BS EN 81-20 and 81-50: the safety standards modern lifts are built to

What the two standards actually cover

BS EN 81-20 sets out the design and installation requirements: structural strength, machinery space, car and counterweight, suspension, guides, doors, electrical equipment, fire behaviour, alarms and rescue. BS EN 81-50 sets out the corresponding tests and calculations — sheave traction, brake performance, guide-rail stress, buffer behaviour, safety-gear capacity. One tells the manufacturer what to build, the other tells them how to prove it works.

The pair are written as harmonised standards: compliance with them gives a presumption of conformity with the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) of the Lifts Regulations 2016. A manufacturer can technically demonstrate conformity another way, but the route via the EN 81 series is the practical default for the entire UK and European market.

The substantive changes from EN 81-1/2

The 2017 transition was not a tidy rewrite — it tightened a number of failure modes that earlier standards either accepted or under-specified. The most consequential changes were:

• Car wall strength increased to a 1,000 N concentrated load over 5 cm² with no permanent deformation, addressing impacts from trapped objects and vandalism.
• Toe-guard depth extended to 0.75 m (previously 0.75 m only above the lowest landing), reducing the risk of shaft falls during a manual extrication.
• Mandatory Unintended Car Movement (UCM) protection — an independent device that stops the car within defined limits if it leaves a landing with the doors open, even with a healthy brake.
• Stricter machinery-space requirements: better lighting (200 lux at the working plane), defined minimum headroom and refuge space, and a permanent socket outlet.
• Two-way emergency voice communication that auto-tests itself and reports a fault — not just a button to a defunct alarm bell.
• Improved fire behaviour for door panels and car-floor coverings; cabling rated for low smoke and zero halogen in many configurations.
• Enhanced requirements for landing and car doors including stronger panels, improved interlock design and tighter door-edge protection.

EN 81-50: where the testing teeth live

EN 81-50 is the technical companion that turns design rules into measurable acceptance criteria. It defines exactly how a manufacturer or test house must verify the safety-critical components — the safety gear, overspeed governor, buffers, ascending-car overspeed protection, UCM device, ALD (anti-falling device for hydraulic lifts) and car-door locking. Every one of those components has to be type-examined by a Notified Body and is what gives you the EU/UK-type examination certificates referenced on the Declaration of Conformity.

When you read 'Type-Examination Certificate No. NB.XXXX/EN 81-50:2020' on a paperwork pack, that is a tested, certified safety component — not a manufacturer self-declaration.

Existing lifts: what does EN 81-20 actually require of you?

Nothing automatic. EN 81-20 applies to lifts placed on the market on or after 1 September 2017. An older lift installed to EN 81-1:1998 + A3:2009 remains lawful provided it is maintained in its as-installed condition and the duty-holder discharges their LOLER obligations.

However, BS EN 81-80 (the so-called "SNEL" standard — Safety Norm for Existing Lifts) is the recognised gap-analysis tool. A SNEL audit benchmarks an older lift against 74 hazards present in modern EN 81-20 lifts, ranks each by risk, and gives duty-holders an objective basis for prioritising modernisation. Insurance-driven inspectors are increasingly referencing SNEL findings in their Thorough Examination reports.

Reading a compliance pack

A correctly assembled handover pack for a new EN 81-20 lift contains, as a minimum:

• Declaration of UK / EU Conformity referencing the Lifts Regulations 2016 and the harmonised standards applied.
• EU/UK-Type Examination Certificates for safety components (governor, safety gear, buffers, UCM device, door locks).
• Final inspection report by a Notified or Approved Body (Module F or G route).
• Technical file: design drawings, machine specification, rope/belt certificates, electrical schematics.
• User instructions and maintenance manual in English.
• LOLER 1998 Thorough Examination report following commissioning.

What competent buyers actually check

Specifying "to EN 81-20" in a tender is necessary but not sufficient — every reputable manufacturer will tick that box. The questions that separate a robust specification from a brochure-grade one are about the optional and conditional clauses:

• Which Annex B vandal-resistance class is the lift specified to? (B1 / B2 / B3, with B3 the most robust.)
• Is the controller specified for VVVF regenerative operation, and what energy-class is the result under ISO 25745?
• Is the car-door system EN 81-58 fire-rated, and to what classification (E60, EI60, etc.)?
• Is the alarm system on a maintained line with auto-test, and how is the line tested (PSTN / GSM / IP)?
• Are seismic provisions specified? (EN 81-77 applies above ground-acceleration thresholds — relevant for high-risk insurance specifications.)
• What is the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) target the manufacturer is willing to warrant?