In multi-occupied residential buildings in England with a storey over 11 metres, Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires quarterly checks of fire doors in the common parts and annual best-endeavours checks of flat entrance doors. Those duties came into force on 23 January 2023. In all other premises there is no fixed statutory check interval — but the Fire Safety Order still requires fire doors to be maintained in efficient working order, and most building types follow a similar routine because it is the accepted way to prove it.
This guide explains what a fire door actually is, who has to check them and how often, what a check involves, and the common failures that turn a certified door into a useless one.
What is a fire door?
A fire door is a complete engineered assembly, not just a leaf of timber. It comprises the door leaf, the frame, the hinges, the self-closing device, the intumescent strips and smoke seals, the glazing if any, and the ironmongery. Change any component for something untested and the assembly may no longer perform as certified.
Fire doors are rated by how long they resist fire in a standard test. FD30 means 30 minutes; FD60 means 60 minutes. An “S” suffix — FD30S — indicates the door is also fitted with smoke seals. That distinction matters more than people assume: smoke, not flame, causes most fire deaths, and a door without smoke seals will pass smoke long before it fails structurally.
What do fire doors actually do?
Two things. They compartmentalise a building, holding fire in the room or area where it started for long enough for people to get out. And they protect the escape route, keeping stairwells and corridors passable while people use them.
That second function explains why a wedged-open fire door is such a serious finding. A door propped open does not delay a fire at all — it simply becomes a hole in the compartment wall, and the protected escape route fills with smoke.
Regulation 10: the buildings with a legal check interval
Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 applies to multi-occupied residential buildings in England with a storey over 11 metres above ground level. In those buildings the responsible person must:
- Every 3 months — check all fire doors in the common parts, including doors that open onto common parts, and their self-closing devices
- Every 12 months — make best endeavours to check each flat entrance door, including its self-closing device
- Provide residents with information about the importance of fire doors and the need not to tamper with them
“Best endeavours” recognises that a responsible person cannot force entry to a private flat. It means making genuine, recorded attempts — writing, arranging appointments, following up — not simply noting that access was refused.
What about everywhere else?
For workplaces, shops, offices, schools, care homes, hotels and residential buildings below the 11-metre threshold, there is no statutory interval. The duty instead comes from Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires fire safety provisions to be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair.
Because “efficient working order” has to be demonstrated, the widely applied approach is a documented six-monthly inspection as a baseline, moving to quarterly in higher-traffic or higher-risk premises, with a competent person carrying out a fuller annual inspection. Your fire risk assessment should set the frequency for your building and justify it.
What does a fire door check involve?
A routine check does not require specialist equipment. The recognised sequence is:
- Certification — is there a label or plug on the top or hinge edge showing the door is a certified fire door?
- Gaps — the gap around the top and sides should be consistent and no more than about 3mm. A £1 coin is roughly 3mm and makes a serviceable gauge. Excessive gaps let smoke through early.
- Seals — intumescent strips and smoke seals present in the frame or door edge, continuous, undamaged and not painted over.
- Hinges — normally three per leaf, CE marked, firmly fixed, with no missing screws.
- Closer — release the door from just short of closed and from 45 degrees. It must close fully and engage the latch on its own, every time.
- Leaf and frame — no holes, no significant damage, and the frame firmly fixed to the wall.
Record what you checked, what you found and what you did about it. An undocumented check is, for enforcement purposes, one that did not happen.
The failures that come up again and again
- Doors wedged or propped open. If a door genuinely needs to stay open, fit an approved hold-open device linked to the fire alarm — never a wedge or a hook.
- The closer not latching. A door that stops 20mm short is not closed. This is the single most common fault.
- Damaged or painted-over seals. Intumescent strips only work if they can expand.
- Unauthorised holes. Cables, letterboxes, cat flaps and air vents cut through a fire door destroy its rating.
- Wrong ironmongery. Non-fire-rated hinges, handles or locks fitted during a repair.
- Missing or excessive gaps from settlement, warping or a badly hung replacement.
Who is allowed to check a fire door?
Routine visual checks can be carried out by anyone competent to do them — a caretaker, facilities officer or trained staff member who understands what to look for and records it. The law asks for competence proportionate to the task, not a specific qualification.
More detailed annual inspections, and any decision about whether a damaged door can be repaired or must be replaced, are properly the province of a specialist fire door inspector. Awareness training helps a building’s own staff carry out and understand routine checks; it does not make someone a certificated fire door inspector.
Related guides
- Fire risk assessment: the 5 steps explained
- Fire safety training: what UK law requires and what it does not
- Fire extinguisher types and when to use each one
Fire safety training
Our Fire Safety Awareness course covers fire spread and compartmentation, why fire doors matter, what to do when the alarm sounds, and everyday duties in the workplace. Care settings are covered in Fire Safety in Care Homes. £9 per course. CPD accredited, 100% online, verifiable e-certificate. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18.
General information, not legal advice. Fire door duties depend on the type, height and use of the building, and the law differs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — Regulation 10 applies in England only. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not Ofqual-regulated qualifications, and do not make anyone a certificated fire door inspector. Where a door is damaged or its certification is unclear, use a specialist.