In England, multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres must have communal fire doors checked at least every three months and flat entrance doors at least every twelve months under Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. All other premises in England and Wales must keep fire doors in efficient working order under Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order 2005, with BS 8214 recommending six-monthly inspection.
The legal duty
Fire doors are the compartmentation that gives a building its escape time, and they are the component most often found failed during enforcement visits. Two duties govern their inspection in England and Wales.
Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to all non-domestic premises and the common parts of residential blocks. It requires the responsible person to ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided for fire safety are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. A fire door that does not close, has a missing seal or a 12mm gap is not in efficient working order. The fire risk assessment, covered in our fire risk assessment requirements guide, should set the inspection interval and record who does it.
Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, in force from 23 January 2023, adds a specific statutory regime for multi-occupied residential buildings in England. The Fire Safety Act 2021 had already confirmed that flat entrance doors opening onto common parts are within the Order. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 then required, from 1 October 2023, that fire risk assessments and fire safety arrangements be recorded in full, which in practice means the fire door inspection regime and its records must be documented.
Duties by building height in England
The 2022 Regulations layer duties by height. The following table applies to buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises with common parts.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 duties by building height
| Building | Fire door duty | Other duties introduced |
|---|---|---|
| All multi-occupied residential buildings | Provide residents with information on the importance of fire doors, keeping them closed, not tampering with self-closers, and reporting faults | Fire safety instructions to residents |
| Over 11 metres in height | Check communal fire doors at least every 3 months; use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every 12 months; keep records | As above |
| Over 18 metres or at least 7 storeys | As above | Secure information box, building floor plans, external wall information to the fire and rescue service, wayfinding signage, monthly checks of lifts for firefighters and essential firefighting equipment, reporting faults not fixed within 24 hours |
The height is measured in accordance with the Regulations' definitions, and the responsible person should confirm the classification with a measured survey rather than assume from storey count.
The regime for non-residential premises
Offices, care homes, hotels, schools, hospitals and retail units are not covered by the quarterly and annual regime, but Article 17 applies in full. The recognised standards fill the gap:
- BS 8214:2016 (timber-based fire door assemblies) recommends periodic inspection at least every six months, with more frequent inspection for doors in heavy use or where damage is likely.
- BS 9999:2017 (fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings) recommends that fire doors are inspected as part of routine fire safety management, with the interval set by risk.
- The government's fire safety risk assessment guides for each premises type describe fire door checks as a routine maintenance item.
For a care home, where bedroom doors protect residents who cannot self-evacuate, the assessment will often set a monthly visual check by staff with a six-monthly certificated inspection. For a busy hotel corridor, high-traffic doors may warrant monthly checks. The interval is a risk decision recorded in the fire risk assessment, and the record of inspections is the compliance evidence. Our care home compliance checklist shows where fire doors sit in the wider calendar.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The 2022 Regulations are England-only. In Wales, the Fire Safety Order applies and Article 17 governs fire doors, with no statutory quarterly regime. Scotland applies the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, which require fire safety measures to be maintained in efficient working order. Northern Ireland applies the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 with an equivalent maintenance duty. In all three nations the fire risk assessment sets the inspection interval, and BS 8214 remains the reference for good practice.
What a fire door inspection checks
The government guidance supporting the 2022 Regulations sets out a check that trained staff can perform quarterly. A certificated inspection goes further and verifies the door assembly against its certification. Both should cover the following.
Fire door inspection checklist
| Component | What is checked | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | Label or plug on the top edge or hinge side identifying the door and its rating (FD30, FD60) | No label; door of unknown origin cannot be verified as a fire door |
| Door leaf and frame | Damage, warping, holes, unauthorised alterations such as letterboxes, cat flaps or vision panels cut on site | Leaf altered or damaged beyond repair |
| Gaps | Sides and top typically 3mm to 4mm; threshold as the certification specifies, commonly up to 8mm, or fitted with a drop seal | Excessive gaps from shrinkage, wear or poor installation |
| Intumescent strips and smoke seals | Present, continuous, undamaged, correct type for the door | Painted over, missing sections, wrong seal fitted |
| Hinges | Usually three, fire-rated, all screws present and tight, no leaking oil | Two hinges, missing screws, non-rated hinges |
| Self-closing device | Closes the door fully into the latch from any opening angle, including from 75mm ajar | Closer disconnected, hold-open devices not linked to the alarm, door wedged |
| Glazing | Fire-rated glass, intact, correct beading and intumescent glazing seal | Cracked glass, replaced with non-fire-rated glass |
| Signage | Fire door keep shut, or keep locked shut, or automatic fire door keep clear, as appropriate | Missing or wrong sign |
| Hold-open devices | Electromagnetic devices release on alarm activation | Device not tested with the alarm |
| Obstruction | Door not wedged, propped, or obstructed; clear swing | Wedges, furniture, cables |
A door that fails any item affecting its integrity should be recorded as a defect with a repair or replacement action and a timescale. Repairs must use components compatible with the door's certification. Replacing a fire door leaf with a non-certified leaf, or fitting a standard closer to a fire door, invalidates the assembly.
Competence: who should inspect
The Fire Safety Order requires that persons carrying out fire safety functions are competent, and the fire risk assessment should record who inspects fire doors and on what basis. Three levels are in common use.
- Trained in-house staff performing the quarterly visual check under the 2022 Regulations or a monthly walk-round in care homes and hotels, using a checklist and photographing defects. The government guidance is written so that a responsible person's staff can do this.
- Certificated fire door inspectors under the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS), established by the British Woodworking Federation and the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers, who hold the FDIS diploma and independent certification, performing periodic full inspections and post-installation inspections.
- Third-party certificated installers and maintainers under the BM TRADA Q-Mark fire door installation and maintenance schemes or the Warringtonfire Certifire scheme, carrying out repairs and replacements so the assembly retains its certification.
For procurement, the practical rule is: in-house for routine checks, certificated inspector for the periodic inspection and for any survey that will be relied on in the fire risk assessment or in front of an enforcing authority, and certificated maintainer for remedial works.
Records
Both the 2022 Regulations and the recording duties inserted by Section 156 make records the evidence of compliance. Each inspection record should hold:
- the door reference and location, ideally against a numbered door schedule and a plan;
- the date and the inspector's name and competence basis;
- each component checked and the result;
- defects found, with photographs;
- the action taken or ordered, the contractor, and the completion date;
- for flat entrance doors, every access attempt where access was refused or not answered.
Keep records for the life of the door assembly. Enforcing authorities ask for the last several cycles, and insurers increasingly ask at renewal. Where a fire door defect is found during an enforcement visit, the absence of records converts a maintenance failure into evidence of a management failure, which is what the enforcement notice will cite.
Procurement points
- Survey before you contract. A baseline survey by a certificated inspector, with a numbered door schedule, is the foundation for everything that follows and turns quotes for remediation into comparable line items.
- Separate inspection from remediation. As with fire risk assessments and EICRs, the firm that finds defects should not be the only firm quoting to fix them.
- Specify the deliverable. Door schedule, per-door condition, defect photographs, and a prioritised remedial schedule, in a format your team can track.
- Ask about the alarm interface. Hold-open devices and automatic release must be tested with the fire alarm, so coordinate with the alarm maintainer. Our emergency lighting testing guide covers the sister regime for escape routes.
- Check the competence, not the brochure. FDIS and Q-Mark certificates are verifiable on the scheme websites.
Working with TICDesk
TICDesk is a UK procurement desk for testing, inspection and compliance work. Tell us the building type, the number of doors if known and your deadline, and we introduce up to three vetted fire door inspection or maintenance firms, typically within 48 hours. The service is free to the client; TICDesk earns a success fee from the contractor. Visit our fire safety desk or open a brief.
Frequently asked
How often do fire doors need to be inspected?
In England, Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires the responsible person for a multi-occupied residential building over 11 metres to check communal fire doors at least every three months and to use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every twelve months. For all other premises in England and Wales, Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order requires fire doors to be maintained in efficient working order, and BS 8214:2016 recommends inspection at least every six months.
Do fire door regulations apply to offices and care homes?
Yes, through the general maintenance duty. Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires all fire safety facilities, including fire doors, to be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. The quarterly and annual regime in the 2022 Regulations applies only to residential buildings over 11 metres in England. Offices, care homes and hotels are governed by Article 17 and the fire risk assessment, which should set the inspection interval.
Who is competent to inspect fire doors?
The law requires competence but does not mandate a qualification. The recognised route is certification under the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS), whose inspectors hold a diploma and are independently certificated. The BM TRADA Q-Mark and Warringtonfire Certifire schemes cover fire door maintenance and installation. A routine visual check by trained in-house staff is acceptable for the quarterly regime; a full inspection against the certification should be by a certificated inspector.
What is checked in a fire door inspection?
The certification label or plug; the door leaf and frame for damage, warping and alterations; gaps around the door, typically 3mm to 4mm at the sides and top; the threshold gap against the manufacturer's certification; intumescent strips and cold smoke seals; hinges (usually three, fire-rated and secure); the self-closing device closing the door fully from any angle; glazing and its beading; signage; and that the door is not wedged, propped or obstructed.
What is the 11 metre threshold in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?
The Regulations apply different duties by building height. Buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises and common parts get the basic duties on fire safety instructions and fire door information. Buildings over 11 metres, which is roughly five storeys, add the quarterly communal door and annual flat entrance door checks. Buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys add secure information boxes, floor plans, wayfinding signage, external wall information and monthly checks of lifts and firefighting equipment.
Can a flat entrance door be inspected without the leaseholder's consent?
The Regulations require the responsible person to use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors annually, recognising that access depends on the resident. Best endeavours means documented, repeated, reasonable attempts, for example letters, appointment offers and follow-ups. Keep the record of every attempt. The Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that flat entrance doors are within the Fire Safety Order, so the responsible person's duty exists even where access is refused.
Do fire door rules differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Yes. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to England only. Scotland relies on the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, which require fire safety measures to be maintained. Northern Ireland relies on the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. Neither nation has a statutory quarterly regime, so the fire risk assessment sets the interval.
Sources & further reading
