Compliance & enforcement
Asked for a fire alarm certificate and you haven't got one
Someone has asked for an alarm certificate and there isn't one.
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Short answer
There is no single statutory 'fire alarm certificate'. What is being asked for is normally a BS 5839 servicing or commissioning certificate plus a completed log book, issued by a competent engineer after inspecting and testing the system.
Which document is being asked for?
Clarify this first, because it changes what needs to happen:
- Commissioning certificate — issued once, when a new system is installed and proved. If the system is old and this was never handed over, it cannot be recreated retrospectively.
- Periodic inspection and servicing certificate — issued after each service visit. This is what most insurers and councils actually want.
- Verification / design certificate — confirms the installed system matches a documented design category (for example L2 or M).
If no records exist at all
Where a building has changed hands or a managing agent has changed, it is common to inherit a system with no paperwork whatsoever. The route back to a defensible position is a full inspection and test of the existing system, a written report of any defects, rectification of those defects, and then a servicing certificate issued against the tested system — plus a fresh log book started from that date.
That gives you an honest, dated evidence trail rather than a certificate that claims a history nobody can prove.
How it fits with the fire risk assessment
The fire risk assessment determines what category of system the building should have. The alarm certificate proves the installed system is working. Requests for one usually arrive with a request for the other, so it is generally cheaper to book both together on the same visit.
Questions we get asked about this
Can you issue a certificate for a system installed by someone else?
We can issue a servicing certificate against a system we have inspected and tested, whoever installed it. We cannot issue a commissioning certificate for an installation we did not commission.
How quickly can it be issued?
Documentation follows the visit once any defects found are agreed. Where the system tests clean, paperwork is straightforward; where defects are found, we quote the remedial work and certify after it is completed.
Do I need a certificate for a small office?
You need evidence that fire detection appropriate to your assessed risk is maintained. For a very small premises with manual call points only, the servicing record and log book are that evidence.
Tell us who is asking and what for — we will confirm which document satisfies it before you spend anything.
Other common fire safety problems
Fire alarms
Fire alarm keeps beeping — what the sound is telling you
Fire alarms
Repeated false alarms — finding the cause instead of living with it
Fire alarms
Amber fault light on the fire alarm panel — how to read it
Fire doors
Fire door gaps that are too big — tolerances and remedies
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