You must have had an inspection within the last year with no violations on each elevator / conveyance. Without this inspection you can not receive a certificate. First there a few things you need to do.

a) You need to confirm that your elevator (or escalator, moving walk or related equipment) has been tested and inspected as required by code. Your maintenance provider should be able to help you determine this.

b) You must have a current inspection (within the last year) on file with the State, or the County, with the equipment free of any violations, and all of your periodic tests performed by your maintenance provider must be approved and current (performed within the last year), and witnessed by a Certified Elevator Inspector. Without this inspection you can not receive your certificate. Some more intensive periodic witnessed tests are required every three and five years. Your maintenance provider can give you details. If you do not have an inspection on file, one must be performed. If an inspection has been performed, but has noted violations, another report must be filed clearing those violations, in order to have recognized satisfactory inspection. To select an inspection firm, you can check with your maintenance provider, or the State of Florida, DBPR, Bureau of Elevator Safety website, located at:  http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/hr/elevators/index.shtml           

c) You should have already received your invoice for the Certificate year 2004/2005.You will be receiving Miami-Dade County invoice for your certificate in the mail during June of each year. As soon as it is paid and we have the above information on file, you should receive your Certificate by return mail, usually within ten to fourteen days.

There may be one of many reasons why you might not have received your certificats. Do we have an accurate current address for you in our system? Check your last invoice and make sure. See above for what must be done prior to issuance of the Certificate.

Part of the delay is making sure that we can issue your certificate for the lowest cost to you allowable by law. We can not issue a Certificate if there are violations reported to us on your last inspection report which we have on file. It is of paramount importance that you have your service contractor correct all deficiences which are their responsibility, and you correct those which are your responsibility. We fully expect to be able to have the bulk of our certificates completed and mailed by, on or about August of each year.

You are subject to a ticket and /or administrative fine if you do not display the legally required Certificate of Operation, officially issued by Miami-Dade County. Remember the number 1 rule; you must have had the elevator / conveyance inspected within the last year with NO violations for each unit.

Miami-Dade County, Office of Elevator Safety is the Authority of Jurisdiction, under contract with the State of Florida, as provided for in Section 399.13, of the Florida Statutes. We are acting in the place of the State of Florida, except for issuing, suspending or revoking the licenses of Technicians, Inspectors and companies. We have full legal authority to otherwise enforce the law and all of the applicable codes. Our authority extends to all parts of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, and all municipalities within our political jurisdiction, except for the City of Miami, and the City of Miami Beach, both of whom have contracted similarly with the State. Miami-Dade County reserves the authority over it’s own equipment that it owns and operates throughout the County, including those located within its political subdivisions, the City of Miami and the City of Miami Beach.

The law makes the owner responsible for the properly maintained and safe operation of elevator (and related) equipment. Only duly licensed persons may work on or inspect this equipment. Prudence dictates you should have your equipment covered by a maintenance contract.

There are some repairs, which are required to be permitted and inspected by a duly licensed Certified Elevator Inspector. This is for your protection and the safety of the public.

This is a long answer, and complicated. There are a number of codes, or laws, which govern the installation, alteration, repair and operation of elevators, escalators, moving walks, dumbwaiters, wheelchair lifts and other related equipment. The national standard, sometimes referred to as “The Code”, is the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Safety Standards for Elevators, Escalators and Moving Walks, A17.1. There are some companion standards such as the A17.2 Inspectors manual, and A17.3 Standard for existing equipment, and so forth. We also have a standard for wheelchair lifts and stair climbers under A18.1. Then we have the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Chapter 70 which is the National Electric Code. These are national standards, and when codified (adopted) by various states, such as the State of Florida, they become law, or Code. In this State, there are several laws which have adopted the national standards; The Florida Building Code Chapter 30, Florida Statute Chapter 399, and Florida Administrative Code 61c-5, all of which either adopt in entirety or in part, those aforementioned standards. We also enforce portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as they relate to the regulated equipment, by adoption under State law.

This is a little embarrassing. The code has for many years, required all periodic tests to be witnessed by a Qualified Elevator Inspector. It was a rather innocuous requirement that no one noticed until just recently, when an in depth study of the code was undertaken as a result of the legislature privatizing the inspection of elevators. It is now required specifically by all safety authorities in the State. And the answer to your last question is yes, your elevator and the public will be much safer because of that little bit of extra scrutiny.

What your maintenance provider charges you is more a function of your contract with them. We would suggest you read it carefully, and perhaps consult with a legal professional. As to the inspection costing more, well, the law requires the same inspection, and the market place should dictate the market rates for those services. You are getting greater scrutiny by the inspector due to those tests now being witnessed by him or her, and that does take a little bit more time. In most cases it may cost a little more.

First, check with your building manager. They may not be aware of problems you have encountered. Check your Certificate and make sure it is up to date. Ask the building manager when it was last inspected. Give them a chance to make corrections. If that fails, call or write us, or check our web page or the State of Florida web page for an online complaint form. When you have filled it out send to us and we will investigate. If the equipment has not been inspected or is otherwise not in compliance with the legal requirements, we will issue an order of correction requiring the owner to obtain an inspection. If the building owner fails to obtain and file an inspection with us, we will inspect the equipment with our own inspectors at a reasonable cost, at the owner's expense, and we will make orders of correction, if there are deficiencies. The building owner will have 60 days to make corrections, or face other legal action. Click here for complaint form.

The holder of the Certificate of Operation is required to report all accidents in writing to the Authority Having Jurisdiction, which is the Miami-Dade County, Office of Elevator Safety, on our form, within five (5) working days following any accident. Failure to do so, may subject the owner to a fine of up to $1,000, as provided for in the law. The accident report forms are available on our web page. We will also accept the State’s form. Your maintenance provider, and your inspector should also be able to get you a copy of the form. Call us at 305.375.1577 and we will send you one via facsimile or mail. Click here for Accident report form.

The Florida statutes require all elevator work must be performed by a licensed contractor and licensed mechanics. They also do not define a "custom cab manufacturer." A subcontractor working for a contractor who holds a certificate of competency would be considered to be under the direct supervision of a certificate of competency holder.

Pursuant to 399.03(7) Florida Statutes, a certificate of competency holder who is the permit holder supervising new construction or alterations must subject the new or modified elevator to tests in the presence of a Qualified Elevator Inspector. The statute does not require that a Certified Elevator Technician be present for routine inspections. However, the division recommends that, if possible, a representative of an elevator maintenance company attend an inspection in order to witness the results and any possible corrective actions taken. A Certified Elevator Inspector must witness the successful completion of acceptance tests. In addition, since all periodic tests performed by the contractor are now required to be witnessed by the Certified Elevator inspector, it only makes a certain amount of sense to coordinate the inspections and tests.

Section 399.061(4) provides that when the division determines that an elevator is in violation of this chapter, the division and/or the contracted authority may issue an order to the elevator owner requiring corrections. Section 399.105 provides further that an elevator owner who fails to comply with that order within 30 days of its issuance is subject to administrative fine. Based on that language, the 60-day period for correction commences when the Authority issues a corrective order, rather than when an inspection is completed. The Authority’s order requiring correction will contain a directive that the owner must comply within 30 days of the order date.

Section 399.01(16) provides that only a Certified Elevator Inspector can perform inspections, and in order to be a CEI, the individual must be QEI certified.

The following provisions of Chapter 399 are pertinent to this question. With regard to existing elevators, Section 399.02(5) provides that the elevator owner is responsible for safe operation and maintenance of the elevator after it has been inspected and a certificate of operation issued; however, these responsibilities may be assigned by lease "Operation and maintenance" would include responsibility for the annual or biennial inspections required by statute. Therefore, the owner may assign inspection responsibility as part of a service maintenance agreement, and the elevator company performing maintenance may contract for inspection as long as the inspector under contract is not employed by or otherwise associated with the elevator company arranging for inspection.

With regard to new elevator installations or modifications, Section 399.03 provides that permits may be issued only to a person, firm, or corporation licensed under Ch. 399, and that the permit holder is responsible for certifying compliance with code in the presence of a licensed inspector not associated with the permit holder. There is no language that directs the elevator owner to personally arrange for inspection.

If a certificate of competency holder has knowledge of a circumstance where a conveyance is not in compliance with state law then that CC holder has a legal and professional obligation to report the unsafe condition to the department and the certificate of operation holder. Section 399.049(1)(c) states: "Failure to notify the department and the certificate of operation holder of a conveyance covered by this chapter that is not in compliance with the provisions of the elevator safety code incorporated into the Florida Building Code..."is grounds for suspension or revocation of a license or certificate of competency issued by the department. "License" includes CEI certificates.

A "call back" inspection is any follow-up inspection to ascertain that cited violations have been corrected. Pursuant to Chapter 399, Florida Statutes, inspectors will provide copies of 399.061, FS, inspections to the Office of Elevator Safety, and the Office of Elevator Safety will issue elevator owners orders to correct code violations and require proof of compliance. For minor violations, the Bureau may request a copy of an invoice within 30 days substantiating correction. For severe or numerous violations, the Bureau may require that the owner submit within 30 days a copy of a follow-up "call back" inspection documenting that the cited violations have been corrected. In some cases, the Office of Elevator Safety may perform its own "call back" inspection, e.g., where an owner has failed to correct within 30 days and administrative action is imminent.

The fees range from $32 to $90. The class, number of landings and whether or not there is a complete service maintenance contract determine the certificate fee. Contact the Miami-Dade County Office of Elevator Safety at 305.375.577 or the State of Florida Office of Compliance and Licensing – H&R at 850.487.1395 for further information. This information is also on our website at www.miamidade.gov