Required Compliance [§206.6]
Elevators are the typical means of providing an accessible route between stories and to mezzanines. In facilities not required to have an accessible route between stories or to mezzanines (see the Accessible Routes guide), a limited-use/ limited-application (LULA) elevator is permitted. LULAs also are allowed as an alternative to platform lifts and private residence elevators.
| Facility or Space | Elevator Type Permitted (if provided instead of ramp) |
| Facilities required to provide an accessible route to stories/ mezzanines | Elevator (§407) |
| Facilities not required to provide an accessible route to stories/ mezzanines | Elevator (§407) or LULA (§408) |
| Residential Dwelling Units | Elevator (§407), LULA (§408), or Private Residence Elevator (§409) |
| Spaces permitted to be served by a platform lift | Elevator (§407), LULA (§408), or Platform Lift (§410) |
Only passenger elevators as classified by the referenced elevator safety code (ASME A17.1) can be used to meet the ADA Standards. Each passenger elevator provided, whether required or not, must comply with the ADA Standards. This includes those elevators that move both passengers and freight, sometimes loosely referred to as “service elevators.” Examples include elevators in residential or retail facilities that are regularly used by tenants or customers but that are also used to move furniture, merchandise, or other freight.
Freight elevators cannot be used to satisfy the requirement for an accessible route between floors. Freight elevators are defined by the ASME A17.1 code as those elevators “used primarily for carrying freight and on which only the operator and the persons necessary for unloading and loading the freight are permitted to ride.” Where provided, they are not required to meet the ADA Standards. Construction elevators, like other structures directly associated with the actual processes of construction, are exempt (§203.2).
ASME A17.1 Code [§407.1]
Elevators, including LULA and private residence elevators, must meet the ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. The ADA Standards currently require compliance with the A17.1-2000, including the 2002 and 2003 addenda. This edition must be followed until the Standards are updated to reference a later edition of the ASME A17.1 code. In the interim, compliance with a later edition of the ASME A17.1 (now ASME A17.1/CSA B44) may be possible under the provision for “equivalent facilitation” (§103) only if it is comparable to, or stricter than, the referenced edition. Questions about the ASME A17.1 code should be directed to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (www.asme.org).
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