How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?

Short answer: the law says a fire risk assessment must be reviewed regularly to keep it up to date, and straight away if there is reason to think it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. No statute sets a fixed annual interval. In practice, many assessors, us included, suggest a formal review at least once a year for most premises, and more often where the risk is higher.

What the law actually says

In England, article 9(3) of the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to review the assessment “regularly so as to keep it up to date”, and in particular if:^[1]

• there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
• there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates.

GOV.UK guidance uses the same language: review it regularly and if there are any significant changes^[2][3]. Since 1 October 2023, the responsible person must also make a record of each assessment or review^[4]. A review that happened only in someone’s head does not count.

Is there a legal requirement to review every year?

No. The Fire Safety Order does not say “annually”, and neither does the GOV.UK guidance^[1][3]. If someone tells you the law requires a new fire risk assessment every 12 months, ask them which regulation says so.

The confusion often comes from the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which do set fixed intervals, but for checks, not for the fire risk assessment:

• In buildings with a top storey above 11 metres, communal fire doors must be checked at least every three months, and flat entrance doors (on a best endeavours basis) at least every 12 months^[6].
• In high-rise residential buildings (at least 18 metres or seven storeys), firefighting lifts and essential firefighting equipment must be checked monthly^[7], and the secure information box at least once a year^[5].

Those checks feed into the assessment, but they are not a review of it. Our guide to the 2022 regulations covers them in full.

Changes that mean you should review now

These are the common triggers for a review, whatever date the last one was done:

• Building work, alterations or refurbishment, especially anything affecting escape routes, walls, ceilings or doors.
• A change of use, such as offices converted to flats, a house converted to an HMO, or a shop adding sleeping accommodation upstairs.
• A change in who uses the building: more occupants, residents or staff who would need help to escape, or night-time occupation.
• A fire, a near miss or a pattern of false alarms.
• A letter, audit or notice from the fire service, council, insurer or lender.
• New or upgraded fire safety systems, or systems that keep failing their tests.
• Changes in the law. When the Fire Safety Act 2021 brought the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors of blocks of flats into scope, responsible persons had to check their assessments covered them^[8].
• A new responsible person or managing agent taking over the building.
• Significant actions from the last assessment being completed, so the risk rating can be updated.

Review or new assessment?

A review checks whether the existing assessment is still valid: the assessor walks the building again, checks what has changed, checks progress on the action plan and updates the findings. A new assessment starts from scratch. You will usually need a new one if the building has been substantially altered, its use has changed, or the previous assessment was thin, out of date or did not cover the areas the law now requires.

A practical review schedule

The table below reflects common practice, not legal intervals. The legal requirements in the right-hand column apply in England.

If you need the door checks carried out, see our fire door inspection service.

Scotland

Scotland has its own legislation, but the position on reviews is similar: the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 also require regular review with no fixed interval^[9], and a written record is only required in some cases^[10].

What a good review includes

• A walk-round of the building, not just a desk check of the old report.
• Progress on every item in the previous action plan, with dates completed.
• A check of maintenance records: fire alarm, emergency lighting, fire doors, smoke ventilation and firefighting equipment. The Fire Safety Order requires these to be kept in efficient working order and good repair where they are needed to protect people^[11].
• Updated findings, actions and risk rating.
• The date of the review and who carried it out, recorded in writing^[4].

If your systems need attention, we also offer fire alarm servicing and AOV and smoke control servicing. To book a review, go to our fire risk assessment page.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current legislation for your premises, or ask us.