Fire door documentation for bespoke doors

At a glance

England only. Approved Document B Volume 2 with amendments to 2029, and gov.uk guidance revised 8 August 2025, read on 7 November 2026.

A bespoke door is a fire door only with evidence

Can a bespoke veneered or panelled door be a fire door? It can, if the evidence covers that exact build. Approved Document B says any test evidence for a doorset should be checked to ensure it adequately demonstrates compliance and is applicable to the complete installed assembly, because small differences in detail may significantly affect the rating (Appendix C, paragraph C4). A veneer, a glazed panel, a different hinge or a longer leaf are each such a difference. The finish is therefore not a free choice: it is either inside the tested design or it needs separate evidence.

The BWF Fire Door Alliance makes a related point: its members' certification confirms that the door has been properly tested and goes beyond that to cover the validity of the design, manufacture, quality and consistency of production, auditing and traceability (Fact Card 9, September 2024). That is a trade body's description of its own scheme. For a project, the useful question is simpler: which document says this exact door, with this finish, is certified, and who issued it?

This sheet lists the evidence to ask for, element by element. It does not say that the studio or any partner workshop supplies certified fire doorsets. The fire door specification guide covers the ratings by position.

Nine points, nine documents

Nine points on a doorset need an answer. The numbers match the drawing.

The doors also need signs: a fire safety sign to BS 5499-5 on both sides, except cupboards and service ducts (outside only) and some doors that are exempt, including doors to and within flats and houses, bedroom doors in residential (other) premises and lift landing doors (Appendix C, C11 and C12). Doors may be held open only by the methods in C6.

Where a bespoke finish can sit

Where a bespoke finish is wanted on a fire door, the question for the door maker and their certification body is whether the finish sits inside the certified design. The answer is in the field of application, not on the website. Ask at tender, before the door is made, and put the answer in the specification (see the paste-in clause).

• Veneer or paint on the leaf faces: inside the certificate, or not?
• Glazed panel: size, position, glass and beads as tested?
• Oversize or unusual leaf: inside the field of application, or needing an assessment?
• Edges and lipping: any change to the leaf edge touches the seals.
• Cutting on site: nothing is planed, cut or scribed after manufacture unless the instructions allow it.

From 2 September 2029 the guidance accepts fire resistance by test or by assessment (the 2029 text of C1 and C4 refers to paragraphs B1 to B5), and drops the BS 476-22 route from the table. Until then the guidance relies on a test to BS EN 1634-1 for the European route. The BS 8214 code of practice for fire door assemblies was replaced in March 2026 (BSI Knowledge shows BS 8214:2026 as current, superseding the 2016 edition). The standard was not read.

Installation, handover and maintenance records

A fire door is only as good as its installation and upkeep, so the evidence should carry on past delivery. One page per door, filed in the handover pack, is enough.

In use. For blocks of flats whose top storey is above 11 m, government guidance under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 asks the responsible person to use best endeavours to check flat entrance fire doors at least every 12 months and communal fire doors at least every three months. The checks are simple and basic and do not normally need a specialist. They include checking the seals, glazing, self-closer and gaps (the guidance gives 4 mm as the largest gap between door and frame and asks for the bottom gap to be as small as practicable), and keeping a record of the checks over each twelve months (section 6, as revised 8 August 2025). A repair or replacement is done by a competent contractor. Other buildings, such as hotels and offices, fall under the Fire Safety Order's general duties, which were not read for this sheet.

See also the handover and O&M pack sheet, and the fire documentation matrix for the rest of an FF&E schedule.

Fire doorsets to [positions on the fire strategy drawing, ref [ ]] shall achieve [E30 Sa / E30 / E20 Sa] ([FD30S / FD30 / FD20S]) as Approved Document B Table C1 item [ ] and the project fire strategy, supplied as a complete doorset (leaf, frame, seals, hinges, closer, lock, latch and glazing as tested) with third-party certification. The Contractor shall submit, before manufacture, the certificate, the field of application and the installation instructions for each door type, and shall not order until they are approved.

The finish on fire doors ([veneer / paint / lacquer] to [ref]) shall be within the field of application of the doorset certificate. Where it is not, the Supplier shall submit separate evidence of fire performance for the doorset as finished, before manufacture. No leaf or frame shall be planed, cut, scribed or glazed after manufacture except as the installation instructions allow.

Fire doorsets shall be installed by [a competent installer] in accordance with the maker's installation instructions, including fire stopping to the frame-to-wall gap. The Contractor shall submit for each door, in the handover pack, an as-fitted record showing the door number, certificate reference, label seen, gaps measured, closer tested, fire stopping photograph, installer and date.

Standards and sources

• Approved Document B Volume 2 (2019 edition incorporating 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2026 amendments, with the 2029 amendments), Appendix C: Paragraphs C1 to C15 read 7 Nov 2026. England.
• gov.uk, Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance (revised 8 Aug 2025): Section 6 (checks).
• BWF Fire Door Alliance Fact Card 9 (September 2024): Trade body guidance.
• BS 8214:2026; BS EN 1634-1:2014+A1:2018; BS EN 13501-2; BS 476-22: Status only, not read. Confirm the current editions.

Questions we are asked

Can a bespoke veneered door be a fire door?

Only if the test evidence, or from 2029 an assessment, covers that exact build. Approved Document B paragraph C4 says the evidence must be applicable to the complete installed assembly and that small differences in detail may significantly affect the rating. Ask the door maker and the certification body whether the veneer, size, glazing and hardware are inside the certificate. This sheet does not say that the studio or its partners supply certified fire doorsets.

What documents prove a door is a fire door?

Start with the certificate for the doorset and its field of application, the installation instructions, and a label or plug in the leaf. Then for each door, an as-fitted record and, for hardware, evidence as tested or as C10 allows for hinges. Ask for them before manufacture, not after.

Can a fire door be painted or lacquered?

That depends on the certificate. Seals must not be painted over (gov.uk guidance), and a finish is either inside the field of application or needs separate evidence. Ask the door maker before the door is made.

Who checks fire doors after handover?

In blocks of flats with a top storey above 11 m, the responsible person under the 2022 Regulations, by simple checks every 12 months for flat entrance doors and every three months for communal doors, with records. For other building types the Fire Safety Order's general duties apply: ask your fire risk assessor.

Where do the ratings by position come from?

From Table C1 in Appendix C of Approved Document B, decided for each door by the project's fire strategy. See the fire door specification guide on this site for the table.