At a glance
| Check | What to see | Source read | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Label or plug | Present on every leaf, readable, never painted over or removed. | BWF Fact Card 10 | It is the link back to the certificate. |
| Gaps: head, jambs, threshold | As the installation instructions and certificate say. No figure on this sheet is a design figure. | BWF Fact Card 10 | Government check for doors in use: never more than 4 mm, except at the bottom (GUK 6.7g). |
| Frame to wall | The gap behind the frame filled with the material the instructions name. | BWF Fact Card 10 | Look before the architrave goes on. |
| Seals, hinges, glazing | Seals present, touching and not painted over; no loose or missing screws; glazing system intact. | GUK 6.7 (d), (e), (f) | Parts must be those listed for the doorset. |
| Self-closing | Door shuts fully from wide open and from about 15 degrees. | GUK 6.7(h) | A closer is not a hold-open device. |
| Handover | Certificate, installation instructions and enough information to create a door register. | BWF Fact Card 10 | Register each door by position. |
| In use | Blocks of flats over 11 m: flat entrance doors checked at least yearly, shared fire doors at least every 3 months. | GUK 6.1 | England. Guidance on the Regulations. |
England. Read on 7 November 2026 from the gov.uk guidance (updated 8 August 2025) and BWF Fact Cards 9 and 10 (September 2024). Gap figures: only from the certificate.
What a designer can check, and what they cannot
The fire door specification guide covers what to write on the schedule. This sheet picks up after the schedule: how a designer, contract administrator or clerk of works can check, at installation and again at completion, that the doors on site are the doors that were specified, fitted as the maker said and documented well enough to be looked after.
You are checking a doorset, not a door. BWF Fact Card 10 puts it plainly: an untested, poor quality or badly installed product will not make a safe fire door, and installation is “as life safety critical as the product specification itself”. It should be done by someone who is competent, has been specifically trained to install fire doors and understands the responsibilities. The government guidance likewise says a replacement of an inadequate door must be done by a competent person (paragraph 3.3) and repairs by a competent contractor (6.4).
Who checks what. A designer’s walk-round is a visual check against the documents. It does not replace the installer’s own sign-off, a third-party inspection, the fire engineer’s review or building control. Say in the specification who will carry out and record each check, and keep the record.
Where the numbers come from. Fact Card 10 says the maximum gap dimensions are on the installation instructions, and that the instructions must be followed to maintain certification. This sheet therefore gives no head, jamb or threshold dimension. The only figure it repeats is the government’s visual check for doors already in use, in the next section.
The site checklist
Use the table at installation, then again at practical completion once decoration is finished, because paint is what most often covers a label or a seal. The gap figures themselves must come from the doorset’s instructions; take a gauge to site and write down what you measure.
| No. | Check | What to look for | Source read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Label or plug | Every fire leaf carries one; it is legible and has not been painted over or removed. Fact Card 10 says it carries unique information tying the door to its certificate and gives traceability. | Fact Card 10 (Labels) |
| 2 | Certificate against schedule | Rating, leaf, frame, seals, glazing and ironmongery on the certificate match the door that is hung. The label number matches the certificate. | Fact Card 10 (Certification, Compatibility) |
| 3 | Parts are the listed parts | Hinges, closer, latch, seals and fixings are listed as compatible in the instructions, test evidence, assessment or certificate. Fact Card 10: never use unlisted components, they may not work in a fire. | Fact Card 10 (Doorsets, Ironmongery and seals) |
| 4 | No cutting or glazing on site | Leaf and frame as delivered. Fact Card 10 says the scheme’s doors cannot be glazed on site and must come fully glazed. Ask about any leaf or frame that looks trimmed. | Fact Card 10 (Glazing apertures) |
| 5 | Gaps: head, jambs, threshold | Measured at the points on the drawing and compared with the figures on the installation instructions. Record the readings. Doors in use are checked against 4 mm at the sides and head, and as small as practicable at the bottom. | Fact Card 10 (Gaps); GUK 6.7(g) |
| 6 | Frame to wall | The gap behind the frame is filled with the fire or smoke stopping material and intumescent protection that the instructions name. Check it before the architrave covers it. BS 8214:2026 is reported to name acceptable sealing materials; the standard was not read. | Fact Card 10 (Gaps); FPA news item |
| 7 | Seals | Intumescent strips and smoke seals are present where the doorset needs them, undamaged, touching, and not painted over. | GUK 6.7(f) |
| 8 | Hinges and ironmongery | No missing or loose screws; no damaged parts; letterboxes closed (a new letterbox on a fire door needs a specialist contractor, GUK 6.7b). | GUK 6.7 (b), (e) |
| 9 | Glazing | The glass and glazing system are as supplied and intact. | GUK 6.7(d) |
| 10 | Self-closing device | Open the door fully and release it; open it to about 15 degrees and release it. It closes fully into the frame both times, with no wedge or hold-open. | GUK 6.7(h) |
| 11 | Door, frame, wall | No splits, warping or holes where a lock was removed; frame sound against the wall. | GUK 6.7(c) |
| 12 | Signs | The sign the fire strategy asks for is fitted. Which signs are required is a fire strategy decision; see the specification guide. | Fire strategy |
About the 4 mm. The government guidance says “the industry standard is that the gap size should never be more than 4mm”, with the bottom of the door as small as practicable without snagging the floor. It sits in a list of simple visual checks for doors in use in blocks of flats. It is not a design dimension and it does not override the certificate: a doorset can have a different permitted gap, and the certificate for that doorset governs.
Where gaps are measured. Take readings at the head, at several heights down each jamb on the hinge side and the lock side, and across the threshold, on the closed door. The first drawing marks the points. Do not plane, pack or re-hang a door to make a reading pass: that changes the assembly, and the cure is a question for the door maker.
What to receive at handover
The record built here is what every later check, repair and alteration starts from. The government guidance assumes (paragraph 6.2) that the responsible person already has evidence that a door’s design and installation are adequate; this is the evidence. Fact Card 10 asks the installer to hand over fire performance and maintenance information in a form that is enough to create a door register.
| Document | What it is for | Check on handover |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate or test evidence or assessment | Proves the fire performance of the doorset as designed (Fact Card 10 asks the supplier to provide it). | Matches the label number and the schedule; covers the finish, size and glazing used. |
| Installation instructions | Source of the permitted gaps and the frame-to-wall sealing method. | A current copy for each doorset type. Fact Card 9 advises checking they are current on the maker’s website. |
| Compatible components list | Shows which hinges, closer, latch and seals were tested with the leaf. | Matches what is fitted; any substitution has written approval. |
| Installer’s record | Who fitted each door, when, and the as-fitted gap readings. | Installer named; competence evidence requested (see below). |
| Door register | One line per fire door: position, rating, certificate and label reference, date fitted, closer type. | Each door on the schedule appears once; positions match the as-built plan. |
| Maintenance information | How to check, repair and re-paint without compromising the doorset. | Included in the O&M pack; see the handover pack sheet. |
Installer competence. Fact Card 10 and the government guidance both ask for competence but neither names a scheme we could check. The master research notes ask for the installer’s competence as an O&M item; what evidence is accepted, for example a certification of the installer, is a question for the fire door specialist and building control, and is listed under what we could not confirm.
The 2026 standard. BS 8214:2026, the code of practice for specifying, installing and maintaining fire-resisting and smoke control doors, is listed by BSI Knowledge as current from 20 March 2026 and replaces the 2016 edition. A trade news item reports a widened scope (timber, steel, aluminium and composite doors) and a strengthened clause 9.4 on installation and sealing. We have not read the standard, so this sheet does not quote it. Ask which edition the installer works to.
After handover: the duties in use
The government guidance on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 sets the routine for blocks of flats whose top storey is over 11 metres above ground level (paragraph 6.1 and 6.3): the responsible person is to use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every 12 months, and to check fire doors in communal areas at least every 3 months. The guidance says the checks are simple and visual, that a specialist is not needed to carry them out, and that repair or replacement found necessary must be done by a competent contractor (6.4).
Two points for a designer. First, the guidance says the checks assume the door’s design and installation are adequate (6.2), so the handover evidence above is what the responsible person falls back on. Second, buildings with no domestic premises, such as a hotel or an office, are outside that regulation; their fire doors fall to the fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Order. Ask the fire engineer which applies. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Fire doorsets to be installed by an installer who is competent and trained in fire door installation [evidence of competence to be submitted: [ ]], strictly to the doorset manufacturer's current installation instructions. No leaf or frame to be cut, planed or glazed on site. All components to be those listed for the doorset.
The frame-to-wall gap and its fire or smoke stopping to be inspected by [contract administrator / clerk of works / fire door inspector] before architraves are fitted, and photographed against door reference.
At practical completion each fire door to be checked and recorded for: label present and unpainted; gaps at head, jambs and threshold against the installation instructions [readings recorded in mm]; seals present, undamaged and unpainted; hinge and ironmongery fixings complete; glazing intact; self-closing device closing the door fully from wide open and from about 15 degrees.
Before practical completion provide, for each doorset type: certificate or test evidence or assessment; installation instructions; list of compatible components; installer's as-fitted record; and a door register listing every fire door by position, rating, label and certificate reference, date fitted and closer type, in the form [ ].
Terms used on this page
- Doorset
- A door leaf supplied or certified together with its frame, seals and ironmongery as one tested unit.
- Intumescent seal
- A strip fitted in the door or frame that swells when heated to close the gap around a fire door. BWF's position is that it should be fitted on every fire door.
- FD30S
- A fire door that withstands fire for 30 minutes (integrity) when tested to BS 476-22; the S suffix means it also limits smoke leakage at room temperature. In the European system the equivalent notation is E30 with an Sa classification.
Standards and sources
- gov.uk: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance (updated 8 August 2025): 2.4, 3.3, 6.1 to 6.4, 6.7. Read 7 Nov 2026.
- BWF Fire Door Alliance Fact Card 10: Fire door safety (September 2024): trade body guidance; read in full.
- BWF Fire Door Alliance Fact Card 9: FD20 or FD30 (September 2024): trade body guidance; read in full.
- BS 8214:2026 Fire-resisting and smoke control doors: code of practice: BSI Knowledge: current, published 20 Mar 2026, supersedes 2016. Not read.
Questions we are asked
What gap should a fire door have?
The gap on the installation instructions and certificate for that doorset. BWF Fact Card 10 says the maximum gap dimensions are detailed on the installation instructions. For a door already in use, the government guidance gives a visual check of no more than 4 mm except at the bottom; that is not a design figure.
What should I ask for at handover?
For each doorset type: the certificate or test evidence or assessment, the installation instructions, the list of compatible components and the installer’s record, plus a door register giving each door’s position and rating. BWF Fact Card 10 asks for enough information to create a door register.
Can I check fire doors myself as a designer?
You can check them visually against the documents, using the checklist above. That does not replace the installer’s own sign-off, a third-party inspection, the fire engineer or building control. Who may sign off a particular project is for the fire strategy to say.
Do I need a specialist to check fire doors in a block of flats?
The government guidance says you should not need to engage a specialist for the routine checks, which are simple and visual, but repairs and replacements must be done by a competent contractor. The routine applies to blocks of flats whose top storey is over 11 metres above ground.
Do the studio’s partner workshops supply or install fire doors?
This sheet makes no claim that the studio or its partner workshops supply, install or certify fire doors. If a project needs fire doors, ask each supplier which certified doorset it is and who installs it, and ask for the certificate before manufacture.
What changed with BS 8214:2026?
BSI Knowledge lists BS 8214:2026 as current from 20 March 2026, replacing the 2016 edition. A trade news item reports a wider scope and a strengthened installation clause. We have not read the standard; ask the installer and the door maker which edition they follow.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the twelve-point site checklist, the handover documents list and paste-in wording, to keep with your project file.