Free Fire Door Inspection Checklist (UK): PDF & Excel

Since the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, responsible persons in residential buildings over 11m must check fire doors in common parts quarterly and flat entrance doors annually. Every other premises still needs its fire doors maintained under the Fire Safety Order. This checklist covers both.

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What the checklist covers

• Gaps ~3–4mm at head and sides
• Intumescent strips and smoke seals intact
• Closer shuts the door fully onto the latch from any position
• Three secure, marked hinges; intact glazing; correct signage
• The classics: no wedges, no disconnected closers

How to use it

One line per door per inspection; defects go straight to the rectification sheet with a named owner. Full legal picture: fire door inspection logbooks.

Who must keep this record

The duty sits with the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: usually the building owner, the employer or the managing agent. Article 17 requires fire safety facilities and equipment to be kept in efficient working order and good repair, which includes fire doors.

• Residential buildings over 11m: quarterly checks of fire doors in common parts, annual checks of flat entrance doors.
• Everywhere else: no interval is fixed in law. Our guide recommends routine visual checks weekly or monthly, plus a detailed inspection at least every six months.
• HMOs and residential blocks are in scope. Single private dwellings generally are not.
• Whoever inspects must be competent. No qualification is legally required, but Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS) certification is the benchmark for detailed inspections.

How long to keep it

There is no statutory retention period for fire door inspection records. Our guide recommends keeping them for at least the life of the door or five years, whichever is longer, and many organisations keep them indefinitely because they can matter years later in an insurance claim or a prosecution. As a floor, keep whatever period your fire risk assessment specifies.

What a completed entry looks like

Vague entries are the ones that fail an audit. Write each line so someone who was not there could reconstruct the inspection.

• Door reference: "FD-14, second floor lobby to east stair", matching your floor plan.
• Inspector: "A. Price, FDIS certificated, Doorcheck Ltd", or the staff member's name for a routine check.
• Defect: "intumescent seal missing for 150mm at hinge side, top corner", not "seal damaged".
• Priority: red, amber or green. Red means immediate risk and immediate action.
• Close-out: "seal replaced 12/03/2026, re-checked and passed 13/03/2026". A defect with no closing entry reads as a hazard you knew about and left.

FAQs

Who is allowed to inspect fire doors in the UK?

No specific qualification is required by law. The responsible person has to be satisfied that whoever inspects is competent, meaning they have the training and knowledge to do it properly. Certification under the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS) or equivalent is the accepted way to demonstrate that for detailed inspections.

How often do fire doors need to be checked?

In residential buildings over 11 metres, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require quarterly checks of fire doors in common parts and annual checks of flat entrance doors. Elsewhere the law sets no fixed interval. Our guide recommends routine visual checks weekly or monthly depending on traffic, with a detailed inspection at least every six months.

Can our own staff carry out the checks?

Building staff can carry out routine visual checks: the door closes and latches, nothing is propping it open, no obvious damage. Detailed quarterly or six-monthly inspections should be done by a trained, competent person who understands how fire doors are built and what they have to achieve. A mix of in-house routine checks and periodic professional inspections is the usual arrangement.

What do we do if a door fails the check?

Rate the defect by risk. Anything that stops the door resisting fire needs fixing straight away, which may mean restricting access to that area until it is done. Lesser defects get a scheduled repair date, and every action goes into the log against the door reference.

Sources

legislation.gov.ukFire Safety (England) Regulations 2022gov.ukFire door guidance

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