How Often Should Fire Doors Be Inspected? A Guide by Building Type

There is no single answer to how often fire doors must be inspected, because the duty comes from different places depending on the building. Residential buildings over 11 metres have fixed frequencies written into law. Everywhere else the requirement is to keep doors in efficient working order, and the frequency is set by the fire risk assessment and recognised guidance. This guide sets out what applies to each building type and what each inspection should record.

Blocks of flats over 11 metres

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply from 23 January 2023. Regulation 10 requires the Responsible Person to check communal fire doors at least every three months and flat entrance doors at least every twelve months, using best endeavours to gain access, and to keep a record of the checks and any action taken. Residents must also be given information on the importance of fire doors. See our full Regulation 10 guide.

Blocks of flats under 11 metres and HMOs

The fixed frequencies do not apply, but the Fire Safety Order still requires fire doors to be maintained and the fire risk assessment to be reviewed regularly. Most risk assessors recommend the same quarterly communal and annual flat door pattern as a reasonable standard, and licensed HMOs are inspected by the local authority against the Housing Act’s fire safety conditions.

Offices and commercial buildings

The Fire Safety Order places the duty on the Responsible Person, usually the employer, landlord or managing agent. Guidance from the government’s fire safety risk assessment guides and from BS 9999 recommends six-monthly inspection of fire doors, more frequently for doors in heavy use, with simple weekly or monthly checks that doors close and latch built into the premises’ routine fire safety checks.

Schools and colleges

Schools are covered by the Fire Safety Order with the governing body, trust or local authority as Responsible Person. Six-monthly inspection is the usual standard, timed for the start of each term where possible, with a termly walk-round by site staff. Doors on main corridors and dining halls take exceptional wear and often need quarterly attention.

Hospitals, clinics and care homes

NHS premises follow HTM 05-03 Part B, which recommends fire doors are inspected at least every six months and that doors on compartment lines critical to progressive horizontal evacuation are checked more often. Care homes are covered by the Fire Safety Order and inspected by the Care Quality Commission; six-monthly formal inspection with monthly in-house checks is the standard most providers adopt.

Hotels, student accommodation and other sleeping risks

Where people sleep in a building, the consequences of a failed door are greater and the fire risk assessment will usually call for inspection at least every six months and often quarterly. Student accommodation over 11 metres also falls under the 2022 Regulations as a residential building.

What every inspection should record

• Door location and a unique reference
• Certification evidence: label, plug or certificate
• Gaps at head, sides and threshold
• Intumescent and smoke seals
• Hinges, closers, latches and hold-open devices
• Glazing, beads and signage
• Condition of leaf and frame
• A pass, fail or advisory rating with photographs and the date

Inspection is only the start

An inspection that finds defects and leaves them is worse than useless, because it creates a record of known failures. Pair the inspection programme with fire door repairs so defects are closed quickly, or combine both in a planned maintenance contract. Our fire door inspections record every door in OneTrace so the next check starts from a known baseline.

Frequently asked questions

Who can carry out a fire door inspection?

A competent person. For the formal checks in Regulation 10 the government guidance says the Responsible Person’s own staff can carry out the simple checks with training, but surveys that assess certification, gaps and remedial needs should be done by a trained fire door inspector, ideally third-party certified.

Do fire doors need an annual certificate?

There is no fire door MOT certificate in law. What is required is a record that the doors have been checked and maintained, which is why a digital record per door is more useful than a single certificate.

How often should fire door closers be checked?

Closers are the most common failure point, so check them at every inspection and include a simple close-and-latch test in weekly or monthly premises checks.