Elevator Alteration Plates: What Section 8.7 Means for Your Data Plates

Section 8.7 of ASME A17.1 governs alterations — changes to an elevator beyond ordinary repair or replacement in kind. Modernizations, controller changes, capacity changes, and similar work fall here, and each alteration leaves a paper trail that ends at a small metal plate in the machine room.

Why alterations need their own plate

An alteration is performed under the code edition in effect when the alteration is made — not the edition the elevator was installed under. The unit's data plates must therefore record each alteration and the code that governed it, so that any future inspector, mechanic, or consultant can reconstruct what applies to what. On a modernized unit, the alteration plate is effectively the elevator's service record in metal.

Electric vs. hydraulic

The information recorded differs between traction and hydraulic machines — which is why alteration plates are typically supplied in electric and hydraulic versions rather than one generic form. CodePlates carries both: blank alteration tags your mechanic can complete in the field, and fully custom-etched alteration plates (electric and hydraulic) built to your job's exact data.

Field-markable vs. pre-etched

A17.1 Section 8.13 requires code-mandated lettering to remain permanently legible (engraved, etched, or cast). A blank plate completed on site is the fast option — but the person completing it is responsible for meeting that permanence requirement. A pre-etched custom plate arrives finished, legible forever, and takes the question off the table. At CodePlates a custom alteration plate is configured and ordered online in minutes, which is normally the slowest plate in the industry to procure.

The multi-year case

Units altered several times across different code editions can record the history on a Multi-Year Code Data Plate — installation code plus each alteration's code, on one plate.

More guides: What Goes on a Code Data Plate? · Annual, Cat 1 & Cat 5 Test Tags Explained

This guide is general information for the elevator trade, not code text or legal advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and code edition — always confirm with the ASME A17.1 edition adopted by your Authority Having Jurisdiction.