Short answer: the New York City Building Code names three test and maintenance tags, and it specifies the equipment each one is installed on. Most of the trouble we hear about is not the tag itself. It is placement, and it is nearly always Category 5.
The governing provision is 2022 NYC Building Code, Appendix K, Section 8.11.1.6, "Test and maintenance data tags". Appendix K is the city's modified version of the ASME A17.1 industry standard, which is why the section number looks like an A17.1 number.
The three tags, and where each one goes
Section 8.11.1.6 lists them explicitly:
- Category 1 goes on the controller for elevators, escalators and moving walks, and also on the lower starting station of escalators and moving walks.
- Category 5 goes on the elevator controller, the governor or governors, the release carrier or carriers, and the oil buffer or buffers.
- The brake maintenance tag goes on the controller for elevators, escalators and moving walks, and also on the lower starting station of escalators and moving walks.
Why Category 5 is the one people miss
Read that middle line again. Category 1 names one location on an elevator. Category 5 names four different pieces of equipment: controller, governor, release carrier, oil buffer. On a single hydraulic or traction device that can mean several tags, not one.
A building that has tagged the controller and considers the job finished has tagged one of the four places the section lists. If your device has two governors, or buffers on more than one cylinder, the count goes up from there.
What has to be printed on the tag
The same section is specific about content. The tag carries three things:
- The test date
- The category number of the test
- The name of the agency that performed the test
It also requires the tag to conform to Section 2.16.3.3, which is the standard's requirement for data plates. In practice that is what stops a handwritten adhesive label from being acceptable: the tag has to be a data plate, not a sticker.
How often the tests happen
Appendix K does not set the intervals itself. Section 8.11.1.3 says to see Chapter 3 of Title 28 of the Administrative Code, and its note points to Table N1 as modified by the appendix. We are not going to print an interval here that we cannot show you in the source. Confirm your device's schedule with your inspector or your elevator maintenance contractor, who files the results either way.
What this means when you order
Because the agency name changes with whoever performed the test, and the date changes every cycle, the tag is designed to be written on rather than printed per test. Our maintenance category tag carries your company name printed, with writable CAT 1, CAT 5 and brake maintenance fields, which is the same three-way split Section 8.11.1.6 describes.
The practical ordering question is quantity. If you are tagging Category 5 properly, you need more tags per device than most people first estimate. Count controllers, governors, release carriers and buffers before you decide how many to buy.
Maintenance Category Tag (CAT 1/CAT 5) has its price and volume breaks published on the page. If you are not sure which sign a violation is asking for, the Code Finder takes two questions, or send us a photo of the notice and we will tell you.
The usual caution
This reflects our reading of 2022 NYC Building Code Appendix K Section 8.11.1.6 as published by the Department of Buildings, checked on 30 August 2026. Requirements vary by device type, installation date and the conditions in your building, and your inspector or authority having jurisdiction has the final word. Nothing here is legal advice.