Choosing a Fire Risk Assessor
The law lets anyone carry out a fire risk assessment, but since October 2023 in England anyone you appoint to help must be competent: with "sufficient training and experience or knowledge". You stay responsible for the result, so the choice of assessor is yours to justify.
The fire sector’s guide to choosing a competent fire risk assessor (October 2020) names the schemes and registers that check competence. Here is what each one means, and what to ask before you book.
- Company scheme
- BAFE SP205Certificated by NSI or SSAIB
- Other schemes
- IFCC 0099, FRACSCompany and individual certification
- Registers
- IFE, IFSM, IFPOProfessional body registers
- Competence criteria
- FRACC, 2020The benchmark the schemes use
Where do I find a competent assessor?
From third-party certification schemes for firms and individuals, and professional body registers. The fire and rescue service will not do the assessment for you.
- BAFE SP205: certifies firms, from sole traders upwards. Each assessor’s competence is checked on appointment and at least every 36 months, and every assessment is signed off by a validator in the firm.
- IFCC 0099: a company certification scheme run by IFC Certification.
- FRACS: certification for individual assessors and companies, run by Warrington Certification.
- Professional registers: the Institution of Fire Engineers register, the Institute of Fire Safety Managers and the Institute of Fire Prevention Officers.
- Ask for evidence against the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council criteria if a firm is on none of these.
Do certificated firms cost more?
Not always. Fees depend more on the building than on the badge. The bands below apply to most firms; very low fixed prices for any premises are worth questioning. Use the fee calculator for your band.
| Item | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 m² Small shop, café, salon, small office | £200 to £450 |
| 100 to 500 m² Restaurant, pub, surgery, office floor | £350 to £650 |
| 500 to 1,000 m² Primary school, small hotel, workshop | £500 to £950 |
| Blocks of flats, Type 1 Common parts | £350 to £1,000 |
What should I ask before I book?
From the National Fire Chiefs Council’s advice and the fire sector guide.
- Evidence of competence
- Which scheme or register, and the certificate or membership number so you can check it yourself.
- Experience of your premises
- Similar buildings assessed recently: a care home is not an office, and a tower block is not a shop.
- References
- From clients with similar premises, including whether the fire service later found problems the assessor missed.
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Proof of cover that suits the size of your premises, and a complaints procedure.
- Impartiality
- Whether the firm also sells the remedial work it recommends, and how it keeps the two apart.
- The same scope from everyone
- Areas, type of assessment, doors and report format, so you compare like with like.
Tell us about the premises and get written fees from an assessor who knows your kind of building.
Get assessor quotesHow do I compare quotes?
Write one scope
Floor area, storeys, use, sleeping risk, areas in and out, doors, and the standard to work to.
Ask three firms
Send the same scope to each and ask for a written fee, the visit length and the report turnaround.
Check credentials
Look each one up on the scheme or register they name. It takes minutes.
Keep the record
Note why you chose the assessor. The law expects you to show you took reasonable care.
What responsible persons ask
Who can carry out a fire risk assessment?
The responsible person or anyone they appoint. In England, anyone appointed to help must be competent: they need sufficient training and experience or knowledge. There is no single licence, which is why the certification schemes and registers matter.
What is BAFE SP205?
A third-party certification scheme for organisations that carry out life safety fire risk assessments. Certification bodies such as NSI and SSAIB audit the firm, its assessors’ competence and its validation process.
Is a certificated assessor a legal requirement?
No. Certification and registration are ways to show competence, not legal requirements. But if something goes wrong, having chosen a certificated or registered assessor is strong evidence that you took care.
Should the assessor also sell the fixes?
It is common, and not wrong, but ask how they keep the assessment independent. Some responsible persons prefer to get remedial work quoted separately.
Is there a British Standard for assessor competence?
BSI has been developing BS 8674, a standard for the competence of fire risk assessors. Until it is published, the FRACC criteria and the schemes above are the benchmark.
Where our information comes from
Fee bands are our own reading of published UK assessor price guides, checked against the council fee list below.
- BAFE: Life Safety Fire Risk Assessment scheme SP205 (read 2 November 2026)
- Institution of Fire Engineers: Fire Risk Assessors Register (read 2 November 2026)
- Fire Sector Federation: A guide to choosing a competent fire risk assessor, October 2020 (read 2 November 2026)
- National Fire Chiefs Council: finding a fire risk assessor (read 2 November 2026)
- London Fire Brigade: Changes to fire safety law, how it affects you (read 2 November 2026)
Ask for quotes from an assessor
Three short steps: where the premises are, what they are like, and how to reach you. About two minutes.
Thanks, your enquiry is in.
- We will email or call to tell you which fire risk assessor covers your area and type of premises.
- Your details reach that firm only if you say yes.
- They agree the scope with you and give you a written fee. No marketing from us, ever.