Fire Door Compliance for Commercial Buildings
Every commercial building has a legal duty to maintain fire doors in sound working order. We provide FDIS-approved inspections, maintenance contracts, remedial works and installation for offices, retail, hotels, healthcare and education buildings — with out-of-hours works available to minimise disruption.
Your Legal Duty
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
All non-domestic premises must carry out a suitable fire risk assessment and maintain fire doors as part of their passive fire protection strategy. The responsible person is legally accountable.
- Annual fire door inspections required
- FDIS-approved inspectors recommended
- Defects must be remediated promptly
- Documentation required for regulators
- Out-of-hours works available
- Works with FMs & building owners
Commercial Buildings Have a Statutory Obligation
The legal duty for fire door compliance in commercial buildings is clear and non-negotiable. The responsible person — whether the building owner, occupier or facilities manager — carries personal legal accountability for compliance.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The primary legislation governing fire safety in all non-domestic premises. Requires the responsible person to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and implement appropriate fire safety measures — including maintaining fire doors in sound condition. Applies to offices, retail, hospitality, healthcare, education and all other commercial premises.
Building Safety Act 2022
Strengthens the duty of care for higher-risk buildings and introduces stronger oversight of building safety. Responsible persons in high-risk commercial buildings face increased scrutiny and must be able to demonstrate that fire doors have been regularly inspected and properly maintained.
British Standard BS 9999
The code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings recommends that fire doors are inspected at regular intervals — typically annually, or more frequently in high-traffic locations — and that any defects are corrected without delay.
The Responsible Person
In a commercial building, the responsible person may be the building owner, the employer, the occupier, the managing agent or the facilities manager — depending on the structure of ownership and occupation. In many cases, multiple parties share the duty. We work with whoever holds that responsibility.
Building Owners
Where the owner also occupies or manages the building, they are typically the responsible person for fire safety compliance throughout.
Facilities Managers
FMs carrying out compliance on behalf of building owners or occupiers — we provide the documentation, scheduling and works delivery that supports the FM's compliance function.
Managing Agents
Managing agents responsible for multi-let commercial buildings — we coordinate access with tenants and provide documentation suitable for the agent's compliance records.
Estates & Compliance Teams
In-house estates and compliance teams — we act as your specialist fire door contractor, delivering to your programme and reporting to your format.
Every Commercial Building Type Covered
We carry out fire door compliance work across all commercial building types — delivering the same FDIS-approved inspection standard regardless of sector, size or occupancy.
Office Buildings
Annual inspections, PPM contracts and out-of-hours works for single and multi-tenanted office buildings.
Retail & Shopping
Fire door compliance for retail units, shopping centres and high street premises — works scheduled to minimise trading disruption.
Hotels & Hospitality
Guest-room fire door inspections, corridor and escape route surveys — out-of-hours works to avoid disruption to guests.
Mixed-Use Commercial
Retail, office and residential within the same building — we cover the commercial elements throughout, coordinating with any residential provision.
Healthcare & Education
Sensitive fire door inspections and works in healthcare and education settings — carefully scheduled to avoid disruption to critical operations.
Everything a Commercial Building Needs
From the annual inspection through to ongoing maintenance contracts, remedial works and new build installation — we provide every fire door service a commercial building requires under one contract.
Annual Fire Door Inspections
FDIS-approved fire door surveys for commercial buildings — component-by-component inspection of every fire door with a full digital report, photographic evidence, pass/fail per door and a compliance certificate on completion.
- Annual & higher-frequency surveys
- Digital report with photographic evidence
- Pass/fail per door
- Compliance certificate issued
Maintenance Contracts
Planned preventative maintenance contracts to keep fire doors in compliant working condition year-round — reducing reactive costs, preventing enforcement action and supporting your fire risk assessment programme.
- Annual & quarterly PPM contracts
- All hardware components serviced
- Out-of-hours servicing available
- Maintenance certificate issued
Remedial Works & Installation
All remedial works following failed inspections, plus certified fire door installation for new build and fit-out projects. Every scope from minor seal replacement to full door set replacement and new installation programmes.
- All remedial work types covered
- Scheduled within 48 hours
- New build & fit-out installation
- Out-of-hours works available
Out-of-Hours Works Available
For occupied commercial buildings, carrying out fire door inspections or remedial works during business hours can disrupt operations, inconvenience occupants and affect trading. We offer out-of-hours scheduling to eliminate that problem.
Evening & Overnight Works
Inspections and remedial works carried out after close of business — building returned to full operation before staff arrive the next morning.
Weekend Scheduling
Saturday and Sunday availability for buildings where weekday or overnight works are not practical — particularly retail and hospitality environments.
Tenant Coordination
For multi-let buildings, we coordinate access with individual tenants and manage the inspection schedule to minimise disruption across the building.
Who Benefits Most from Out-of-Hours
Any occupied commercial building can benefit from out-of-hours scheduling — but these sectors particularly value it:
- Hotels — works during low-occupancy periods or overnight
- Retail — works outside trading hours, avoiding footfall disruption
- Offices — works after business hours, no impact on staff
- Healthcare — works outside clinical hours to protect patient environments
- Education — works during holidays or non-teaching periods
- Multi-tenanted buildings — phased access, coordinated with tenants
We Work With Whoever Is Responsible
In commercial buildings, the responsible person can be the owner, the occupier, the facilities manager or the managing agent. We adapt our service and reporting to suit the client's structure — whoever holds the duty, we support them.
Building Owners
Direct engagement with building owners who hold the responsible person role — providing inspection programmes, maintenance contracts and full compliance documentation to support their fire safety obligations and asset management.
Facilities Managers
Working alongside in-house and outsourced facilities management teams — delivering to their compliance programme, reporting in their preferred format and acting as the specialist fire door contractor within their supply chain.
Managing Agents
Supporting managing agents responsible for multi-let commercial buildings — coordinating tenant access, providing consolidated reporting across the building and ensuring compliance documentation is ready for the agent's records at all times.
Supporting Your Fire Risk Assessment
A fire risk assessment is only as strong as the evidence underpinning it. A detailed FDIS-approved fire door survey provides the door-level compliance data that fire risk assessors need to accurately evaluate the passive fire protection strategy of the building.
We work alongside fire risk assessors and building safety professionals — providing the inspection evidence that feeds into the FRA process and demonstrating that fire doors have been properly assessed, not just visually noted.
What Our Inspection Provides for Your FRA
Our FDIS-approved inspection reports give fire risk assessors exactly the evidence they need to properly assess fire door performance within the FRA:
- Door-by-door component assessment with findings
- Photographic evidence of every door and defect
- Pass/fail compliance status per door
- Gap measurements against permitted tolerances
- Seal, closer, hinge and ironmongery status per door
- Remedial works schedule prioritised by urgency
- Overall compliance certificate for the building
Frequently Asked Questions
Are commercial buildings legally required to have fire door inspections?
Yes. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person for all non-domestic premises must carry out a suitable fire risk assessment and maintain fire doors as part of their passive fire protection strategy. Fire doors must be regularly inspected and any defects remediated promptly. Failure to comply can result in enforcement notices, unlimited fines and criminal prosecution.
How often should fire doors be inspected in a commercial building?
At minimum annually, as part of the fire risk assessment review cycle. High-traffic doors — entrance fire doors, stairwell doors, escape route doors — may require more frequent checks depending on usage and the findings of the fire risk assessment. We will advise on the appropriate frequency for your building based on the initial survey.
Can you carry out works out of hours?
Yes. We offer out-of-hours inspection and works scheduling for commercial buildings — evenings, weekends and overnight slots are available on request. This is particularly valuable for hotels, retail premises, offices and healthcare settings where daytime works would disrupt operations or occupants.
Do you work with facilities managers as well as building owners?
Yes. We work with whoever holds the responsible person role for the building — directly with building owners, with in-house and outsourced facilities management teams, managing agents and estates departments. We adapt our working relationship, scheduling and reporting to suit the client's structure.
Can you support our fire risk assessment with a fire door survey?
Yes. Our FDIS-approved fire door inspection reports provide the detailed door-level evidence that fire risk assessors need to accurately assess the passive fire protection strategy of the building — component-by-component findings, photographic evidence, pass/fail per door and an overall compliance certificate.
Do you carry out new build and fit-out fire door installation?
Yes. We supply and install certified fire door sets for new build and commercial fit-out projects — working with developers, principal contractors and fit-out specialists. All products are third-party certified and installed to BS 8214 with a full installation certificate provided on completion.
Need a Fire Door Survey for Your Commercial Building?
We Also Work With Other Property Professionals
Our fire door compliance services extend across all building types and client categories.
Landlords & Property Managers
FDIS-approved inspection programmes, quarterly and annual checks, and full documentation for private landlords managing residential portfolios under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
Learn moreHousing Associations
Portfolio-wide inspection programmes, long-term PPM contracts and centralised reporting for housing associations managing large residential portfolios across multiple sites.
Learn more