There is no one inspection interval that suits every fire door. The legal requirement depends on the building, and the right frequency for ongoing checks depends on how the doors are used, their condition and what the fire risk assessment says.

For certain blocks of flats in England, the law does set minimum intervals: communal fire doors must be checked at least every three months, and flat entrance fire doors must be checked at least every 12 months on a best endeavours basis. These requirements apply where the building’s top storey is more than 11 metres above ground level. The checks are the responsibility of the building’s Responsible Person. Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10; Home Office guidance, sections 2 and 6.

For other buildings, including lower-rise blocks, the Responsible Person still has duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fire doors need to remain suitable for the building and be kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. The inspection and maintenance arrangements should reflect the building’s fire risk assessment and the amount of use and damage the doors experience. Fire Safety Order, article 9 and article 17; Home Office regulation 10 fact sheet.

What does the law require in a block of flats?

Building and door

• Communal fire doors in a multi-occupied residential building with a top storey over 11 metres
• Flat entrance fire doors opening onto the common parts of the same building
• Blocks with a top storey at or below 11 metres

Minimum routine check under regulation 10

• At least every three months. This includes doors to corridors, stairs, lobbies, plant rooms and service cupboards where they are fire doors.
• At least every 12 months, using best endeavours to obtain access. Keep a record of the steps taken if access is refused or cannot be arranged.
• The above fixed intervals in regulation 10 do not apply. Fire doors still need to be considered in the fire risk assessment, checked and maintained in line with the Fire Safety Order.

The height is measured to the top storey, not to the roof. Regulation 10 also requires the Responsible Person to give residents information about keeping fire doors closed, avoiding interference with closers and reporting damage. That information requirement applies to blocks with two or more flats and common parts regardless of height. Home Office fire door guidance, sections 2, 5 and 6.

Those statutory intervals are minimums. A door on a busy escape corridor that regularly gets knocked or held open may need attention more often than a low-use door. Defects should be dealt with when they are found, rather than left until the next scheduled visit. This is how I would expect a sensible maintenance programme to work, with the frequency informed by the fire risk assessment. Fire Safety Order, articles 9 and 17; Home Office fire door guidance, section 6.8.

A routine check and a detailed fire door survey are different jobs

The quarterly and annual checks required by regulation 10 are basic visual and operational checks. The Home Office says a specialist should not normally be needed to carry them out; a caretaker, housing officer or managing agent can do them with appropriate instruction. The aim is to spot obvious damage and check that the door still works. Home Office fire door guidance, sections 6.2 to 6.4.

A detailed fire door survey goes further. It records the condition of each doorset, measures relevant gaps, examines its components and considers any available door specification, installation evidence and findings from the fire risk assessment. That is the level of work needed when there is uncertainty about a door’s performance, widespread defects or a requirement to plan remedial works. The routine regulation 10 check does not, by itself, establish a door’s fire resistance. The Home Office expressly separates the simple checks from the assessment of a door’s inherent fire performance. Home Office fire door guidance, sections 2.2, 6.2 and 6.14.

What should be checked?

The door must work as a complete assembly. Looking only at the leaf tells you very little if the frame, gaps, hinges, closer or glazing are defective. A routine check should look at:

• Closing and latching: where a closer is required, does the door close fully into its frame and overcome the latch from a wide opening and from around 15 degrees? A door that stops short cannot do its job. Some fire doors to locked cupboards and risers may be designed to remain locked shut instead of being self-closing; assess the door according to its function.
• Leaf, frame and surrounding construction: is there visible damage, movement, warping, an unsealed hole or an alteration that could affect fire or smoke resistance?
• Hinges and other hardware: are fixings present and secure, and does the hardware allow the door to operate as intended? Check letterboxes and air transfer grilles where fitted.
• Intumescent strips and smoke seals: where present, are they intact, correctly seated and free from damage or paint that affects their operation? Their absence on an older door is a matter for the fire risk assessment; it does not automatically establish that the door must be replaced.
• Glazing and panels: is the glass, glazing system, and any side or over panel visibly sound?
• Gaps: do the leaf and frame fit properly, including at the threshold? The Home Office’s guide uses 4 mm as the general upper limit for gaps around the leaf and frame, apart from the bottom gap. A detailed assessment should also consider the particular doorset specification and the condition and design of an existing door. Do not use a threshold gap figure without considering the door’s intended smoke performance and the actual floor and seal arrangement.

These points reflect the Home Office fire door guidance, sections 6.7 to 6.13. Routine checks should be recorded against the door’s location so a defect can be identified and followed up.

Does every defect mean a new fire door?

No. A closer may need adjustment. Hinges, seals or other components may be repairable or replaceable where that work is supported by the door’s specification and the available evidence. Significant damage, an unsuitable replacement leaf or a door that cannot reasonably be brought back into effective service may call for replacement.

This is especially important with older doors. The Home Office’s August 2025 guidance is explicit: the absence of a certification label, intumescent strips or smoke seals does not, on its own, prove that an existing door is unfit for purpose. Regulation 10 was not introduced to require every existing flat entrance door to meet today’s standards for a new doorset. Its suitability has to be considered in the context of the building’s fire risk assessment, its condition and the risk it is there to control.

Where repairs or replacement are needed, the Home Office says they should be carried out by a competent contractor as soon as reasonably practicable. Recommendations should explain the defect, the evidence behind it and why the proposed work is appropriate. Home Office fire door guidance, introduction and section 6.4.

What records should you keep?

Keep a door-by-door record of the location, date, checker, findings, photographs where useful, action required and completion of repairs. For annual flat entrance door checks in buildings covered by regulation 10, record the attempts made to arrange access and which doors could not be checked. This gives the Responsible Person a clear route from a reported defect to a completed repair, and it provides evidence of the steps taken where access has been difficult. Home Office fire door guidance, sections 6.5 and 6.6.

How Elite Fire Doors can help

At Elite Fire Doors, we carry out detailed surveys, maintenance and repairs and installations. We assess what is actually on site, relate our findings to the fire risk assessment and the available door evidence, and set out practical recommendations for each door.

If you need to establish the condition of your doors, plan remedial works or review an existing inspection programme, contact Elite Fire Doors and we can talk through what level of inspection your building needs.