To sit for the Massachusetts elevator mechanic exam you must be a registered apprentice with documented proof of at least 6,000 on-the-job training hours over at least 3 years and 450 classroom hours from an approved program. The application fee is $75. The Board of Elevator Examiners gives a written exam, plus practical tests it deems necessary, and 524 CMR 35.00 (incorporating ASME A17.1-2013/CSA B44-13 with Massachusetts modifications) is the code text your study should be anchored to.
The license and who must hold it
Massachusetts law requires a Board-granted license to work as an elevator constructor, maintenance man, and repairman in the state. The exam is the gateway to that license.
General Laws Chapter 143, Section 71B states that no person may work as an elevator constructor, maintenance man, or repairman on elevators in Massachusetts without a license from the Board, or a temporary license from the commissioner. The same section requires state-employed elevator inspectors to hold the construction, maintenance, or repair license.
Section 71C sets out how you earn that license: you apply, meet the eligibility requirements, and pass the Board's examination. If the Board finds you qualified, you are licensed as an elevator constructor, maintenance man, and repairman. The license works statewide but cannot be assigned or transferred.
The Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), through the Board of Elevator Examiners, administers the application process. Its Mass.gov pages are the authoritative source for current requirements.
Official sources: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 71B — License requirement for elevator construction, maintenance, and repair; Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 71C — Examination requirements, eligibility, renewal, and lapse rules; Apply for an Elevator Mechanic's license | Mass.gov — Eligibility documents, fees, and filing instructions
Eligibility before you can apply
You need three documented things: current apprentice registration, at least 6,000 on-the-job hours over at least 3 years under direct supervision of a licensed Massachusetts mechanic, and 450 classroom hours from an approved program.
OPSI lists the documents you must submit with your application. Each one maps to a statutory requirement in Section 71C, so treat them as conditions the Board will actually verify, not suggestions.
First, written proof that you are currently registered as an elevator constructor apprentice with the Division of Apprentice Training. Second, written proof of at least 6,000 on-the-job training hours completed over at least 3 years as a registered apprentice, under the direct and immediate field supervision of a licensed elevator mechanic in Massachusetts. Your registered joint apprentice committee or a current or previous employer in the conveyance business must document those hours to the Board's satisfaction.
Third, proof that you completed at least 450 classroom hours from an approved instructional training program. Section 71C names the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), a US Department of Labor-recognized program, as an example, and allows educational equivalents with substantially equal core curriculum recognized by the Division of Apprentice Training or the Department of Education.
You also provide a passport-style photo, or, if you hold a Massachusetts RMV-issued license, you can authorize the Board to use that photo instead.
Practice check
Assume your current apprentice registration, 450 approved classroom hours and other application documents are complete. Your documented on-the-job training comprises 6,200 hours over 30 months under direct and immediate supervision of a licensed Massachusetts elevator mechanic. Do the hours and time period meet the stated minimums?
Show the answer
The hours exceed the 6,000-hour minimum by 200, but 30 months falls six months short of the three-year minimum. Meeting the hour total does not remove the separate duration requirement.
Convert three years to 36 months, then subtract 30 months. This original eligibility exercise isolates the two requirements under the stated assumptions. Six more calendar months alone do not promise approval; the Board still evaluates qualifying training and documentation.
- Current registration as an elevator constructor apprentice with the Division of Apprentice Training (required).
- At least 6,000 on-the-job training hours over at least 3 years, documented by your joint apprentice committee or employer (required).
- At least 450 classroom hours from an approved instructional training program such as NEIEP or an equivalent (required).
- A passport-style photo or RMV photo authorization for Massachusetts residents (required).
Official sources: Apply for an Elevator Mechanic's license | Mass.gov — Eligibility documents, fees, and filing instructions; Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 71C — Examination requirements, eligibility, renewal, and lapse rules
Applying and the application fee
The application fee is $75 and is non-refundable. You can apply online through the MyLicenseOne portal or by mail using the Elevator Mechanic Application form.
File online with the MyLicenseOne portal, or mail the Elevator Mechanic Application form with all attachments to the Office of Public Safety and Inspections, Attn: Elevator Division, One Federal Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02110-2012. The $75 fee accompanies the application and is non-refundable, so confirm your eligibility documents before you submit.
There is a special case worth knowing before you apply. If you previously held a Massachusetts elevator mechanic license and must re-examine because you did not renew within one year of the expiration date, you do not resubmit the apprenticeship and classroom documentation. Instead, you provide your state-issued license number.
For application questions, contact OPSI at OPSI-info@mass.gov or (617) 727-3200 during weekday business hours. For a license renewal status update, the office asks you to put your full OPSI license number, including its prefix, in the email subject line.
Official sources: Apply for an Elevator Mechanic's license | Mass.gov — Eligibility documents, fees, and filing instructions
Exam format and the next application deadline
The law requires a written examination and any practical tests the Board deems necessary. As checked in September 2026, the posted remaining sitting is November 18, 2026, with an October 30 application deadline. Confirm the calendar before applying.
Section 71C requires the Board to hold examinations with public notice and to give each applicant a written examination plus such practical tests as it deems necessary. Each application entitles the applicant to one examination. Ask OPSI about retesting or rescheduling requirements for your circumstances.
The official calendar places the application deadline first and the exam date second. For the remaining 2026 sitting, October 30 is the deadline and November 18 is the examination date. Check the current calendar for changes and obtain your assigned location and instructions from OPSI.
The reviewed public sources do not establish a question count, time limit, pass mark, open-book policy or weighted topic outline. Confirm those candidate instructions directly with the Board; NAEC certification formats and other states' examinations do not establish the Massachusetts format.
Official sources: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 71C — Examination requirements, eligibility, renewal, and lapse rules; Exam dates for elevator mechanics | Mass.gov — 2026 exam dates and application deadlines; prior years historical
What governs your study: 524 CMR and the adopted code
Massachusetts study should be anchored to 524 CMR 35.00, which adopts ASME A17.1-2013/CSA B44-13 with state modifications and expressly does not adopt several other model standards.
The regulation chapter 524 CMR 35.00, the Massachusetts safety code for elevators and escalators, incorporates by reference ASME A17.1-2013/CSA B44-13, with Massachusetts modifications for new and existing elevators regulated by 524 CMR. This is the code edition your Massachusetts study should be checked against; a dimension or interval memorized from a newer or older model-code edition is not automatically the enforceable value here.
The chapter also accepts related standards — CSA B44.1-14/ASME A17.5-2014 on elevator electrical equipment and ASME A17.6-2010 on suspension, compensation, and governor systems — but only to the extent they do not conflict with 524 CMR. Where any adopted code conflicts with specific 524 CMR requirements, 524 CMR prevails.
Equally important is what Massachusetts does not adopt: 524 CMR states it does not adopt ASME A17.2-2014 (the inspection guide), ASME A17.3-2015 (existing elevators), ASME A17.4-2015 (emergency personnel guide), or ASME A17.7-2007/CSA B44.7-07 (performance-based code). If your practice material draws requirements from those documents, verify whether 524 CMR states the same rule before treating it as enforceable in Massachusetts.
524 CMR also extends coverage beyond the model code's scope to equipment categories addressed in its own chapters, including elevator equipment used as motor vehicle parking devices, stage and organ console elevators, casket lifts, vertical reciprocating conveyors, personnel hoists and employee elevators on construction and demolition sites, material hoists, and platform lifts and stairway chairlifts.
The retrieved official pages do not publish an exam content outline, question count, or domain weights, so no topic-by-topic coverage can be verified here. A sound preparation approach is to know the adopted edition and its Massachusetts modifications well, verify any model-code rule against 524 CMR text before relying on it, and confirm current exam expectations directly with OPSI. Paper study supports the exam; it cannot substitute for the supervised on-the-job training the license already requires.
Renewal, continuing education, and lapses
Renewal requires an 8-hour continuing education course completed within the year before renewal. A license not renewed within one year of expiration becomes void and can only be reinstated by re-examination.
Section 71C ties license expiration to the licensee's birth date, on a two-year cycle that falls in even or odd years matching your original expiration year. The Board must send an expiration notice at least 30 days before the date, but the notice does not replace your responsibility to renew.
Renewal is conditioned on completing a continuing education course of at least 8 hours of instruction, attended and completed within the one year immediately preceding renewal, through providers approved by the Board of Elevator Regulations. Instructors must themselves be licensed Massachusetts elevator mechanics. The course covers new and existing provisions of the Board's regulations.
If a license is not renewed at its expiration date it becomes void. After one year, reinstatement is possible only by re-examination. As noted above, in that situation you reapply with your prior license number rather than the original apprenticeship documentation. There is also an active-duty military protection: a licensee on active duty keeps a valid license until release from duty plus at least 90 days.
If you are approaching eligibility, your practical next steps are: confirm your apprentice registration is current, ask your committee or employer to document your hours, verify your classroom program is approved, then apply through MyLicenseOne or by mail ahead of the posted deadline for your chosen exam date.
Official sources: Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 143, Section 71C — Examination requirements, eligibility, renewal, and lapse rules; Apply for an Elevator Mechanic's license | Mass.gov — Eligibility documents, fees, and filing instructions
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