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Fire door inspection register.
What every fire door check must record under BS 8214, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. 12-field register template plus inspection frequency table for residential and non-residential premises.
A fire door register is what a fire and rescue authority inspector asks for first after an incident. It proves the responsible person ran a system of maintenance under Article 17 of the FSO 2005, and that every door has been checked inside its statutory interval. The 12 fields below map to BS 8214 acceptance criteria and to FSER 2022 recording obligations for higher-rise residential buildings.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. Verify obligations against the current standards and a qualified competent person for your premises.
12 fields the register must record
Every fire door in the register should record all 12 fields on every inspection, whether the door passes or fails. A failed field must have a named remediation owner and a target date, not just a note that the fail happened.
Door reference and location
Unique door ID that ties back to the building plan, plus room and floor location. Every door in the register needs a reference that survives repainting and can be scanned or read at the door itself. Barcode or QR tag inside the frame is common practice.
Door type and rating
FD30, FD60, FD90, FD120 or FD240 rating (integrity minutes), whether it carries a suffix S for smoke control, and whether the assembly is timber, steel or composite. This drives the acceptance criteria for gaps, seals and hardware.
Installer and installation date
Who installed the door, when, and to which certification scheme (BM TRADA, Certifire, IFC). Required if the assembly is to be treated as third-party certified evidence in a fire risk assessment.
Frame condition
Frame is plumb, square, fully mechanically fixed to the surrounding structure, no gaps around the frame to the wall, and no damage to the reveal that would prevent full closure.
Gaps around the leaf
Head gap 3mm ± 1mm, jamb gaps 3mm ± 1mm, threshold gap under BS 8214 typically 3mm to 8mm. Gaps outside tolerance fail the door because they let smoke and hot gases through in the first minutes of a fire.
Intumescent strips and cold smoke seals
Intumescent strip is fitted in the correct rebate on the leaf or frame, continuous, undamaged, and not painted over. Cold smoke seal (brush or blade) is fitted where the door is FD30S or higher and is not deformed or missing sections.
Self-closer function
Door closes fully from a 5-degree opening under its own power, latches into the strike plate, and does not stick, drag or bounce. Closers must be CE-marked to BS EN 1154. Free-swing closers are only acceptable with a fire alarm linkage.
Hinges
3 hinges minimum for FD30 and higher, all CE-marked to BS EN 1935, screws present and tight, no signs of hinge fatigue. Ungraded or under-specified hinges fail the door.
Glazing and vision panels
Fire-rated glass to the correct rating, correctly beaded and sealed, no cracks or slippage. Glass beads are pinned or screwed, not glued. Any non-fire-rated glass fitted to a fire door assembly fails the door.
Signage
Fire Door Keep Shut, Fire Door Keep Locked, or Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear signage on both sides at eye level, unfaded, unobstructed.
Hold-open devices
Where fitted, electromagnetic hold-open devices are linked to the fire alarm and release the door within 3 seconds of activation. Wedges, hooks and rope tie-backs fail the door and must be removed before the register is signed off.
Result, remedial actions, next inspection due
Pass, fail-remediate, or fail-take out of service. Every fail item must have a named owner, a target date, and photo evidence. Next inspection date is calculated from the door type per BS 8214 and FSER 2022 (see intervals below).
Inspection frequencies
| Premises / door type | Interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Common parts of residential buildings over 11m | Quarterly | FSER 2022 Reg 10(1) |
| Flat entrance doors in residential buildings over 11m | Annually | FSER 2022 Reg 10(2) |
| Fire doors in non-residential premises | 6-monthly (best practice) | BS 8214:2026 §12 |
| Newly installed fire doors | 3 months after handover | BS 8214:2026 §12.3 |
| Damaged or repaired fire doors | Immediately post-repair | FSO 2005 Article 17 |
Frequently asked
- Who is the responsible person for fire door inspections?
- Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Article 3, the responsible person is the employer for a workplace, or the person who has control of the premises (owner, landlord, managing agent, occupier) for non-workplace premises. In multi-occupied residential buildings the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 also place duties on the person who has control over the common parts. That person must ensure fire doors are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
- How often must fire doors be inspected?
- It depends on where the door is. In residential buildings over 11 metres in height, FSER 2022 Regulation 10 requires the responsible person to carry out quarterly checks on fire doors in the common parts and annual checks on flat entrance doors. In non-residential premises there is no fixed statutory interval; BS 8214:2026 recommends 6-monthly professional inspections as best practice, and a fire risk assessor may require more frequent checks in high-traffic or high-risk premises.
- Who can carry out a fire door inspection?
- The routine visual check (gaps, seals, closer, signage) can be done in-house by any competent person familiar with the register and the acceptance criteria. A full inspection to BS 8214 competence level, particularly for a defensive fire risk assessment or after a major refurbishment, should be done by an FDIS (Fire Door Inspection Scheme) certified inspector or equivalent. The distinction matters when a fire and rescue authority audits after an incident.
- What is the difference between BS 8214 and BS 476?
- BS 476-22 is the fire test method that a fire door assembly must pass to prove its integrity rating (FD30, FD60 etc). BS 8214 is the code of practice for specifying, installing, and maintaining timber-based fire doors in service. A door is tested to BS 476 or the newer BS EN 1634-1 before it leaves the factory; it is maintained to BS 8214 for the rest of its life in the building.
- What must the fire door register record?
- The register must let the responsible person demonstrate that every fire door in the premises has been inspected within the required interval and that all defects have been remediated or scheduled. In practice that means unique door ID, door type and rating, inspection date, inspector name, condition against the 12 fields above, defects found, remedial action taken (or scheduled), and next inspection due date. FSER 2022 does not prescribe a format but requires records to be kept for the duration of the responsible person's tenure.
- What happens if a fire door fails inspection?
- If the door fails on integrity items (gaps out of tolerance, missing intumescent, self-closer broken, damaged leaf) it must be taken out of service or remediated immediately. Wedging, propping or removing a fire door from use without a remediation plan is a breach of Article 17 of the FSO 2005 and can lead to prosecution. Cosmetic fails (faded signage, missing screws) can be scheduled for the next maintenance window provided the door still closes and latches under its own power.
Get the printable register
We are packaging the 12-field register and the frequency table as a printable PDF plus an editable spreadsheet template, aligned to BS 8214 and FSER 2022. Drop your work email and we will send it the moment it lands. No sales sequence.
Do the whole thing on the phone
Hovermarks Inspection replaces the paper register with a scannable QR tag per door and a 12-field form on the phone. Photo evidence attaches inline; quarterly and annual cycles run themselves; overdue doors escalate.
- BS 8214 acceptance criteria pre-loaded
- Quarterly and annual FSER cycles automated
- Signed evidence pack per building for FRA audits
Stop chasing paperwork.
Start proving compliance.
Tag your first asset, run your first inspection, and pull a signed evidence pack, all on your free 14-day trial. No credit card required.
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