Modesto, CA Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing standard
- ASME A17.1 (elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters)
- Inspection interval source
- ASME A17.1, Appendix N
- Passenger elevator uptime rule
- At least one running when building occupied
- Single-elevator exception
- May shut down for testing/servicing only
- Certificate posting
- Displayed in elevator or operator's office
- Effective date
- Ord. 3513-C.S., June 12, 2009
Summary
Modesto requires every elevator, escalator and dumbwaiter to be maintained under national ASME A17.1 standards, with a current inspection certificate posted for public view and at least one elevator kept running whenever a building with passenger elevators is occupied.
Elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators shall be maintained in compliance with ASME A17.1. The most current certification of inspection shall be on display at all times within the elevator or attached to the escalator or dumbwaiter, be available for public inspection in the office of the building operator, or be posted in a publicly in a conspicuous location approved by the Building Official... In buildings equipped with passenger elevators, at least one (1) elevator shall be maintained in operation all times when the building is occupied.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 71).
Full Breakdown
1, the national safety code for elevators and escalators. The most current certificate of inspection must be on display at all times inside the elevator, attached to the escalator or dumbwaiter, kept available for public inspection in the building operator's office, or posted conspicuously as approved by the Building Official. 1, Appendix N, unless the authority having jurisdiction specifies otherwise. 2502 goes further for passenger elevators: in any building equipped with them, at least one elevator must remain in operation at all times the building is occupied.
2502's exception. , effective June 12, 2009, which repealed and reenacted the Property Maintenance Code chapter these provisions sit in. 1's own periodic testing schedule and keep the resulting certificate visible, since a missing or expired posting is itself a maintenance-code deficiency separate from any mechanical defect in the equipment.
Violations & Fines
Failure to post a current ASME A17.1 inspection certificate, or taking a building's only working elevator out of service for reasons other than testing and servicing while the building remains occupied, is a Property Maintenance Code violation subject to the City's standard code enforcement and abatement process under Modesto Municipal Code Title 9.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a building with only one elevator ever take it offline?
Where must the elevator inspection certificate be posted?
What inspection schedule applies to Modesto elevators?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Modesto
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