMR under the Special Equipment Safety Law; SAMR Announcement 2023 No. 14, in force 2 Apr 2023 with a 1-year transition; replaces TSG T7001-T7006 · SAMR
- TSG T7008-2023 (2023) — Rules for self-testing of liftsMandatory · SAMR Announcement 2023 No. 14, in force 2 Apr 2023 · SAMR
- GB 16899 (2011) — Safety rules for the construction and installation of escalators and moving walksMandatory · Mandatory (GB) national standard; listed as current · SAC
- GB/T 10058 (2023) — Specification for liftsVoluntary · SAMR / SAC
- GB/T 10059 (2023) — Test methods for liftsVoluntary · SAMR / SAC
- GB/T 10060 (2023) — Code for acceptance of lift installationVoluntary · SAMR / SAC
- GB/T 24477 (2025) — Accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disabilityVoluntary · SAMR / SAC
- GB/T 7588.1 (2020) — Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts — Part 1: Passenger and goods passenger liftsReferenced by law · Referenced by the TSG inspection rules; itself a recommended (GB/T) national standard · SAMR / SAC (drafted by SAC/TC 196)
- GB/T 7588.2 (2020) — Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts — Part 2: Design rules, calculations, examinations and tests of lift componentsReferenced by law · Companion to GB/T 7588.1 · SAMR / SAC
- 国市监特设〔2020〕56号 (2020) — SAMR opinion on further piloting improved lift maintenance models and adjusted lift inspection and testing methodsReferenced by law · SAMR policy opinion implemented by provincial pilot schemes · SAMR
- 国市监特设发〔2024〕28号 (2024) — SAMR notice on further implementing the Lift Supervisory Inspection and Periodic Inspection Rules (TSG T7001-2023) and the Lift Self-Testing Rules (TSG T7008-2023)Mandatory · Special Equipment Safety Law; SAMR administrative notice · SAMR
Lift associations and bodies
- China Elevator Association (CEA)
- State Administration for Market Regulation — Special Equipment Safety Supervision Bureau (SAMR)
- China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute (CSEI)
- National Technical Committee on Lifts of Standardization Administration of China (SAC/TC 196)
Last verified 2026-10-17. Standards are copyrighted: we list which one applies and its legal status, not its text.