Inspections by installation
Lifts in Spain: monthly maintenance by the lift company and an inspection body every two, four or six years
If your premises have a lift, the rule is ITC AEM 1 «Ascensores» (the Spanish technical instruction on lifts), approved by Real Decreto 355/2024 and in force since 1 July 2024; it replaced the 2013 version. The holder may only let it be used while a maintenance contract is in force. The lift maintenance company services it every month, and an inspection body inspects it every two, four or six years depending on the building.
The short answer
Every month, with between 20 and 45 days from one visit to the next, an authorised lift maintenance company carries out the maintenance check. And an inspection body —what the trade calls the OCA, organismo de control autorizado— carries out the periodic inspection: every two years if the lift is in an industrial building or in public-access premises, such as a hotel, a bar or a restaurant; every four years in buildings with more than twenty homes or more than four floors served; and every six years in all others.
The rule is ITC AEM 1 under Royal Decree 355/2024, which implements the 1985 Regulation on lifting and handling equipment. It expressly repealed Royal Decree 88/2013, the previous instruction, and Royal Decree 57/2005 on the safety of existing lifts (sole repealing provision). It has since been amended by Royal Decrees 164/2025, 485/2025 and 770/2025.
What the rule says
Los demás ascensores: cada mes, no pudiendo transcurrir menos de 20 días ni más de 45 días entre cada revisión presencial de mantenimiento. ("All other lifts: every month, with no less than 20 days and no more than 45 days between each on-site maintenance check.")
The holder of the lift is its owner or, where applicable, the tenant (Art. 2(x)). Their duties are in Art. 4: allowing the lift to be used only while maintenance is contracted with an authorised lift maintenance company; notifying that company immediately after an accident and within 24 hours at most of a malfunction; repairing what the company reports in writing within the deadline it sets, or asking it to take the lift out of service; hiring the periodic inspection; having a lift company correct the defects it finds; and keeping the paperwork.
La inspección periódica no podrá ser contratada en ningún caso por la empresa conservadora. ("The periodic inspection may under no circumstances be hired by the lift maintenance company.")
Which lifts, and what counts as public access
The ITC applies to every lift permanently installed in a building, with a car serving defined levels, whatever its trade name and speed (Art. 2(a)). Excluded, among others, are escalators and moving walkways, stairlifts that run along a staircase or ramp, and two-stop lifting platforms that cover less than one floor, with a maximum of three metres (Art. 1(2)).
The inspection interval depends on whether the premises are of "pública concurrencia" (public access), and Art. 11(4) defines it with a list:
- Always, whatever their occupancy: hotels, hostels, bars, cafés, restaurants, common areas of shopping arcades, enclosed covered car parks for more than five vehicles, hospitals, care homes and nurseries, among others.
- If the expected occupancy exceeds 50 people: schools and other teaching centres, shops, office buildings, student residences, gyms, libraries, exhibition halls, cultural centres and social and sports clubs.
- Any other premises with capacity for more than 100 people, and those classified as BD2, BD3 or BD4 under standard UNE-HD 60364-5-51.
Occupancy is calculated as one person per 0.8 m² of usable floor area, excluding corridors, landings, lobbies, storerooms and toilets (Art. 11(4)). Doing the sum, a shop, an office or a gym exceeds 50 people with a little over 40 m² of usable area, if that density is applied. In a mixed-use building the "uso principal" (main use) prevails: the ITC itself gives the example of a doctor's surgery or a law office in a residential building, which does not make it a public-access building.
What is checked, how often and by whom
| What | How often | Who | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-site preventive maintenance check, with the checks in standard UNE 58720 | Every month, 20 to 45 days apart | Authorised lift maintenance company | Art. 5(4)(b) |
| The same check in single-family homes and in machinery-directive lifts in residential buildings with up to three stops and twenty homes | Every four months | Authorised lift maintenance company | Art. 5(4)(a) |
| Report of each check, delivered to the holder | Within ten days at most | Lift maintenance company | Art. 5(5)(a) |
| Periodic inspection in industrial or public-access buildings | Every two years | Inspection body, hired by the holder | Art. 11(4)(a) |
| Periodic inspection in buildings with more than twenty homes or more than four floors served | Every four years | Inspection body | Art. 11(4)(b) |
| Periodic inspection of all other lifts | Every six years | Inspection body | Art. 11(4)(c) |
| Notice to the holder of the next inspection | Three months in advance | Lift maintenance company | Art. 7(6) |
| Breakdown that stops the lift / people trapped | Within 24 hours at most / immediately | Lift maintenance company | Art. 7(2) |
Source: ITC AEM 1, approved by Royal Decree 355/2024, consolidated text in the BOE.
If the periodic inspection falls due without being done, the lift maintenance company must take the lift out of service and notify the holder and the autonomous community within the following 24 hours (Art. 7(7)). And if the lift has been out of use for more than three months, before it is used again it needs a check with the scope of the yearly one in UNE 58720; if the inspection fell due in that time, also an inspection that is favourable without defects (Art. 4(7)).
Defects and their deadlines
Defects are minor, serious or very serious (Art. 11(8)). With minor ones, the inspection is favourable and they must be corrected within six months at most. With serious ones it is unfavourable: the inspector sets a deadline of up to six months and comes back; if the second visit fails, or is not allowed to take place, the lift is shut down. With a very serious one, it is taken out of service on the spot and only returns after a new full inspection by the same body, with no further deadlines (Art. 11(9)). Not making the annex VII upgrades on time is also a serious defect.
The result can be seen in the car: a 96 × 56 mm label, green if the inspection is favourable, yellow if it is conditional and red if the lift is out of service, placed between 1.80 and 1.90 m above the floor (annex IX). The red one also goes on the ground-floor landing door.
What paperwork is kept
The holder keeps the commissioning record, the CE or EU declaration of conformity, the technical sheet, the operating manual, the maintenance record, the contract with the lift company and the inspection certificates (Art. 4(8)). The ITC does not speak of a lift "logbook" but of a maintenance record with the check reports, breakdowns, accidents, repairs, safety components, modifications and inspections (Art. 2(z)). If you change lift company, you hand that record to the new one (Art. 4(1)).
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
Maintenance frequency does not depend on the business. The lift in a restaurant, an office or a hotel is serviced every month all the same. The "every six weeks" check that the 2013 instruction allowed in residential buildings with up to six stops and public buildings with up to four stops less than twenty years old (Art. 5.3.2.2 of Royal Decree 88/2013) has gone. The periodic inspection intervals, on the other hand, are the same as in 2013.
Someone trapped without injury is not an "accident" but an "incident" (Art. 13(2)): it does not require a new inspection, although once it is fixed the lift company gives you a report with the cause. After an accident with harm to people or to the lift, it does: an inspection that is "favorable sin defectos" (favourable without defects) is required, by an inspection body other than the one that did the last periodic inspection (Art. 13(1)). And the ITC does not split duties between the owner and the tenant of premises: your contract will tell you.
The deadlines for upgrading older lifts
Lifts that predate the ITC keep the design requirements of their time, but their maintenance and inspection are now governed by the new one (first transitional provision). Annex VII requires them to add safety measures, almost always with a deadline that starts at the first periodic inspection that detects the gap: a two-way communication device so that anyone trapped can call for help, protection against automatic doors closing on users and an overload device, within one year, where technically feasible; replacing old guide rails, within three to ten years depending on the installation date. If a measure is technically impossible, the holder can apply to the autonomous community for an exemption, with a favourable report from an inspection body.
What depends on the autonomous community
Commissioning, the lift's registration number (RAE), temporary withdrawals and inspection certificates are handled by the competent body of each autonomous community (Arts. 3, 4(7) and 11(10)), and the inspection follows the UNE 192008 standards "o el protocolo equivalente que cada comunidad autónoma tenga establecido" (or the equivalent protocol each autonomous community has set) (Art. 11(7)). Breaches are penalised under title V of Ley 21/1992 de Industria (the Spanish Industry Act) (Art. 14). The Valencia region had a temporary regime until 1 July 2026 that suspended the annex VII deadlines (fifth transitional provision); it has now ended.
What this means for each type of business is on the pages for residents' associations, hotels, offices and schools.
Frequently asked questions
How often must the OCA inspect a lift in Spain?
It depends on the building, under Art. 11(4) of ITC AEM 1 (Royal Decree 355/2024): every two years in industrial buildings or public-access premises, such as hotels, bars or restaurants; every four years in buildings with more than twenty homes or more than four floors served; and every six years in all others. The holder hires the inspection, never the lift maintenance company.
How often must a lift be serviced?
Every month, with no less than 20 days and no more than 45 between one on-site check and the next (Art. 5(4)(b) of ITC AEM 1). Only lifts in single-family homes and machinery-directive lifts in residential buildings with up to three stops and twenty homes go every four months. After each visit, the company delivers a report within ten days at most.
What happens if the lift inspection is unfavourable?
With serious defects, the inspection body sets a deadline of up to six months to correct them and inspects again; if the second visit fails, the lift is shut down. With a very serious defect, it is taken out of service on the spot and only returns after a new full inspection. Minor defects do not make the inspection unfavourable, but they must be corrected within six months (Art. 11(9)).
Is the lift in a restaurant or an office public-access?
In a restaurant, bar, café or hotel, always, whatever its occupancy. In an office, shop, gym or teaching centre, if the expected occupancy exceeds 50 people, calculated at one person per 0.8 m² of usable floor area, excluding corridors, lobbies, storerooms and toilets (Art. 11(4)). In mixed-use buildings the main use prevails.
Is Royal Decree 88/2013 on lifts still in force?
No. Royal Decree 355/2024 approved a new ITC AEM 1 «Ascensores», in force since 1 July 2024, and expressly repealed Royal Decree 88/2013 and Royal Decree 57/2005. Periodic inspection intervals are still two, four and six years, but the every-six-weeks check has gone: maintenance is now monthly for almost every lift.
Who has to hire the lift maintenance?
The holder, who is the owner or, where applicable, the tenant of the lift (Art. 2(x)). They may only let it be used while maintenance is contracted with an authorised lift maintenance company (Art. 4(1)), and must notify it immediately after an accident and within 24 hours at most if it malfunctions. When changing company, they hand the maintenance record to the new one.
Where it usually applies
- HotelsA hotel: guest register and reporting within 24 hours, regional classification, low voltage and lift as a public-assembly venue, RIPCI, Legionella, pool, kitchen and defibrillator.
- Residents' associationsThe obligations of a Spanish residents' association: upkeep, reserve fund, owners' meeting and administrator under the Horizontal Property Act, building logbook, building inspection and the checks on each communal installation.
- OfficesThe obligations of an office in Spain: temperature and upkeep of the premises, screen work, health and safety, coordination with contractors, internal reporting channel, right to disconnect and building checks.
- SchoolsA school: minimum facilities, protocols against violence and a wellbeing coordinator, canteen and menus from April 2026, self-protection and the building inspections.
Other mandatory inspections
- Fire protection (RIPCI)RIPCI checks: quarterly by the owner, yearly and five-yearly by the maintenance company, records kept for five years and an inspection every ten years, with its exemptions.
- Self-protection planWho needs a self-protection plan under the Basic Directive in force since 11 October 2026, what it contains, how often it is reviewed and what the regions add.
- Low-voltage inspectionInspection by an accredited body every 5 years for the premises in ITC-BT-05 (bars, restaurants and hotels always) and every 10 years for residential common areas over 100 kW.
- Thermal installations (RITE)Maintenance company from 5 kW; contract, annual certificate and efficiency inspection every 4 years above 70 kW, with the minimum intervals of table 3.1.
- LegionellaWhat Royal Decree 487/2022 requires of the holder of business premises: a control plan, hot water temperatures, yearly disinfection, Legionella sampling and records kept for five years.
- Swimming poolsWhat Royal Decree 742/2013 requires by type of pool: self-monitoring, daily and monthly checks, information for users and incidents, and what it leaves to the autonomous communities.
- HACCP (APPCC)What Article 5 of Regulation 852/2004 requires of a bar, a restaurant or an institutional kitchen in Spain: the seven principles, the records, the flexibility and what is no longer in force.
- Defibrillator (AED)What the Spanish national rule on defibrillators requires, and who must have one in Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country, with each threshold and article.