Can You Carry Out Your Own Fire Risk Assessment?

In England and Wales, the Responsible Person can currently undertake the fire risk assessment personally or arrange for someone else to assist.

The assessment must identify the risks to people and the general fire precautions needed to protect them. It must reflect the actual building, occupancy and activities rather than relying on a generic checklist.

Government guidance provides a five-step checklist for Responsible Persons who feel competent and capable of assessing the simplest types of premises. It advises using more detailed premises-specific guidance before relying on the checklist.

Completing the assessment yourself does not reduce the standard required. The enforcing authority can still examine whether the assessment is suitable and whether the necessary precautions have been implemented.

Several changes and proposals need to be distinguished.

Since October 2023, Responsible Persons in England and Wales have been required to record their completed fire risk assessment in full and record their fire-safety arrangements. Where another person is appointed to undertake or review the assessment, their name and organisation must also be recorded.

These recording changes apply regardless of the number of employees or the type of premises.

In March 2026, the UK Government consulted on introducing mandatory certification and stronger competence controls for professional fire risk assessors. The consultation also considered whether Responsible Persons should continue to assess certain higher-risk premises themselves.

As of July 2026, these proposals have not created a general prohibition on carrying out your own FRA. Current government material still confirms that Responsible Persons can undertake their own assessments.

The position in Wales

The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 introduces a new regime for multi-occupied residential buildings. The Act contains requirements for fire risk assessments of regulated buildings and relevant HMOs to be completed by competent persons.

However, the main assessment and competence provisions require separate commencement by the Welsh Ministers and were not among the limited sections brought into force immediately after Royal Assent.

Clients responsible for Welsh residential buildings should therefore monitor the commencement of the new regime rather than assuming every provision is already operational.

Competence should be proportionate to the building and its risks.

Someone completing an FRA should have enough knowledge and experience to:

• Identify relevant ignition and fuel sources
• Recognise people who may be particularly at risk
• Evaluate escape routes and exit capacity
• Understand fire detection and warning needs
• Consider fire doors and compartmentation
• Assess emergency arrangements
• Recognise significant management failures
• Record clear, proportionate recommendations
• Identify when specialist advice is required
• Keep the assessment under review

Competence does not necessarily mean holding one particular qualification for every simple premises.

Equally, experience in property management, construction, health and safety or the fire service does not automatically establish competence for every type of FRA.

The more complex the building, occupancy and evacuation arrangements, the greater the knowledge and experience required.

An internal assessment may be reasonable where the premises are:

• Small and straightforward
• Used for uncomplicated activities
• Occupied by relatively few people
• Provided with simple escape routes
• Easy to inspect fully
• Free from significant sleeping risk
• Not occupied mainly by vulnerable people
• Free from complex hazardous processes
• Supported by clear fire-safety records

Examples could include a small ground-floor office, a simple retail unit or a modest workplace with direct exits and no unusual risks.

Even in these premises, the person completing the assessment must examine the building properly, record the findings and produce a usable action plan.

See Fire Risk Assessments for Offices and Shops for the issues commonly found in straightforward commercial premises.

Professional assistance is more likely to be needed where an incorrect judgement could expose many people or vulnerable occupants to serious risk.

Examples include:

• Blocks of flats and complex residential buildings
• HMOs and sleeping accommodation
• Care homes and supported-living premises
• Large or multi-storey buildings
• Factories and warehouses
• Buildings containing dangerous substances
• Complex or mixed-use developments
• Premises with unusual evacuation arrangements
• Heritage buildings
• Buildings with external-wall concerns
• Premises with suspected compartmentation defects
• Buildings where previous reports are incomplete or contradictory

Residential buildings can involve overlapping fire-safety, housing and access requirements. See Fire Risk Assessments for HMOs.

Premises occupied by people requiring care or evacuation support need assessment by someone who understands the vulnerability of the occupants and the building’s staffing and evacuation arrangements. See Fire Risk Assessments for Care Homes and Supported Living.

Industrial premises can involve machinery, storage, battery charging, hot work and dangerous substances. See Fire Risk Assessments for Factories and Warehouses.

A template can help organise the assessment, but completing every box does not prove that the result is suitable.

A useful template should prompt you to consider:

• Fire hazards
• People at risk
• Existing precautions
• Means of escape
• Detection and warning
• Emergency procedures
• Training and maintenance
• Significant findings
• Required actions
• Review arrangements

The main risk is treating the template as the assessment rather than using it to record professional or informed judgement.

A checklist may show that fire doors exist, for example, without determining whether they are in suitable locations, close correctly or protect the necessary escape route.

See What Should a Fire Risk Assessment Include? for a fuller explanation of assessment and report contents.

No. Completing the FRA internally does not mean the same person should inspect or certify every fire-safety system.

A general FRA does not normally replace:

• Fire-alarm servicing or design
• Emergency-lighting inspection
• Electrical testing
• Sprinkler servicing
• Detailed fire-door surveys
• Intrusive compartmentation surveys
• External-wall appraisals
• Fire-engineering calculations

The person completing the FRA should recognise where specialist evidence is missing and recommend an appropriate investigation.

Where the condition of fire doors cannot be established through the general assessment, a separate Fire Door Survey may be required.

The different forms of building and specialist assessment are explained in Types of Fire Risk Assessments Explained.

Appointing an assessor does not transfer the underlying duty away from the Responsible Person or equivalent dutyholder.

The client remains responsible for:

• Selecting a suitable provider
• Defining the assessment scope
• Providing accurate information
• Arranging access
• Considering the report
• Implementing appropriate findings
• Keeping the assessment under review

The appointment should be based on the named assessor’s experience rather than the company’s marketing alone.

Useful checks include:

• Experience with comparable premises
• Qualifications and professional registration
• Third-party certification where available
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Example reports
• Technical-review arrangements
• Proposed site time
• Clear exclusions and assumptions

See How to Choose a Fire Risk Assessor.

England and Wales

Responsible Persons can currently complete their own assessments, provided the result is suitable and sufficient.

The 2026 UK consultation proposes stronger controls for professional assessors, while the Building Safety (Wales) Act creates a separate future competence regime for specified Welsh residential buildings. These developments should be kept under review.

Scotland

Scottish guidance expects whoever completes the assessment to have skills and knowledge proportionate to the premises and the vulnerability of the occupants.

An appropriately trained employee may be able to assess some premises. Where sufficient skills or resources are unavailable internally, a suitably qualified external person or company should be appointed.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service states that small or medium-sized organisations with uncomplicated risks may be able to complete their own assessment.

Larger or more complex organisations should use a suitably qualified specialist. Heritage buildings are also identified as requiring particular competence.

Before deciding to complete the FRA internally, ask:

• Can I explain the relevant fire-safety law?
• Do I understand how people would receive a warning and escape?
• Can I judge whether the fire precautions are appropriate?
• Do I understand the building’s construction and evacuation strategy?
• Can I recognise the limits of a visual inspection?
• Can I produce clear and prioritised recommendations?
• Would I be able to justify my conclusions to an enforcing officer?
• Do I know when specialist assistance is needed?

Where the answer to any important question is no, external support is likely to be the safer and more commercially reliable option.

When requesting quotations, provide each company with the same information about:

• Building size and use
• Number and type of occupants
• Areas included
• Existing assessments
• Known concerns
• Access requirements
• Expected report format
• Required timescale

This makes it easier to identify whether a low quotation reflects efficiency or a reduced scope.

See How to Compare Fire Risk Assessment Quotes and What Clients Should Include in a Fire Risk Assessment Tender Pack.

For the wider procurement process, use How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works and Fire Protection Tenders in the UK: The Complete Guide.

Clients searching locally can also use Fire Risk Assessors Near Me for Commercial Buildings, while still comparing competence and scope rather than selecting only by distance.

Common mistakes include:

• Assuming familiarity with the building is sufficient
• Copying a generic assessment from another premises
• Treating a checklist as evidence of compliance
• Failing to consider vulnerable people
• Ignoring areas that are difficult to access
• Making technical judgements outside the assessor’s competence
• Failing to record limitations
• Producing vague recommendations
• Assuming specialist inspections are included
• Failing to review the assessment after changes

The decision to self-assess should be based on competence and complexity, not simply on avoiding the cost of an external assessor.

For clients and dutyholders

Use Fire Risk Assessment Companies to compare providers with suitable experience of the building, occupancy and level of risk.

A professional assessment is particularly valuable where the premises are complex, the existing report is uncertain or the organisation does not have sufficient competence internally.

For fire risk assessors and consultancies

View Fire Risk Assessment Tenders for opportunities with defined building and reporting requirements.

Can I legally do my own fire risk assessment?

Yes, in some circumstances. In England and Wales, Responsible Persons can currently complete their own FRA. It must still be suitable and sufficient for the premises and risks involved.

Do I need a qualification to complete my own FRA?

There is no single qualification that currently applies to every self-completed FRA. You must still have knowledge and ability proportionate to the building’s complexity and risks.

Has mandatory certification for fire risk assessors started?

Not as a general UK-wide rule. The UK Government consulted on mandatory certification in 2026, while Wales has enacted separate competence provisions that require further commencement.

Can I use an online fire risk assessment template?

A template can help structure a simple assessment, but it cannot replace the knowledge and judgement needed to evaluate the building and its occupants.

Who is responsible if a professional completes the FRA?

The dutyholder remains responsible for appointing a suitable assessor, considering the findings and implementing the necessary fire precautions.