Lift and Elevator Codes and Standards in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has no dedicated lift law or annual lift registration (a 2019 proposal for annual registration of ~25,800 lifts was not shown to be enacted). The UDA Planning & Development Regulations (Gazette Extraordinary 2235/54, 8 July 2021, under the UDA Law No. 41 of 1978) require, in Regulation 69, a vertical transportation system designed by a Qualified Person for buildings over four floors or 15 m, compliance with national and international safety standards, traffic analysis, bed lifts in hospitals, disability-compliant lifts in public buildings, firemen's/firefighting lifts, and that every passenger and goods lift, escalator or moving walk be tested before the Certificate of Conformity (commissioning witnessed by a Qualified Person above 30 m). Public-building Certificates of Conformity last up to 5 years; a Safety Officer must supervise lift maintenance in public buildings with over 500 occupants. In factories, every hoist or lift must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every 12 months (Factories Ordinance s.27). Lift contractors must register with CIDA (specialty 'Elevators, Escalators & Travellators' under Electrical & Mechanical Services). Otherwise owners rely on maintenance agreements; no SLS lift standard was found.
Who regulates lifts
Urban Development Authority (planning/CoC, lift and escalator testing before occupation); Department of Labour (factories, Factories Ordinance); Construction Industry Development Authority (contractor registration); Condominium Management Authority (condominium maintenance)
Periodic inspection
Factories: thorough examination of every hoist/lift by a competent person at least once every 12 months, report entered in the general register within 14 days (Factories Ordinance s.27(2)). Other buildings: no mandatory periodic lift inspection found; public-building CoC valid up to 5 years (renewal needs fire and structural certificates); lifts tested before CoC under UDA Reg. 69(7).
Installer and maintenance licensing
Lift companies must register with CIDA (per CIDA chairman, 2019); public tenders require CIDA Electrical & Mechanical Services registration in 'Elevators, Escalators & Travellators' (e.g. grade EM4 or above, 2026); compliance incomplete
Laws, codes and standards
- Factories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942, s.27 (1942) — Factories Ordinance, section 27 (hoists and lifts)Mandatory · Factories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942 · Department of Labour
- UDA Planning & Development Regulations, Reg. 69 (2021) — Urban Development Authority Planning & Development Regulations — Regulation 69 (vertical transportation)Mandatory · Gazette Extraordinary No. 2235/54 of 8 July 2021, made under s.21 of the Urban Development Authority Law No. 41 of 1978 · Minister of Urban Development and Housing / Urban Development Authority
Lift associations and bodies
- Condominium Management Authority (CMA)
- Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA)
- Department of Labour
- Urban Development Authority (UDA)
- National Building Research Organisation (NBRO)
Last verified 2026-10-20. Standards are copyrighted: we list which one applies and its legal status, not its text.