ALI Certified Car Lifts Explained: What the Gold Label Covers, How to Check

What certification is

ALI's FAQ describes certification as a system in which an independent, third-party organization determines that a manufacturer can produce a product that complies with a set of standards, and authorizes the manufacturer to use the third party's controlled label on listed products. For lifts the standard is ANSI/ALI ALCTV, which the FAQ says requires that lifts be third-party tested and validated. ALI's directory page adds that, unless an authority having jurisdiction mandates it, lift testing and certification is voluntary for manufacturers, and the FAQ says it is the purchaser's responsibility to specify ALI Certified as a requirement. A lift maker that does not certify a model is not breaking a rule; it is leaving the question to you.

What ANSI/ALI ALCTV covers

The standard's title is the scope: construction, testing and validation of the whole lift as a system. ALI's news release on the 2017 edition, which took effect July 24, 2018, says a lift certified to it has been third-party tested against the standard's requirements and that an electrically operated lift must also bear the listing mark of an OSHA-recognized testing laboratory for electrical safety under ANSI/UL 201. The FAQ says certification extends to options and accessories, and that use of non-certified options or accessories on a certified lift voids the certification for as long as the configuration remains altered. It also says a lift cannot be certified after installation, because its structural elements cannot be validated in the field; a used lift's certification is whatever its model carried when it left the factory, and the directory is where to check that the model is still listed.

The Gold Label

ALI: only lifts bearing ALI's gold certification label are certified; all others are not. The label reads "Certified Automotive Lift" and carries the mark of the testing laboratory (ETL or MET on current labels, in US-only and US-and-Canada versions). ALI's directory page: every current ALI certified lift model is listed in the directory; if it's not listed, it's not certified. A de-certified model is removed from the directory at once.

The marks that are not certification

ALI's FAQ answers "No" to whether a UL or ETL mark on a component means the lift is certified, and calls a certified-lift claim false and misleading when the lift only bears a third-party mark on the power unit or another component; such marks do not imply the complete lift complies. ALI's directory page goes further: claims of ALI/ETL certification, compliance with ANSI or OSHA specifications, and promises of impending certification are meaningless for determining a model's status. In practice: a power unit with a UL sticker, a listing that says "meets ANSI standards", a brochure that says "certified components", and a sales rep who says certification is coming are all the same thing, which is nothing.

How to check a model

Go to the ALI Directory of Certified Lifts at autolift.org (the directory is searchable by manufacturer, model and capacity, and ALI says it is updated daily). Search the exact model designation; ALI says that if the model is not listed, the designation is incomplete, or the lift has no gold label, the model is not certified to the current edition. Then look for the gold label on the lift itself when it arrives. Do both: a listing in the directory tells you the model; the label tells you the unit.

The home-garage lifts in our guides

What each maker's page or manual says, as we read it on October 9, 2026, and whether ALI's directory listed the model when we searched it on October 12, 2026. The two columns disagree more than once, and the directory is the one that counts.

Lift	Maker's statement	Where we read it	In ALI's directory (Oct 12, 2026)
BendPak 10AP two-post	Description names "ALI certification" among its features; the page also says not all BendPak models are ALI Certified and directs buyers to autolift.org	bendpak.com product page	Listed: 10AP, 10,000 lb, certification date Oct 27, 2022
BendPak 9APF low-ceiling two-post	Not stated; the page carries BendPak's general note that not all its models are certified	bendpak.com product page	Not listed
BendPak HD-9 four-post	Not stated in the text (an image file name says certified, which is not a statement)	bendpak.com product page	Listed: HD-9, 9,000 lb, certification date Aug 8, 2018
BendPak MD-6XP mid-rise	Sales sheet refers to ANSI/ALI ALCTV-2017 and ANSI/UL 201; read the sheet for the exact wording before relying on it	BendPak sales sheet PDF	Not listed
MaxJax M7K portable two-post	Not stated on the product page; the manual cites ANSI/ALI ALIS (installation and service), a different standard	bendpak.com product page; M7K manual	Not listed (the older MaxJax M6K is)
QuickJack 6000TL, 8000TL, 8000TLX	Pages mention "ALI-certified manuals" (the Lifting It Right manual and lifting-point guide), not certification of the lift	quickjack.com product pages	Listed: all three, certification date Mar 9, 2026
Atlas 9KOHX two-post	Dealer page: no third-party lift safety listing is claimed anywhere in its product data	Mechanic Superstore listing (dealer)	Not listed
Atlas Garage Pro 8000 four-post	Dealer page: Atlas publishes no independent third-party safety listing for it	Mechanic Superstore listing (dealer)	Not listed
APlusLift, KATOOL, WEIZE, ME, VEVOR, Albott, XK lifts	Not stated in the Amazon listings we read	Amazon listings	None of these models; of the seven brands only APlusLift appears, for its Falcon TR-10C two-posts

The pattern in the marketing: among lifts under $7,000 sold to home garages, the BendPak 10AP is the one whose maker names ALI certification on the product page, and everything else is silent or carefully worded. The directory does not follow the marketing. It lists the 10AP, the BendPak HD-9 four-post, whose page text never mentions certification, the Atlas PVL10 Platinum (as ATEAP-PVL10) and QuickJack's TL and TLX lifts from the 5000 to the 8000, certified March 9, 2026, while QuickJack's own pages talk only about ALI-certified manuals. It lists no MaxJax M7K, BendPak MD-6XP, Atlas 9KOHX or Garage Pro 8000, and no model at all from KATOOL, VEVOR, Albott, WEIZE, ME or XK. Our ALI certified lift checker searches all 1,649 listed models. The brand comparison puts that beside price and specs.

What certification does not do

It does not install the lift. BendPak's 10AP manual requires steel-reinforced concrete at least 4.25 inches thick and 3,000 PSI cured 28 days, anchors more than 6 inches from cracks, joints and walls, and a licensed electrician; a certified lift on a 3-inch slab is a certified lift on the wrong floor. The ceiling and concrete guide and installation guide cover that. It does not cover a jack or a jack stand either; those fall under ASME PASE, the portable automotive service equipment standard, which the jack stand guide explains. And it does not inspect the lift after year one: ALI's separate inspector certification program and its "Lifting It Right" materials exist because an installed lift is the owner's to maintain.

Building codes

ALI's release on the 2017 edition says the International Building Code and a number of state, provincial and local regulations mandate that only lifts certified to ANSI/ALI ALCTV can be installed. Whether that applies to a residential garage is a question for the local building department, and a permit for a lift installation is where it gets asked. Ask before buying, because a non-certified lift that cannot be permitted is a lift that cannot be installed legally where a permit is required.