2007 Minnesota Statutes

325F.83 REGULATION OF AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENING SYSTEMS.
    Subdivision 1. Manufacturing, sales, purchases, or installations of systems. No person
shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, or install in this state an automatic garage door
opening system for residential buildings that does not comply with subdivision 3.
    Subd. 1a. Service or repair of systems. No person shall service or repair an automatic
garage door opening system for residential buildings that does not comply with the automatic
reversing requirement. This paragraph does not prevent the servicing or repair of an automatic
garage door opening system if the system will be in compliance with the automatic reversing
requirement after the repair or service.
The person servicing or repairing the automatic garage door opening system shall determine
whether or not the system complies with the automatic reversing requirement by conducting an
on-site test of the system.
    Subd. 1b. Warning label. If the automatic garage door opening system does not pass
the on-site test required by subdivision 1a, the person conducting the test shall complete and
conspicuously attach to the automatic garage door opening system, a red label that states the
following:

"DANGER

This garage door opener was tested and does not meet the requirements for a working safety
reverse feature. This can be dangerous and may cause serious injury or death. You are advised to
disconnect the opener from the door immediately and operate the door manually until the opener
has been repaired or replaced with one that meets current safety standards relating to automatic
reversal as provided for in Minnesota Statutes, section 325F.83, subdivision 1a.

.....		.....
Model		Name of Tester
.....		.....
Manufacturer		Firm Name
.....		.....
Serial Number		Firm Address/Phone Number
		.....
		Date"

The firm of the agent or employee who attached the red label shall notify within ten working
days in writing the occupant of the residence that the system did not comply with subdivision 1a.
    Subd. 2. Design and construction of residential buildings. No residential building shall
be designed or built in this state unless all automatic garage door opening systems comply with
subdivision 3.
    Subd. 3. Minimum standards. (a) No later than January 1, 1991, all automatic garage door
opening systems subject to subdivision 1, 1a, or 2 must conform to the applicable requirements of
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Standards for Safety-UL 325, third edition, as revised May 4,
1988.
(b) No later than January 1, 1993, all automatic garage door opening systems subject to
subdivision 1 or 2 must include an attached edge sensor, safety beam, or similar device that when
activated causes a closing door to open and prevents an open door from closing. This device is to
be designed and built so that a failure of the device prevents the door from closing.
    Subd. 4. Manufacturer's labeling requirements. On and after January 1, 1991, a
manufacturer selling or offering for sale automatic garage door opening systems in this state shall
clearly identify on the container and on the system, the month or week and year the system was
manufactured, and its conformance with UL 325, as required under subdivision 3, paragraph (a).
The display of the UL logo or listing mark and compliance with the date marking requirements of
UL 325 on both the container and the system fulfills the manufacturer's labeling requirements
specified under this subdivision.
    Subd. 5. Occupant to inform owner. For all residential buildings where the occupant is not
the owner, the occupant has a duty to inform the owner of a nonfunctioning or malfunctioning
reversing device or mechanism in an automatic garage door opening system within 24 hours of
discovery of the problem.
    Subd. 6. Remedies and penalties. A person who is found to have violated this section is
subject to the penalties and remedies, including a private right of action, as provided in section
8.31.
    Subd. 7. Local regulation. The governing body of a local unit of government may adopt, by
ordinance, rules for the installation and maintenance of automatic garage door opening systems
that are more restrictive than the standards imposed by this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this
subdivision may be enforced through a truth-in-housing inspection.
    Subd. 8. Application of other law. For the purposes of section 541.051, an automatic garage
door opening device is not an improvement to real property.
History: 1990 c 414 s 3; 1991 c 10 s 3-5