The latest edition of the International Building Code (IBC), the building code in use or adopted by all 50 U.S. states, clarifies that all installed vehicle lifts must conform with the American National Safety Standard ANSI/ALI ALCTV (current edition) “Safety Requirements for the Construction, Testing and Validation of Automotive Lifts” to be legal for use.
“To put it as simply as possible: If you’re installing a vehicle lift in an area covered by the International Building Code, you must choose a lift that meets ANSI/ALI ALCTV. In other words — choose an Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) certified lift, or you’re violating the IBC,” says R.W. ‘Bob’ O’Gorman, ALI president. “Lift customers and code enforcement officials can easily identify certified lifts by the gold ALI certification label that is applied to every lift that passes third-party testing and achieves certification.”
The IBC also is in use or adopted by the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Although the IBC has long covered automotive lifts by reference, there was still some confusion in the marketplace, O’Gorman says.
“We’ve been contacted by many lift customers who had been incorrectly told that the IBC only applies to elevators, not vehicle lifts. The new language in the supporting commentary of the 2015 IBC makes it very clear that building inspectors can enforce the ANSI/ALI standard regarding lifts.”
ANSI/ALI ALCTV is a nationally recognized safety and performance standard covering the construction, testing and validation of vehicle lifts that are used to perform service on cars, trucks, vans and other vehicles.
Lifts that are tested by one of the approved laboratories and found to meet all of the requirements outlined in the ANSI/ALI ALCTV standard receive a gold ALI Certified label. ALI’s gold label is the only industry-recognized documentation that the specific lift model has been tested and certified to meet the industry’s performance and safety standards. Not all lifts for sale in today’s market are certified, regardless of country of origin. Therefore, the burden of purchasing and installing lifts that meet ANSI/ALI ALCTV and comply with the IBC rests on the lift buyer.
ALI says some facts about lift certification include:
- There are no partial, conditional, pending or temporary certifications. A lift is either certified or it’s not. And if it’s not certified, it doesn’t meet ANSI/ALI ALCTV or comply with the International Building Code.
- Only lifts bearing the ALI gold Certification Label and listed at www.autolift.org/ali-directory-of-certified-lifts are certified.
- Lifts can only be certified at the time of manufacture. Lifts cannot be retroactively certified after installation.
- Lift options and accessories are also subject to testing and certification. Use of non-certified options or accessories on a certified lift will void that lift’s certification for as long as the original configuration remains altered.
