Car lifts for the home: four types and the rules
Four different machines are sold as a car lift for the home. A service lift raises a car so you can work under it. A stacker parks one car above another. A driveway lift hides cars under a flush lid. A car elevator carries a car between floors.
Each one does a different job and follows different rules. This guide explains all four. It covers the law in Great Britain, and which type suits a collection.
Updated
1. Service lifts: two-post and four-post
A service lift raises a car so someone can work underneath it. Two-post and four-post lifts are the familiar workshop types.
They are workshop machines, and the HSE treats them seriously. After two accidents, one fatal, it issued guidance on cars falling from two-post lifts.
That guidance asks for working arm locks and daily checks of the critical parts. It also asks users to respect the maker's weight limits and lifting points.
A service lift suits a home workshop. It never moves a car between floors.
2. Car stackers
A stacker parks one car above another in a single bay. In a dependent stacker, the lower car moves out first.
Independent stackers sit over a pit, so each car can leave on its own. Our guide to car stackers and car lifts compares the options.
3. Driveway lifts under a flush lid
A driveway lift lowers parked cars into a pit. Its top platform sits flush with the drive. It can be driven over when closed.
The Wöhr Parklift 461 holds one car below ground. The Parklift 462 holds two or four. Wöhr lists car heights of 165 to 200 cm for both.
The lid can match its surroundings, in stone or grass for example. Nobody rides in a driveway lift. You park, step away, and the car sinks out of sight.
4. Car elevators
A car elevator carries the car between floors, with the driver still inside. A drive-through model has a door at each end.
So the car always moves forwards. This is the lift that serves a BELOW gallery.
Our residential car lift guide explains how it works. Our guide to car lift dimensions gives the space it needs.
The rules in Great Britain
Speed decides which rules a car elevator follows. Up to 0.15 m/s it is machinery, type-tested to EN 81-41. Faster than that, it is a lift built to EN 81-20.
In Great Britain, the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 cover machinery. The Lifts Regulations 2016 cover lifts.
For many products, the UK still recognises the CE marking alongside the UKCA marking. The legal basis is the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
The EU rules are changing too. The EU Machinery Regulation adds cybersecurity duties for machinery from 20 January 2027.
Inspection and LOLER
LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It covers lifting equipment used at work.
It requires thorough examinations by a competent person. Equipment that lifts people must be examined at least every six months.
Other lifting equipment is examined at least every twelve months. An examination scheme can vary this.
A private household is generally outside these rules. Section 51 of the Health and Safety at Work Act excludes domestic service.
An estate run by a company or trust, with staff, may be different. So we treat every BELOW lift as if LOLER applied. Each one has a thorough examination every six months.
Which one suits a collection
A service lift is for working on a car. A stacker or a driveway lift adds a space or two.
A collection needs every car within reach, without moving another first. That means a gallery with its own bays.
A drive-through car elevator serves it, and a drive-out ramp backs it up. A lift service then never traps the cars.
Our guide to designing a garage for a collection explains the room.
Questions
- What types of car lift are there for a home?
- Four. A service lift raises a car to work under it. A stacker parks one car above another. A driveway lift hides cars under a flush lid. A car elevator carries a car between floors.
- Can I put a two-post lift in my home garage?
- It is a workshop machine, so follow the maker's weight limits and lifting points. HSE guidance asks for working arm locks and daily checks.
- Does LOLER apply to a car lift at home?
- LOLER covers lifting equipment used at work. A private household is generally outside it. An estate run by a company with staff may not be. BELOW treats every lift as if it applied.
- How often should a car lift be inspected?
- Under LOLER, equipment that lifts people is examined at least every six months. Other lifting equipment is examined at least every twelve. BELOW examines every lift every six months.
- Which car lift reaches a basement gallery?
- A drive-through car elevator. It carries the car and driver down to the gallery. The car drives out forwards at the far side.
Sources
- HSE, Safety in the use of 2-post vehicle lifts
- Wöhr, Parklift 461 product page
- Wöhr, Parklift 462 product page
- Lödige, Car lift planning guide (Traffico and Carrico)
- The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
- The Lifts Regulations 2016
- UK government, Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain
- TÜV Nord, EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230
- HSE, Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 51