No licence is required to sell fire risk assessments in the UK, and the duty stays with the responsible person whatever the assessor writes. Check third party certification of the firm, the named individual attending, the scope excluded from the fee, professional indemnity cover, and how remedial work is priced. Twelve checks and the exact questions are set out below.
Anyone in the United Kingdom can sell a fire risk assessment tomorrow. There is no licence to practise, no register you must be on, and no minimum qualification set in law. Article 18(5) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 defines a competent person only as someone with "sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities". That is the whole statutory test.
Article 9(1) requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment. Article 18(1) allows that person to appoint someone to assist. Neither article moves the duty. When an assessment is later found to be inadequate, the responsible person is prosecuted, and in the reported cases the assessor has been prosecuted alongside them.
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 changed what you have to write down. Since 1 October 2023 the fire risk assessment must be recorded in full whatever the size of the premises, and where you engage someone to assist you must record "their name, and where applicable, their organisation name". Section 156 also inserted a requirement that anyone appointed to make or review the assessment must be competent, and the Home Office has confirmed that this "legislative requirement will be brought into force at a later date". Until it commences, the twelve checks below are the only protection you have. The full recording duty and what a compliant assessment covers is set out separately.
Check the firm
1. Third party certification of the organisation, and who awards it. Certification means an independent body has audited the firm against a published scheme. For fire risk assessment the recognised organisational scheme is BAFE SP205, certificated by UKAS accredited certification bodies. Version 6 was published on 7 November 2025 and recognises assessors at foundation, intermediate and advanced levels against BS 8674, the British Standard code of practice for the competence of individual fire risk assessors. Ask: "Which scheme are you certificated to, which certification body issued it, and can I have the certificate number?" Worry if the answer is a membership logo rather than a certificate, or if the firm cannot name the certification body.
2. Whether the scheme's scope matches your premises. A certificate is scoped. A firm certificated for simple single occupancy premises is not thereby certificated for a sleeping risk, a hospital, a purpose built block of flats or a building over eighteen metres. Home Office guidance is explicit that the assessor must be competent "not just to carry out fire risk assessments generally, but for your type of premises". Ask: "What is the scope on your certificate, and does it name my building type?" Worry if the scope is described verbally and the certificate is not produced.
3. The competence of the individual who attends. Organisational certification says nothing about who will walk your building. The Institution of Fire Engineers maintains a register of individual fire risk assessors assessed at BS 8674 advanced level through a professional review panel. Ask: "Who is the named assessor, what is their BS 8674 level, and are they on an individual register?" Worry if the firm will not name the individual until the day, or if the named person's experience is in a different building type from yours. In a 2021 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service prosecution the assessor "had not lifted ceiling tiles or even opened riser cupboard doors", and the sentencing judge said the job of a fire risk assessor "is a highly responsible one".
Check the delivery
4. Capacity and the real lead time. Lead time is a competence signal. A firm quoting a survey next week for a portfolio of thirty buildings is either underemployed or intends to subcontract. Ask: "How many assessors do you employ directly, what is your current booking lead time, and what is the date you will hand over the last report?" Worry if the lead time is quoted without asking how many buildings you have.
5. Coverage across a multi-site portfolio. Consistency across a portfolio matters more than any single report, because an enforcing authority that finds one weak assessment will ask for the rest. Ask: "Will the same assessor cover all sites, and if not, how do you make the reports consistent?" Worry if travel is priced per visit with no cap, or if the firm covers your geography through associates it will not name.
6. What the fee excludes. Most assessments are non-intrusive by default. The Fire Industry Association model scope of services states that the assessment will be non-intrusive, with no opening up, no tools, no functional testing and no sampling. That is a reasonable basis, but only if you know it. Ask: "What is out of scope, and what would you have to come back for?" Worry if the exclusions are not written down, because the exclusions are usually where two quotes actually differ. The same pattern drives what a fire risk assessment costs and why quotes diverge.
Check the output
7. Reporting format, and whether the findings are actionable. Your record under article 9 is the report. If a finding does not say what to do, who should do it and by when, it is not a finding you can act on or evidence. Ask: "Can I see a redacted sample report for a building like mine, with the action plan page?" Worry if the sample is a checklist with tick boxes and no prioritised action plan, or if every action carries the same generic timescale.
8. Remedial independence and the conflict it creates. No regulator, certification body or trade body publishes a rule preventing the assessor from quoting for the remedial work, so this is a commercial judgement rather than a compliance point. The risk is structural. The person listing the defects is also pricing the fix. Ask: "Do you or any associated company quote for remedial work arising from your assessments, and what is your impartiality and complaints procedure?" Worry if the answer is yes and the firm has no written separation, or if the report recommends a proprietary product by name.
9. Professional indemnity, and whether it covers the advice. Public liability does not respond to a negligent report. Professional indemnity does. The Fire Industry Association model wording has the supplier warranting professional indemnity cover of not less than one million pounds. Ask: "What is your professional indemnity limit, is it any one claim or in the aggregate, and is it written on a claims made basis?" Worry if the certificate is not produced, or if the limit is small against the value of the building.
Check the aftercare
10. Re-inspection and review policy. Article 9(3) requires the assessment to be reviewed regularly and where there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. Ask: "What triggers a review, what do you charge for one, and do you re-visit to close out actions?" Worry if the firm sells an annual review as a legal requirement, because the Order sets a trigger based test rather than a fixed twelve month clock.
11. Subcontracting policy. Subcontracting is not automatically a problem, but undisclosed subcontracting is, because your record names a firm that did not attend. Ask: "Do you subcontract any assessments, and if so, how are those assessors certificated and supervised?" Worry if the answer is no and the report is signed by someone who is not on the firm's own staff list.
12. References you can actually check. A logo wall is not a reference. Ask: "Give me two clients with the same building type as mine, whose fire risk assessments you have carried out in the last twelve months, and who will take a call." Worry if the references are all from a different sector, or if permission to contact them has to be sought and then does not arrive.
What the enforcing authorities say
Fire and rescue services do not recommend individual assessors. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service states plainly that it "does not recommend individual assessors or service providers", and the National Fire Chiefs Council position is that "no matter who carries out your fire risk assessment duty holders retain responsibility for ensuring that the assessment fulfils the requirements of the law". The Fire Protection Association reported in April 2025 that the Home Office intends to mandate competence requirements for fire risk assessors, independently verified by a UKAS accredited certification body and overseen by a regulator. That direction of travel is a reason to appoint a certificated firm now rather than to wait.
Where the four nations differ
| Nation | Governing instrument | What differs for the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| England | Fire Safety Order 2005 as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and section 156 | Full recording duty since 01/10/2023, assessor name recorded, Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply |
| Wales | Fire Safety Order 2005 as amended | Fire Safety Act 2021 commenced 01/10/2021, earlier than England. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 do not apply. The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 27/04/2026 |
| Scotland | Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 Part 3 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 | The Fire Safety Order does not apply. Regulation 8 keeps a trigger test for recording, so the record duty bites only at five or more employees, on licensed premises, or under an alterations notice |
| Northern Ireland | Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 | Separate regime. Neither the Fire Safety Act 2021 nor section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 applies |
If you operate across the border, the practical consequence is that a Scottish site may not require a written record where an English site of the same size does, and an assessor who works only to the English regime will not know that. Ask which nations the firm works in and how it handles the difference.
Turning twelve answers into a decision
Score each firm out of two on every check, zero where the answer is missing, one where it is partial, two where it is evidenced in writing. A firm that scores well on certification and badly on scope, indemnity and remedial independence is the common failure pattern, because the certificate is the easiest part to buy. The same discipline applies to every compliance discipline you procure, which is set out in the contractor vetting and accreditation guide and in the wider duty holder guide to UK building compliance. Fire doors are the area where assessment and remedial work most often blur, so read the fire door inspection requirements before you accept a bundled quote. If you are working to a deadline set by an enforcing authority, the sequence is different and is covered in the guide to a fire safety enforcement notice and the 28 day period.
Running these checks across a market is what we do
TICDesk is a matching desk. You submit one brief describing what your buildings need. We approach credible firms anonymously with that scope and area, check accreditation, insurance, capacity and coverage, and return a match pack of three confirmed firms within 48 hours. It is free to you, there is no obligation, and your identity is not shared with any firm until you approve it. If a strong firm responds late, we flag it in a second wave. We are paid by the supply side, not by you. We do not carry out fire risk assessments ourselves. The fire safety service line sets out what we cover.
Frequently asked
Does a fire risk assessor have to be qualified or licensed in the UK?
No. There is no licence to practise as a fire risk assessor anywhere in the UK. Article 18(5) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 defines a competent person only as someone with sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 added a competence requirement for anyone appointed to make or review an assessment, and the Home Office has confirmed it is not yet in force.
Who is liable if the fire risk assessment turns out to be inadequate?
The responsible person remains liable. Appointing an assessor under article 18 of the Fire Safety Order does not transfer the duty in article 9 to make a suitable and sufficient assessment. In reported prosecutions both parties have been sentenced. In October 2023 Cleveland Fire Authority prosecuted a managing agent, an assessment company and an individual assessor arising from the same premises, with fines of 25,000 pounds and 10,000 pounds and a suspended custodial sentence.
What is BAFE SP205 and does it prove competence?
SP205 is a third party certification scheme for organisations delivering life safety fire risk assessment, certificated by UKAS accredited certification bodies. Version 6 was published on 7 November 2025 and recognises assessors at foundation, intermediate and advanced levels against BS 8674. It certifies the organisation and its management system. It does not tell you which individual will attend your building, which is a separate question you have to ask.
Should the firm that writes the fire risk assessment also do the remedial work?
No regulator, certification body or trade body publishes a rule against it, so treat it as a commercial judgement rather than a compliance point. The risk is that the person identifying the defects is also pricing the fix. Ask how the firm separates assessment from remedial pricing, ask for its impartiality and complaints procedure, and put remedial works out separately where the value justifies it.
What does a fire risk assessment fee usually exclude?
Most assessments are non-intrusive by default. The Fire Industry Association model scope of services states that the assessment involves no opening up, no tools, no functional testing and no sampling. Compartmentation surveys, fire door surveys, sampling of concealed spaces and any functional testing of systems are separate instructions. Get the exclusions in writing before you compare fees, because they are usually where two quotes diverge.
Sources & further reading
