Fire extinguisher certificates, explained
There is no single document called a fire extinguisher certificate. Depending on what was done to the unit you should get one of four, and they are not interchangeable. Here is what each one is, what has to be on it, and when you should expect it.
It is not one certificate. It is four documents.
Asking a service company for “the certificate” is the fastest way to end up with the wrong piece of paper. What you need depends on what happened to the extinguisher.
Commissioning certificate
Records that the right extinguisher was chosen for the risk, that it arrived undamaged and correctly charged, and that it was put into service properly. You get one per unit, once, at the start of its life.
Service certificate
The report from each visit by a competent person. This is the document nearly everybody means when they ask for ‘the fire extinguisher certificate’. It covers every unit seen on the day.
Asset register
Every unit on the site in one list with its type, size, rating, location and next due date. Not strictly a certificate, but it is the document that makes the others usable.
Corrective action notice
Issued when a unit is condemned or needs work. It puts the fault in writing on the day, so the Responsible Person has a record of what needs doing and when they were told.
What has to be on a service certificate
A service certificate that does not identify the individual units is of limited use to you. If a fire officer asks which extinguisher on the second floor was last serviced, “all of them, in March” is not an answer.
Insist on the unit-level detail. Any competent service company records it anyway – the only question is whether it reaches your copy.
- The premises the work was carried out at
- The date of the visit
- Every unit seen – type, size, rating and location
- What was done to each one: basic service, extended service, overhaul or commissioning
- Anything found wrong, and what was recommended
- The next date each unit falls due
- The name and signature of the person who carried out the work
When each unit falls due
The interval depends on what is inside the extinguisher, not on when you last had a visit. A CO2 unit and a water unit bought on the same day do not fall due together.
| Service | Interval | Which units, and what happens |
|---|---|---|
| Basic service | Every 12 months | Every extinguisher, every fire blanket, every hose reel. Carried out by a competent person. |
| Extended service | Every 5 years | Water, water-based and standard powder extinguishers. The unit is discharged, stripped and refilled. |
| Extended service (primary-sealed powder) | Every 10 years | A primary-sealed powder extinguisher goes to 10 years rather than 5. |
| Overhaul | Every 10 years | CO2 extinguishers only. A hydraulic pressure test. A CO2 unit has no 5-year extended service. |
| Hose reel pressure test | Every 5 years | The maximum working pressure test required by BS EN 671-3. |
| Fire blanket replacement | Consider at 7 years | FIA code of practice to BS EN 1869. A blanket has no extended service and no overhaul. |
Who is allowed to issue one
The Fire Safety Order requires maintenance by a competent person – somebody with the training, equipment and knowledge to do the work. It does not name a scheme, and third-party certification such as BAFE is a way of demonstrating competence rather than a legal requirement in itself.
What matters in an inspection is that the person who signed it can be shown to have been competent, and that the record says who they were.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. If you are unsure of your duties, your local fire and rescue service will tell you what they expect to see.
Questions people ask
How long is a fire extinguisher certificate valid for?
It is not a licence with an expiry date – it is a record of what was done on a day. What has a date is the next service, which for the basic service is twelve months later.
I have lost my certificate. Can I get another?
Ask your service company. They are required to keep their own records of the work, so a replacement copy is usually a phone call. If they cannot produce one, that tells you something.
Do I need a certificate for every single extinguisher?
No. One service certificate covers every unit seen on that visit, provided it identifies each unit individually. Commissioning certificates are per unit, because they happen once.
Is a photograph of the maintenance label enough?
No. The label on the unit shows it was serviced. It does not record what was found, what was recommended, or who did it – and it is the only copy, sitting on the thing it is evidence about.
What is the difference between a basic and an extended service?
A basic service is the annual external check – weight, pressure, seals, hose, condition. An extended service is a strip-down: the unit is discharged, examined internally and refilled.
All four, off the phone, on the day
Fire Safe keeps the site register, works every due date out from BS 5306-3 and the unit type, and prints the commissioning certificate, service certificate, asset register and corrective action notice before you leave the building – plus the monthly visual record and the log book for the customer.
- Due dates worked out per unit, not per visit
- CO2, primary-sealed powder, blankets and hose reels all handled separately
- The corrective action notice writes itself from what you found
- Works with no signal – the PDF is built on the phone