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Nevada Door Restrictor and Door Lock Monitoring Requirements Explained

Written by Eng. Houssam Zammam, QEI
Elevator Inspector and Elevator Portfolio Manager, AR Elevator USA

The deadline has passed. Since December 31, 2025, Nevada has required door restrictors and door lock monitoring on existing elevators under the state’s adopted code for existing elevators, ASME A17.3, 2020 edition. If your building has not finished this work, it is now an open compliance item, not a future one. This guide explains what each device does, which elevators it applies to, what happens at inspection, and what to do if your equipment still needs the upgrade.

How We Got Here

Nevada updated NAC 455C on August 22, 2023. The update adopted ASME A17.3 2020 for existing elevators but held back three sections for later. Two of them, section 2.7.5 for door restrictors and section 3.10.12 for door lock monitoring, became effective on December 31, 2025. The third, section 3.13, covers ascending car overspeed and unintended movement protection and becomes effective on December 31, 2027.

Owners had more than two years of notice. The Mechanical Compliance Section now treats both devices as current requirements.

What a Door Restrictor Does

A door restrictor limits how far the passenger car doors can be opened when the car is outside the unlocking zone, the short distance above and below a floor where it is safe to step out. If a car stops between floors, the restrictor keeps passengers from forcing the car doors open and stepping toward an open hoistway.

Under the Mechanical Compliance Section’s guidance, door restrictors are now required on all passenger elevators in Nevada. There are some exceptions for limited use limited application elevators and private residence elevators.

Some elevators were already required to have them. Elevators installed in Nevada between October 1984 and December 1986, and those installed since January 2015, had to have door restrictors when they were built. A restrictor that is already installed must work properly and may not be removed, no matter when the elevator was installed.

What Door Lock Monitoring Does

Every hoistway door has an electrical contact that tells the controller the door is closed and locked. If that circuit is shorted, jumped, or fails in a way that falsely reads closed, an older controller may still let the car run with a door open. Door lock monitoring checks those circuits and stops the elevator from running normally when it detects a fault.

Most elevators built since the 1990s already have this monitoring in the controller. Older relay controllers and early solid state controllers are the ones that usually need an added module or a controller upgrade.

What Happens at Inspection

The state inspection report for Las Vegas includes a line asking whether door restrictors are installed. A missing or failed restrictor, or a door circuit that is not monitored, will appear as a deficiency.

Under NAC 455C.510, when an inspection finds a violation, the Mechanical Compliance Section notifies the owner of the changes needed. The operating permit is issued once those changes are made. Under NRS 455C.110, the state can set a correction period, impose administrative fines, or suspend or revoke a permit. If the inspector finds the elevator unsafe to keep running, the permit can be refused or suspended until the elevator is made safe.

If Your Elevator Still Needs the Work

Start with a survey. We check whether the car door operator can accept a restrictor, which restrictor type fits the door package, and whether the controller can support door lock monitoring as is or needs a module or a new controller.

Installing these devices counts as an alteration, so a permit must be filed with the Mechanical Compliance Section before the work begins. Plan the work together with your next scheduled test so the elevator is out of service only once.

If meeting a requirement would mean replacing the controller or the motor, Nevada regulations allow the Mechanical Compliance Section to consider an exemption case by case. This is often the right conversation when a full modernization is already planned. We can help you prepare the request and the modernization schedule that supports it.

Plan Ahead for 2027

The next deadline is December 31, 2027, when ascending car overspeed and unintended movement protection under A17.3 section 3.13 becomes effective. The right solution depends on the elevator type and the equipment already installed, so it is worth assessing early while lead times are still manageable. If you are adding door restrictors or monitoring now, have the 2027 item assessed during the same survey.

Talk With AR Elevator USA

AR Elevator USA surveys, permits, installs, and tests door restrictors and door lock monitoring for commercial buildings across Las Vegas, Henderson, and Southern Nevada. If you are not sure whether your elevators meet the current requirements, or you received a deficiency at your last inspection, request a quote or visit our code compliance services page.

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