BS 7176 hazard categories, label and Crib 5

At a glance

From Tables 2 and 5 of the FIRA and BFC guide (2010, updated 2011). Premises are examples only; the assessment decides. IS = ignition source.

Who sets the category, and which law applies

BS 7176 does not say that a hotel must be Medium. It sets out four levels and gives typical examples. The level for a particular room comes from a fire risk assessment, and that assessment is a legal duty of the responsible person.

• The Order sets the duty, not the test. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person is the employer for a workplace, otherwise the person who controls the premises in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking, or failing that the owner (article 3). Article 9(1) requires a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the people on the premises. The FIRA and BFC guide (section 3.4) says the Order does not specify ignition resistance for furniture, that the assessment includes the building contents, and that the Responsible Person passes the level on to whoever specifies or buys the furniture.
• The designer and the workshop do not set it. They ask for it in writing before they specify or quote (guide, sections 6.1 and 7.1.1). Without it, the wording below has a blank to fill.
• Hotels are dealt with under the Order, not the 1988 furniture regulations. Regulation 3(1) of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 defines the furniture it covers as furniture ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling (the definition was replaced from 30 October 2025). The FIRA and BFC guide reads that as leaving hotels to the Order (it says hotels are not covered by the 1988 Regulations), and as bringing holiday apartments, holiday houses and other furnished lets within the 1988 Regulations (section 9.5). Chalet hotels and similar mixed premises are a grey area: take advice.
• The Order applies in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety law, which we have not read.

The Home Office guide for sleeping accommodation (updated 12 September 2023) names BS 7176, BS 7177, BS 5852 and BS 5867-2 as the standards for these items, says they are for guidance only, and says the level of safety needed must come from the risk assessment. It does not assign a hazard category to hotels.

The four categories, and what each adds

All four categories start from the cigarette and match tests. Medium adds flame source 5. High uses flame source 7 in its place. Very High uses flame source 7 on the components and on the complete item. The drawing shows the ladder; the green column is the level the guidance treats as typical for hotel bedrooms, restaurants and bars.

• The test is on the composite. BS 7176 requires each upholstery composite, the cover with any interliner and the filling, to be tested in an L-shaped configuration as the test standards describe. A chair with different fillings in the seat, back and arms has three composites and each is tested (guide, A1.1).
• The filling has its own tests. Fillings in every category must separately pass the tests in the standard’s annexes. Urethane foam must pass Annex A, which the guide says effectively replicates the foam test in Schedule 1 Part 1 of the 1988 Regulations (A1.1).
• Domestic furniture and Low Hazard. BS 7176 allows furniture that complies with the 1988 Regulations to be used in certain non-domestic places, and deems it to meet Low Hazard (guide, A1.1).

What the guidance says for common premises

The FIRA and BFC guide gives starting points for the people who have to set the level. They are recommendations for the assessment to confirm or change, not requirements. The guide says the assessment weighs, among other things, whether people sleep on the premises, how easily the building can be evacuated, whether there is automatic detection or sprinklers, special hazards such as cooking, live flame, smoke effects, strobe lighting or drinking, and how familiar the occupants are with the building (section 5.1.1).

Mattresses are a separate table. The guide’s Table 2 (BS 7176, seating) lists hotel bedrooms under Medium only. Its Table 3 (BS 7177, mattresses) lists hotels, hostels and old people’s homes under both Medium and High. If you see a source saying that hotels are High, check which of the two tables it is reading.

The compliance label

The guide states that full compliance with BS 7176 requires each item to carry a permanently attached label, positioned so that it is clearly visible (A1.4). Its summary of the label: the graphic part at least 50 mm by 50 mm; a white base with a green border; the word RESISTANT in white, at least 5 mm high; the cigarette, match and flame symbols and the ignition source number in black; wording in letters at least 2 mm high. The wording is “Conforms to BS 7176: 2007 for [low, medium or high] hazard (not recommended for use in higher hazard areas)”, and for Very High “to agreed level”. The date in the wording is as printed in the guide: copy the wording from the current standard.

• The label is part of the standard, not a statute. The guide (FAQ 8) says the 1988 Regulations do not require a label on furniture supplied only into the non-domestic sector. A specification that calls up BS 7176 for full compliance asks for the label as part of it.
• Built-in seating. A banquette cannot be turned over to show a label. The guide says to settle this with the supplier at tender (section 6.1). Agree where the label goes, or what replaces it, on the shop drawing.
• The certificate and the label say different things. The guide says test houses are unlikely to certify full compliance, because they cannot police labelling and re-testing. A certificate usually states that the item complies with the ignition resistance requirements of the named category. There is no formal scheme for proving compliance with the standard, so a supplier can simply claim it, and the claim has to be justified when challenged (A1.4).

What Crib 5 does and does not prove

‘Crib 5’ is the trade name for ignition source 5 of BS 5852:2006, a lit wooden crib set against the seat. The FIRA and BFC guide uses ‘flame source 5’ in its tables and ‘source 5 (wood crib)’ in its answers; ‘Crib 7’ is the matching trade name for source 7. Crib 5 is the flame test that Medium Hazard adds to the cigarette and match tests. It is one part of one category.

Ask for the category, not the crib. The guide says a statement such as ‘comply with BS 7176 Medium Hazard’ is a full and precise definition: it sets the ignition levels, brings in the foam test, and covers the durability of any flame-retardant treatment. It also says a standard number alone is insufficient: the specification has to state the level (sections 6.1 and 7.1.1).

Re-testing, and what makes a new model

The guide is clear that test data applies to the item tested, not to everything the supplier later sends (A1.3). Four things follow.

• Repeat tests. The guide says repeat testing is required on each specification of each type of furniture, once a month or every 2,500 units, whichever is the more practicable (A1.3).
• New model. A change of cover other than a simple change of colour, of pattern or construction other than minor changes (the guide gives the order of 2 picks per cm), of filling, or of component supplier makes a new model that must be re-tested (A1.3).
• Treated covers. A treatment, including a back-coating, on a finished cover or on a fire barrier means a thirty-minute water soak before conditioning and testing. A cover woven from flame-retardant yarn with no added treatment needs no soak. The guide strongly recommends cleaning cycles before testing for covers marked as washable or dry-cleanable (A1.2).
• Age of report. The guide says enforcement authorities normally expect a UKAS-accredited test certificate no more than a year old, and less for larger runs (A1.3). That is what it says they expect, not a legal limit.

What to ask the supplier for

1. The hazard category, in writing, from the Responsible Person or their fire safety adviser, before the item is specified or quoted.
2. A test report for each upholstery composite, from a UKAS-accredited laboratory, naming the cover, interliner, filling and any treatment, and the ignition sources passed.
3. The foam producer’s own certificate (the guide expects it to be no more than a year old, or more recent depending on volume, section 7.2.3).
4. A photograph of the label on a sample or first-off item, and the supplier’s re-test records.

Make Bespoke Studio coordinates manufacture through partner workshops. Which composites a partner upholsterer has tested, and with which laboratory, is confirmed project by project and is not stated on this sheet. The wider question of which certificate belongs to which FF&E item, and how to read a test report, is covered in the FF&E fire documentation matrix in this library.

Upholstered seating to comply with BS 7176:2007+A1:2011 [or current edition] for [Medium] Hazard, as set by the fire risk assessment dated [date], prepared by [Responsible Person or fire safety adviser]. The category is confirmed in writing before order and recorded in the FF&E schedule. A standard number alone is not enough: state the category.

For each upholstery composite in each item (cover, any interliner and filling; seat, back and arms separately where they differ) provide a test report from a UKAS-accredited laboratory, accredited for the tests named, for the build as supplied, showing resistance to ignition sources [0, 1 and 5]. Each report names the cover, interliner, filling and any flame-retardant treatment, and is dated within [12] months of the order. Abbreviated certificates, and certificates for the cover or the foam alone, are not accepted. Foam: the producer's current certificate to the BS 7176 filling tests. Treated covers and interliners: water soaked before testing. Route: [inherently flame-retardant yarn / back-coated / interliner].

Each item to carry the permanent BS 7176 label for [Medium] Hazard, clearly visible, in the position shown on the approved shop drawing. Where a visible label cannot be fitted (for example a built-in banquette), the supplier proposes an alternative for approval before production: [alternative].

The supplier states its re-test regime for each specification [once a month or every 2,500 units, whichever is the more practicable] and the date of the latest test. A change of cover (other than colour), pattern or construction (other than minor changes), filling, interliner or component supplier is a new composite: notify [designer] and supply a new report before production.

Standards and sources

• FIRA and BFC, Fire safety of furniture and furnishings in the contract and non-domestic sectors (2010, updated 2011): read in full 5 Nov 2026.
• BS 7176:2007+A1:2011, BS 5852:2006, BS EN 1021-1 and -2: BS 7176 and BS 5852 listed Current by BSI; paywalled, not read.
• Fire Safety Order 2005 (arts 3, 6, 9); Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (reg 3(1)): read 5 Nov 2026; England and Wales.
• Home Office, Fire safety risk assessment: sleeping accommodation (12 Sep 2023): read 5 Nov 2026.

Questions we are asked

What is BS 7176 Medium Hazard?

The middle of four levels in BS 7176, the British Standard for the ignition resistance of upholstered seating in non-domestic use. A Medium Hazard seat composite must resist a smouldering cigarette, a match-flame equivalent and flame source 5 (the wooden crib trade-named Crib 5). The FIRA and BFC guide lists hotel bedrooms, restaurants, public houses and bars among its typical Medium premises.

Do hotels have to use BS 7176 Medium Hazard furniture by law?

Not under a furniture-specific law. The 1988 Regulations apply to furniture ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling, and the FIRA and BFC guide reads them as leaving hotels out. In a hotel the fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Order 2005 sets the level. The guide treats Medium as the level for most hotel and boarding house furniture, with higher levels for any areas the assessment designates high risk. Get the level in writing from the Responsible Person.

Is Crib 5 the same as BS 7176 Medium Hazard?

No. Crib 5 is one part of it. Medium Hazard also requires the cigarette and match tests, a foam that passes the filling test, a re-test regime and, for full compliance, the label. A Crib 5 result applies only to the cover, interliner and filling that were tested together.

Who decides which hazard category applies?

The Responsible Person for the premises, through the fire risk assessment. The designer and the supplier ask for the category in writing. The standard gives typical examples only, and the assessment may place a product in a lower or higher category.

What must a BS 7176 label say?

According to the FIRA and BFC guide, it states that the item conforms to BS 7176 for low, medium or high hazard, with the words (not recommended for use in higher hazard areas), on a white and green label whose graphic part is at least 50 mm by 50 mm. Copy the exact wording and layout from the current standard.

Does one test report cover every colour of a cloth?

The guide lists a change of cover other than a simple change of colour as a new model needing a new test, so a colourway of the same cloth and construction is not itself a new model. A different weave, pattern, construction or finish is. Ask the test house to confirm for your cloth.