Platform lifts are designed to lift a person to another level of their environment while still seated in their wheelchair. Platform lifts can be operated by the person in the wheelchair and/or remotely by an attendant. They are ideal for homes, schools, churches or synagogues, and other public buildings. There are two types of platform lifts: Vertical Platform Lifts (VPL) and Inclined Platform Lifts (IPL).

Vertical Platform Lifts operate like small elevators, transporting a person who may be seated in a wheelchair straight up and down, from one level to another. They are ideal for providing wheelchair accessibility where space limitations or other factors make ramping impractical.

Inclined Platform Lifts are installed in a stairway, using the stairway as the 'hoistway' or 'runway'. This minimizes or eliminates unnecessary remodeling/construction costs. An IPL will travel at an incline over a length of stairs transporting a seated person in their wheelchair.