FIRA Gold and furniture test reports

At a glance

The ladder is ours; the descriptions of FIRA schemes are FIRA's, from its public pages, and of accreditation UKAS's. A claim is only as good as the document behind it: read the scope, the model, the edition and the date.

Four words that do different jobs

Furniture evidence is full of words that sound alike. Four of them do different jobs, and a quote can use any of them without the others being true.

• Tested. An item was put through a test. The word does not say by whom, to what standard, or what happened. ‘Tested to BS EN 16139’ is a claim about one item, not a quality of the whole model.
• Accredited. UKAS, the UK's national accreditation body, describes accreditation as independent third-party recognition that an organisation has the competence and impartiality to perform specific technical activities such as certification, testing and inspection. It is specific: a laboratory is accredited for the tests on its schedule of accreditation. Only the body that is assessed is ‘accredited’; a company whose chair was tested holds a report, not accreditation.
• Certified. UKAS describes certification as an audit of whether an organisation, product or individual conforms to the criteria of a recognised standard or scheme. FIRA Gold is a certification scheme for products in this sense.
• To standard. A standard says what to test and how. It is evidence, not a licence (see the strength and durability standards map), and a claim to a standard is only as good as the edition, the level and the model it names.

Two facts about the law and about marks. FIRA's public summary of its guide to reading structural test reports (21 July 2025) says that only the tests required by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations are legally mandatory, that all furniture must comply with the General Product Safety Regulations, and that testing against the most relevant standards is the best way to show it. And the OPSS A to Z of industry guidance (updated 2 March 2026) lists only the fire regulations under furniture, while gov.uk's table of product regulations by sector, which sits behind its guide to UKCA marking (updated 21 August 2026), has no furniture entry. So a mark on a chair, if there is one, probably refers to a component such as a lamp or a charger. Ask what it covers.

What a UKAS-accredited laboratory shows

One thing: that the laboratory was assessed as competent and impartial for specific tests. UKAS says a laboratory accredited for one test is not thereby accredited for others, that the scope is listed on its schedule of accreditation (which UKAS publishes and lets you search), and that ISO 9001 certification is not a substitute, because it does not assess the technical competence of a laboratory's staff and equipment. For testing laboratories the standard is ISO/IEC 17025.

UKAS also sets rules for what an accredited laboratory prints, in its publication GEN 6 (Edition 2, December 2022). They give you things to look for in a report:

• A reference to accreditation on every report that contains accredited results: the UKAS symbol, or the words ‘a UKAS accredited testing laboratory No.’ and a number (GEN 6, paragraphs 3.2 and 6.1).
• Other tests marked. Where a report mixes accredited and other work, the other work is marked ‘Not UKAS accredited’ (6.3).
• A disclaimer for opinions. Opinions and interpretations that the accreditation does not cover carry a statement that they are outside its scope (7.1).
• No badge on the product. Reference to a laboratory's accreditation must not be displayed on a product or used to imply product certification or approval (11.1). A chair that claims to be ‘UKAS approved’ is using the words wrongly.

To check one, search UKAS's list of accredited organisations for the laboratory's number, open its schedule, and look for the test method your specification names. UKAS's CertCheck database, by its own description, covers management system certification, not product certification, so it will not verify a furniture certificate.

Reading a structural test report

The drawing shows the parts of a structural test report, as an invented layout: real reports vary, and the sheet on BS EN 16139 levels says what a seating report should name. For fire reports see the fire documentation matrix, which has its own drawing; this sheet does not repeat either.

• Standard, edition and level. Check the edition is current. Many reports and some test-house pages still name withdrawn editions (BSI lists BS EN 16139:2013 as withdrawn).
• The item and its variants. Reports state that results apply only to the item tested and list any other article numbers the test also covers. A different leg, arm, base, filling or finish is not covered by a report on another.
• Results by clause. Loads, cycles, pass or fail. Ask why each N/A applies; it shows what was skipped.
• Failures. FIRA's guide says a failure does not always mean a product is unsafe, because the nature and timing of the failure matter. If a report records one, read what happened, what was changed, and whether the design retested is the one you are buying.
• What the standard leaves out. A clean report is silent on whatever its standard does not cover, such as upholstery durability, mechanisms and flammability for EN 16139.
• The whole document. The two accredited reports to EN 16139:2025 read for the sheet above allowed quoting in extract only with the laboratory's consent. A summary page or a line in a brochure is not the report; ask for the signed original.
• Date and signature. We read no rule for how old a structural report may be, so set the period in the specification (the clause library example uses 12 months).

What FIRA Gold is, and what its certificate shows

What FIRA says. FIRA Gold Certification was launched in 1984 as the quality mark of the furniture industry. FIRA Gold Product Certification applies to complete finished items or to components, which must pass assessment and testing against specified performance tests, backed by regular factory audits and a re-testing programme. A separate installation certification was added in the early 1990s. The scheme is run by a service company, Fira-International Ltd, on behalf of the Furniture Industry Research Association, and FIRA's own page says the companies must also be members of the Association. FIRA's page says the testing is against all the relevant standards and the test house's pages say specified performance tests; neither names BS EN 16139 or says which standard applies to which product.

What a certificate shows. We opened fourteen published certificates. Each carried a certificate number; dates of initial registration, last issue and expiry; the holder's name; a statement that the holder “meets the requirements of the FIRA Gold Product Certification Scheme”; and a scope line giving a product type and a scheme specification code. A second page, headed scope of certification, named each product covered, its specification and a date. So the certificate belongs to named products under a named specification, not to a company. Most ran for two years from the last issue and some for one. Each says the issuer can clarify its scope and verify it.

What the public directory showed. On 5 November 2026 the holders directory on the test house's site listed 41 holders, tagged by type: worktops, kitchen, components, upholstery, office, installation, bedroom and bathroom. We opened the certificates of every holder tagged ‘upholstery’ and of the two tagged ‘office’. The upholstery ones certified foam, fibre and feather fillings, cushions and cushion cores; the office ones certified desking and storage. We found no entry for restaurant or hotel seating, casegoods or sideboards. The directory changes, and FIRA International may certify other products through other routes, so ask.

A separate thing: the ‘tested by’ logo. The test house also licenses a logo for a named product that has passed all the requirements of the standard it was tested to, for use on a website, in emails, in sales literature and at the point of sale. It is a licence tied to a test; the page describes no audit or re-testing, which FIRA Gold adds.

Asking for reports, not badges

1. Name the evidence in the specification: standard, edition, level, exact model, and a full signed report from an accredited laboratory. The clause library has the clause (A4).
2. If a certificate is offered, ask for it with its scope page. Check that your exact product is named, that the scheme specification fits the product, that it is in date today, and verify the certificate number with the issuer, not with the holder.
3. If a logo is offered, ask for the report and the standard it names. A logo is a statement, not evidence.
4. For a bespoke piece there is usually no report. Agree early how it will be evidenced, for example a representative sample tested at an accredited laboratory before production, and who pays and when.
5. File what you receive against the item in the FF&E schedule, with the report number and date.

A certificate does not replace a report in the specification unless the specification says so. Where both exist, the report tells you what was measured and the certificate tells you the product is still being checked.

Compliance is to be shown by the full signed test report for the exact model and variants supplied, from a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 [UKAS or equivalent] for the tests named, naming the standard, its edition and the level, dated within [12] months of the order. A logo, a statement of compliance, or a report on another model is not accepted in its place.

Where the supplier relies on third-party product certification [FIRA Gold or equivalent], supply the certificate and its scope page showing [this product] under [the scheme specification], in date, with the issuer's name and the certificate number so that it can be verified with the issuer. Certification does not replace the test reports above unless this specification says so.

Descriptions such as ‘contract grade’, ‘heavy duty’, ‘commercial quality’ and ‘tested’ do not specify anything. For each item the schedule states the standard, edition, level and the evidence required.

Standards and sources

• FIRA Gold Certification: scheme page; holders directory and certificates on fira-international.com.
• FIRA: Understanding your furniture test report: public summary, 21 July 2025; full guide members-only.
• UKAS: Accreditation vs certification: and GEN 6 Edition 2 (December 2022).
• ISO/IEC 17025:2017: competence of testing and calibration laboratories; named, not read.
• gov.uk: Using the UKCA marking: updated 21 August 2026.

Questions we are asked

What is the difference between FIRA Gold and a test report?

A test report is a laboratory's result for one sample at one time. FIRA Gold is product certification: FIRA describes a named product assessed against specified performance tests, then audited at the factory and re-tested. A certificate lists the products it covers, so ask for it with its scope page, and keep the test reports as well.

Is FIRA Gold required by law?

No. FIRA's own public guide says that only the tests required by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations are legally mandatory, while all furniture must comply with the General Product Safety Regulations. FIRA Gold is a voluntary scheme.

Does a UKAS logo on a chair mean it is certified?

No. UKAS accredits laboratories, not furniture, and its rules for accredited bodies say that reference to laboratory accreditation must not be displayed on a product or used to imply product certification or approval.

What does ‘tested to BS EN 16139’ actually prove?

That the tested sample passed the standard's tests at a stated level, in the edition named, as the report records. It does not cover other models or variants, other levels, or what the standard leaves out. See the sheet on BS EN 16139 levels for what the report should name.

Does furniture need a CE or UKCA mark?

We found no UKCA or CE regime for furniture as such: the OPSS A to Z lists only the fire regulations under furniture, and gov.uk's table of product regulations by sector has no furniture entry. A mark on a piece may refer to a component, so ask what it covers and for its declaration.

How do I check a certificate or a laboratory?

For a laboratory, search UKAS's list of accredited organisations for its number and read its schedule. For a product certificate, quote the certificate number to the issuer and check the scope page names your exact product and that the certificate is in date.