If you are responsible for a workplace, school, managed property, care setting or other non-domestic premises, the question is not really whether fire risk assessments are required, but when. In most cases across the UK, they are a legal requirement for non-domestic premises, and the responsible person must make sure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out and kept under review.
For business owners and duty holders, that matters for a simple reason. Fire safety law is not based on waiting for a problem to arise. It expects you to identify risks in advance, act on them, and maintain a safe environment for staff, visitors, residents and contractors.
When are fire risk assessments required by law?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, fire risk assessments are required for virtually all non-domestic premises. Similar duties apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland under their own fire safety legislation. In practical terms, if people work in, visit, receive services in or pass through your premises, you should assume a fire risk assessment is needed unless a very specific exemption applies.
That covers a wide range of settings, including offices, shops, warehouses, factories, schools, nurseries, healthcare premises, communal areas of blocks of flats, hotels, restaurants and licensed premises. It also applies to many smaller workplaces that wrongly assume they are too small to need one.
The duty usually falls on the responsible person. That may be the employer, the building owner, the landlord, the managing agent or another person with control over the premises. In some buildings, responsibility is shared, which is where confusion often starts. If several parties control different parts of a site, each may have fire safety duties, and the fire risk assessment needs to reflect that reality.
Which premises need a fire risk assessment?
As a rule, any non-domestic premises need one. The most common examples include commercial offices, retail units, industrial sites, schools, colleges, GP surgeries, dental practices, care environments and hospitality venues. The communal parts of residential buildings are also included, such as corridors, stairwells, plant rooms and entrance halls.
A private home occupied by a single family is generally outside the scope of these rules. That said, the position changes where part of a home is used for business purposes, where staff attend regularly, or where there is sleeping accommodation provided to others. Mixed-use buildings often need closer review because the boundary between domestic and non-domestic space is not always straightforward.
This is where a practical assessment matters. The legal duty may be broad, but the level of risk and the depth of the assessment depend on the premises, the people inside, and how the building is used.
When must a fire risk assessment be completed?
The fire risk assessment should be in place as soon as the premises are occupied or used for business or other relevant activity. It is not something to leave until after opening, after a refurbishment, or after a near miss. If your organisation is trading, operating, teaching, housing residents or receiving visitors, the expectation is that the assessment already exists.
For new premises, that means arranging the assessment before or at the point of occupation. For an existing site taken over by a new owner, tenant or managing agent, it should be reviewed immediately rather than treated as a document to file away and revisit much later.
Timing matters because the fire risk assessment is meant to guide real controls. It should help you decide whether escape routes are suitable, whether fire doors are adequate, whether extinguishers are correctly positioned, whether staff need training, and whether vulnerable occupants need extra measures.
When are fire risk assessments required in writing?
The assessment itself must be carried out whenever the law applies, but the requirement to record significant findings is especially important. In England and Wales, if you employ five or more people, you must record the fire risk assessment and its key findings. Even where fewer people are employed, written records are still strongly advisable and, in many premises, effectively expected for good governance and evidence of compliance.
A written fire risk assessment is the clearest way to show that risks have been identified, actions have been considered, and responsibilities have been understood. For duty holders managing multiple buildings, schools, healthcare sites or tenanted property, relying on an informal or verbal approach is rarely defensible.
What triggers a review of a fire risk assessment?
One of the most common misunderstandings is that a fire risk assessment is a one-off task. It is not. It must be reviewed regularly and updated when necessary.
A review is required if there is reason to think it is no longer valid, or if there has been a significant change to the matters it covers. That includes alterations to the layout, a change in how spaces are used, increased occupancy, refurbishment works, new equipment, changes to storage, or changes in the type of people using the building.
For example, an office that introduces higher occupancy, partitions part of an open-plan floor, or begins hosting members of the public may need different fire precautions from the ones originally assessed. A school adding temporary classrooms, a care provider supporting less mobile residents, or a landlord converting parts of a building can all trigger the need for review.
A fire, a false alarm pattern, an enforcement issue or a near miss should also prompt immediate reassessment. If the existing assessment did not identify the issue, or the control measures proved inadequate, leaving the document unchanged creates obvious risk.
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?
There is no single statutory interval that suits every building. The law focuses on suitability and ongoing review rather than a fixed annual rule for all premises. However, many organisations choose regular scheduled reviews, often annually, because it is a sensible way to maintain oversight and demonstrate due diligence.
That said, annual review is not always enough on its own. Higher-risk environments, sleeping accommodation, healthcare settings, schools with changing layouts, or sites with frequent alterations may need more frequent attention. Lower-risk offices with stable occupancy may need fewer substantive changes, but they still need review if anything material changes.
The practical answer is that review frequency should reflect the risk profile of the premises. A competent assessor will help determine what is proportionate rather than applying a blanket timetable without context.
Who can carry out the fire risk assessment?
The responsible person must ensure the assessment is completed by someone competent. In simple, low-risk premises, that may be an informed internal person with enough knowledge of fire safety and the building itself. In many real-world settings, especially where the premises are larger, more complex, higher risk or publicly accessible, using a specialist assessor is the safer route.
Competence is not just about filling in a template. A suitable assessment should identify hazards, evaluate who may be at risk, examine means of escape, consider warning systems and emergency arrangements, and set out any remedial actions clearly. It should also be practical to implement with minimal disruption to the site.
That is often why businesses choose outsourced support. A qualified external assessor can provide an objective review, identify gaps that have been missed internally, and help duty holders manage compliance without pulling operational teams away from their main responsibilities.
What happens if you do not have one?
Failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment can lead to enforcement action, prosecution, fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. Just as importantly, it leaves people exposed to avoidable harm and creates clear liability issues for those in control of the premises.
The commercial impact can be significant as well. Delays to opening, insurer concerns, reputational damage and disruption following fire service intervention are all far more costly than arranging the assessment properly in the first place.
For organisations managing multiple compliance duties, this is where a planned approach makes a difference. Fire risk assessments sit alongside other practical controls such as extinguisher servicing, fire door checks and electrical safety testing. When those services are coordinated properly, compliance becomes easier to maintain and less disruptive to day-to-day operations.
Getting the timing right
If you are still asking when are fire risk assessments required, the safest answer is early, before assumptions turn into gaps. They are required for most non-domestic premises from the point they are used, and they must be reviewed whenever the building, the occupancy or the level of risk changes.
For duty holders, the real priority is not just having a document on file. It is making sure the assessment is current, suitable for the premises, and carried out by someone competent. That is the difference between paperwork and genuine fire safety – and it is usually the difference that matters when your building is inspected, altered or put to the test.