State Preliminary Order Compliance FAQs

Every conveyance lift (elevators, escalators, chair lifts, etc.) in California that serves the public must pass an annual inspection by the State of California DOSH Elevator Unit in order to receive its annual Conveyance Permit. The following Frequently Asked Questions provide answers to many we are asked by building owners, building managers, of the question and property managers. For the purposes of this FAQ, the term “elevator” refers to any public conveyance lift.

  • The State of California must perform an inspection before they can issue a new permit. Although the State is required to perform an inspection every 12 months, the State is frequently behind schedule, resulting in expired Conveyance Permits. As a result, Star Elevator recommends requesting an inspection once the Permit has expired in order to get on the State’s schedule. To do this, a ‘Request for Inspection’ form must be submitted to the State; a copy of this form can be retrieved directly from the State or from the Star Elevator State Compliance Department (statecompliance@starelevator.com).

  • The location of the elevator determines which District Office to call, please contact our State Compliance Department at statecompliance@starelevator.com if you need assistance determining the correct office:

    1. Bay Area District Office:
      a. Email - bayareaelevator@dir.ca.gov

      b. Telephone (510)-622-3026

    2. San Jose District Office:
      a. Email - sanjoseelevator@dir.ca.gov

      b. Telephone – (408)-362-2120

    3. Sacramento District Office:
      a. Email - sacramentoelevator@dir.ca.gov

      b. Telephone – (916)-263-2830

  • An invoice from the DOSH Elevator Unit is usually due to the fact that the elevator was recently inspected. If there are additional requirements that need to be satisfied, a Preliminary Order will be attached to the invoice. Please be sure to promptly send any Preliminary Orders to Star Elevator to be reviewed and addressed since the compliance deadlines are tight. You will need to pay the invoice in full within 60 days of the invoice date. If payment is not made, the State will not release your permit, and the amount owed will double. If you feel you were issued a penalty invoice in error, please contact the State.

  • Your elevator has been inspected and the inspector found conditions that need to be corrected in order to comply with the California Code of Regulations and/or the Labor Code of the State of California. If compliance is not submitted by the final compliance date, a non-compliance penalty will be issued and the elevator will be shut down with a Red-Tag by the State.

  • No, Preliminary Orders always go directly to the Responsible Party and not the elevator service provider. Please be sure to forward Preliminary Orders to Star Elevator as soon as you receive them; if you do not forward the Preliminary Orders, Star will not be able to assist with completing the requirements and submitting a compliance notice to the State.

  • A Supplemental Order modifies an existing Preliminary Order to include additional conditions that need to be corrected. This can occur if an inspection is completed and there is already an open Preliminary Order for your elevator.

  • Star Elevator cannot perform code-required testing during maintenance prior to the State Notice since the State reserves the right to witness such test and requires 48-hour notification prior to its performance. In some cases,

    your fire alarm or sprinkler vendor may also be required to assist with performing the fire testing portion of the annual testing.

  • Yes. You can request to have Star Elevator perform a five-year hydraulic load test prior to the State’s request; please note that this testing is not typically covered by the elevator service agreement.

  • This notice serves as a reminder that the Preliminary Order has not been complied with and must be cleared within 30 days of the Show Cause notice date. The reason you received this notice varies:

    1. The Preliminary Order was not sent in time for Star Elevator to complete the requirements before the compliance date.

    2. Star Elevator is in the process of surveying the requirements and/or the requirements need an additional survey and the compliance period has expired.

    3. Star Elevator is awaiting the arrival of the required materials that have been ordered to schedule the repair crew to be onsite and the compliance period has expired.

    4. Star Elevator is waiting for the Responsible Party to approve the proposal in order to complete the requirements before the compliance date. It can take up to several weeks for work to be scheduled, so it is important to return proposals for the corrective work as soon as possible.

  • There are a few reasons the State can shut down an elevator:

    1. The Preliminary Order was not cleared within 30 Days of the Show Cause Notice and the State issued a Red-Tag for non-compliance.

    2. There is an imminent hazard or an illegal device on the elevator and the State issued a Red-Tag.

    3. There are unpaid fees for the elevator and the State issued a Yellow-Tag.

    Star Elevator should be notified right away so that we can assist with returning the elevator to service. If the State has shut down the elevator for one or more of the reasons above, all of the requirements must be completed before Star Elevator can request the State’s permission to return the elevator to service.

  • If an elevator has been shut down by the State with a Yellow-Tag, Red-Tag or both, it cannot be returned to service without the State’s permission. A Yellow-Tag is issued when there are one or more outstanding invoices from the State that are past due. These invoices must be paid before the Yellow-Tag can be removed. A Red-Tag can be issued for one or both of the following reasons:

    1. During the State inspection, the Inspector discovered an unsafe condition and shut the elevator down until it is corrected.

    2. Items on an outstanding Preliminary Order have not been corrected and the compliance period has expired.

    Occasionally, an elevator is shut down with both a Red-Tag and a Yellow-Tag. In this case, all the State requirements must be satisfied and all outstanding invoices must be paid before the elevator can be returned to service. Notify Star Elevator immediately for assistance to remove Red or Yellow-Tags.

    Promptly email, fax, or mail Preliminary Orders, Show Cause Notices, Orders Prohibiting Use or other communications from the State of California, DOSH Elevator Unit to Star Elevator:

    Email
    statecompliance@starelevator.com

    Phone
    (650) 631-3999

    Fax
    (650) 631-3927

    Postal Mail
    Star Elevator, Inc.
    601 Harbor Blvd.
    Belmont, CA 94002
    Attn: State Compliance