Annual Elevator Fee
The City of Houston regulates the installation, repair and general safety of elevators, escalators, chair lifts, dumbwaiters, manlifts and similar conveyances. Conveyances located in commercial establishments are required to have an annual inspection and traction elevators are required to be periodically load tested to assure minimum safety standards are maintained. There are three basic components of this process; each involves the owner/operator of the conveyance: (1) Annual Operating Permit fee, (2) Annual inspection, (3) Periodic full-load test.
Operating permits are issued after final approval of the permit. To obtain final approval of the permit, all fees must be paid and the unit must pass an inspection for code violations.
Operating permits will not be issued to units that do not pass inspection by an authorized third party inspector. Units that do not pass the initial inspection are required to undergo a re-inspection before the operating permit is issued. Plan review may be required depending on the scope of work.
Licensed contractors seeking a permit for the Annual Elevator must register their license with the City of Houston and should be prepared to provide a completed copy of the iPermits Acknowledgement Form if they are a first-time user of the iPermits system.
Each year, Owner/Operators of subject conveyances are mailed a combination Annual Elevator Fee invoice and Notice of Required Inspection. The Invoice/Notice describes the location, type and quantity of conveyances. The fee amount is indicated along with the type of inspection or test required for each conveyance. Conveyance Owner/Operators use this invoice to pay the operating permit fee, and to initiate the inspection process.
To apply for a mechanical permit online:
- Log in or register for an iPermits account,
- Complete a mechanical permit application in the iPermits portal,
- Pay any applicable fees associated with the application, and
- Print the permit.
NOTE: If the mechanical permit is associated with a dangerous building or habitability project, a Mechanical Permit Application must be completed and submitted via email at [email protected].
To apply for a permit by mail, please mail a copy of your invoice and a payment in the form of check, money order, or cashier's check to:
Houston Public Works (Elevator Section)
1002 Washington Avenue
Houston, Texas 77002
Only Available to Advance Pay Account holders
To apply for a mechanical permit by fax, please have your registered mechanical contractor send a completed copy of the CE-1017 Mechanical Building Permit Application to 832.395.9601.
NOTE: The submittal, review and approval of plans may be required for some types of projects. Please contact the Mechanical Section at 832.394.8850 or [email protected] for more information.
All plans must be submitted electronically. To submit your plans for review, follow these steps:
1. Log in or register for an iPermits account.
2. Complete a permit application in the iPermits portal.
3. Pay any applicable fees associated with the application.
4. After permit fees have been paid, you will receive an invitation to upload plans into ProjectDox.
5. Upload all required documents and drawings to ProjectDox.
6. Mark the assigned task "complete" to finalize your plan submission.
For a complete and detailed list of steps, please refer to the EPR User Guides at https://www.houstonpermittingcenter.org/our-services/eservices.
Please keep a copy of the permit and the approved copy of the plans (if applicable) on-site for inspection. If corrections are required, you will need to reschedule the inspection.
To schedule an inspection using our Interactive Response System, please call 713.222.9922 and follow the prompts. To save time, please have you project number and scheduling PIN available.
To schedule an inspection online:
1. Access our scheduling website through the link below.
2. Enter the appropriate project number into the field and click the Submit button.
3. Select the appropriate permit type from the drop-down box and click the Submit button.
4. Click on the "Request" link.
5. Select the type of inspection(s) that you wish to schedule by clicking on the text box besides it/them.
6. Enter your license number (digits only) and scheduling PIN number and click the Submit button.
All inspections are performed by third party inspection agencies.
In order to schedule an inspection, the mechanical contractor's license registration must be in good standing.
Prior to scheduling an inspection, please make sure that the permit is not inactive and that all holds (if any) have been approved.
Please note that inspections that repeatedly fail may be charged a re-inspection fee in addition to an admin fee.
A renewal notice for your permit will be mailed to the building owner 15 days prior to the quarter the inspection is due. The building owner is responsible for paying the permit fees and getting the inspection performed.
To pay by mail, please send a copy of the invoice and a check to the address listed on your invoice.
We are moving all services online.
Any outstanding balances must be paid before a permit will be renewed.