Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU

Last reviewed: May 2026 · Legal status verified against EUR-Lex.

Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts — the "Lifts Directive" — replaced Directive 95/16/EC and has applied since 20 April 2016. It covers lifts permanently serving buildings and constructions, and safety components for lifts placed on the market separately. The Directive has two distinct economic operators in addition to the standard manufacturer concept — the "installer" of the lift, and the manufacturer of safety components — each with separate obligations. Published as OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p. 251.

Legal status and timeline

• Adoption: 26 February 2014.
• Date of application: 20 April 2016.
• Repeal of Directive 95/16/EC: 20 April 2016.
• Status in May 2026: applies.

Scope: products covered

Article 1(1) applies to:

• Lifts — defined in Article 2(1) as "a lifting appliance serving specific levels, having a carrier moving along guides which are rigid and inclined at an angle of more than 15 degrees to the horizontal, or a lifting appliance moving along a fixed course even where it does not move along guides which are rigid";
• Safety components for lifts, listed in Annex III.

Annex III safety components

• Devices for locking landing doors;
• Devices to prevent the car from falling or uncontrolled movements;
• Overspeed limitation devices;
• Energy-accumulating shock absorbers (non-linear or with damping return movement);
• Energy-dissipating shock absorbers;
• Safety devices on jacks of hydraulic power circuits where these are used as safety devices;
• Electric safety devices in the form of safety circuits containing electronic components.

Exclusions (Article 1(2))

• Lifting appliances whose speed is not greater than 0.15 m/s;
• Construction site hoists;
• Cableways, including funicular railways (under Regulation 2016/424);
• Lifts specially designed and constructed for military or police purposes;
• Lifting appliances from which performances can be carried out (e.g., theatre hoists);
• Lifting appliances fitted in means of transport;
• Lifting appliances connected to machinery and intended exclusively for access to workstations including maintenance and inspection points on the machinery — these are under the Machinery Regulation 2023/1230;
• Rack and pinion trains;
• Escalators and mechanical walkways — these are under the Machinery Regulation.

The two economic operators

The Lifts Directive distinguishes two parties not present in the standard NLF model:

The installer

Article 2(4) defines the "installer" as "the natural or legal person who takes responsibility for the design, manufacture, installation and placing on the market of the lift". The installer is the responsible party for the complete lift as installed in the building. The installer must perform the lift's conformity assessment, draw up its technical documentation, affix the CE marking, and sign the EU Declaration of Conformity (Article 7). The installer's obligations are broadly equivalent to those of a manufacturer under Decision 768/2008/EC, but adapted to recognise that a lift is installed in a building rather than placed on the market as a movable product.

The safety component manufacturer

A safety component placed on the market separately is a CE-marked product in its own right. The safety component manufacturer assesses the component's conformity, draws up its technical documentation, affixes the CE marking on the component, and signs an EU Declaration of Conformity for the component (Article 8). The installer of the lift assembles the lift using these CE-marked safety components.

Essential health and safety requirements (Annex I)

Annex I sets the essential health and safety requirements:

• 1. General. Application of essential health and safety requirements; design of the car; means of suspension and support; control of loading; machinery; risks to other persons.
• 2. Hazards to persons outside the car. Lift well, headroom and pit, doors of well, freedom of access, lighting.
• 3. Hazards to persons in the car. Car structure, doors, communication, lighting, ventilation, signage.
• 4. Other hazards. Hazards from gases, electrical hazards, mechanical hazards.
• 5. Marking. Information from the installer including identification of the lift.
• 6. Instructions for use. Information for safe use.

Conformity assessment procedures

For lifts (Article 15 and Annexes IV, X, XI, XII):

• Annex IV — Final inspection — verification of the installed lift by a Notified Body before placing on the market.
• Annex X — Product quality assurance for lifts — based on a Notified-Body-approved QMS, with final inspection.
• Annex XI — Full quality assurance for lifts — comprehensive QMS approval including design.
• Annex XII — Unit verification for lifts — Notified Body examination of each installed lift.

The installer must complete one of these procedures for each lift. The Notified Body identification number appears on the CE mark of each installed lift.

For safety components (Article 16 and Annexes V, VI, VIII, IX):

• Annex V — EU type-examination — Notified Body examination of a representative sample (Module B applied to safety components);
• Annex VI — Production quality assurance (Module D) — combined with Annex V;
• Annex VIII — Random checking (Module C2) — combined with Annex V;
• Annex IX — Full quality assurance with design examination (Module H1) — standalone.

Technical documentation

Annexes IV and XI for lifts, and Annex V for safety components, set the technical documentation contents. The lift technical file documents the specific installation; the safety component technical file documents the component as a placing-on-market item. Retention: 10 years (Article 7(7) for installers, Article 8(7) for component manufacturers). See technical documentation.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Article 7(4) and Article 8(4) require the Declaration. Annex II Parts A (lifts) and B (safety components) set the contents. See EU Declaration of Conformity.

Marking and labelling

Article 19 requires CE marking. The four-digit Notified Body number appears next to the CE mark for both lifts and safety components. The lift must be marked with installer details, identification, model, year of manufacture, rated load, and rated speed. Safety components are marked separately by their manufacturer.

Harmonised standards

EN 81 series is the principal harmonised standard family:

• EN 81-20 — safety rules for the construction and installation of passenger and goods passenger lifts;
• EN 81-50 — design rules, calculations, examinations, and tests of lift components;
• EN 81-21 — new lifts in existing buildings;
• EN 81-22 — lifts with inclined path;
• EN 81-28 — remote alarm on passenger and goods passenger lifts;
• EN 81-58 — landing doors fire resistance tests;
• EN 81-70 — accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disability;
• EN 81-71 — vandal resistant lifts;
• EN 81-72 — firefighters lifts;
• EN 81-73 — behaviour of lifts in the event of fire;
• EN 81-77 — lifts subject to seismic conditions.

See harmonised standards.

Recent and upcoming changes

No structural amendment to the Lifts Directive has been adopted since 2016. The EN 81-20 / EN 81-50 standards underwent significant revision in 2020, with full transitional cessation effective 31 August 2023. The Commission has been working on accessibility-focused amendments to EN 81-70 in alignment with the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882), which applies from 28 June 2025.

Related legislation

• Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — escalators, mechanical walkways, and lifting appliances connected to machinery for access to workstations.
• Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU — does not apply to lifts (excluded under LVD Annex II) but applies to safety components placed separately if covered by LVD.
• EMC Directive 2014/30/EU — applies for EMC aspects.
• European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) — accessibility requirements applicable to lifts placed on the market for consumers from 28 June 2025.
• Construction Products Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 — applies to certain construction products used in the lift well (e.g., landing doors as construction products) where they fall within harmonised technical specifications.

Common errors

• Confusion between installer and manufacturer roles. The installer is responsible for the lift as installed. A separate "manufacturer" of the unassembled lift is not the legal responsible party.
• Safety components without their own CE marking. Annex III safety components placed on the market separately are CE-marked products in their own right.
• Missing Notified Body number on either the lift or safety component. Notified Body involvement is mandatory for both.
• Treating refurbished lifts as not subject to the Directive. Substantial modification of an existing lift may constitute placing a new lift on the market, with a fresh conformity assessment required.
• Reliance on EN 81-1 / EN 81-2 (withdrawn). These older standards no longer produce the presumption of conformity; the EN 81-20 / EN 81-50 dated editions are the current harmonised references.

Sources

• Directive 2014/33/EU (Lifts) — EUR-Lex consolidated text.
• European Commission — Lifts sector page.
• Commission Notice — Blue Guide 2022 — EUR-Lex.
• Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act) — EUR-Lex.
• EN 81-20 / EN 81-50 (CEN harmonised standards).