Fire Door Inspection Checklist

A fire door inspection checklist gives you a consistent, repeatable way to check every fire door to the same standard. Because a building can have hundreds of fire doors and the defects are easy to overlook, a structured checklist — backed by photos and a tracked record — is the only reliable way to know your fire doors will actually perform.

Use the checklist below as a framework. It supports, but doesn't replace, inspection by a competent person, and you should always work to the relevant standards and the door's certification.

Door identification (header)

Door reference/ID and location.
Fire rating (e.g. FD30, FD60).
Date, inspector, and result.
Photo of the door and its certification label.

Certification and labelling

Evidence the door is a certified fire door (label/plug, where present).
Door appears consistent with a certified assembly.
Appropriate fire door signage present (e.g. "Fire door — keep shut" / "keep locked").

Gaps

Gap around the leaf consistent and within specification (commonly ~3mm) — check both sides and the top.
Threshold/floor gap within the specified limit.
No excessive or uneven gaps that would let smoke or fire pass.

Seals

Intumescent seals present, continuous, and undamaged in the frame or leaf.
Smoke seals (brush/fin) present where required, intact, and making contact.
Seals not painted over, clogged, or missing sections.

Self-closing device

Self-closer fitted and effective.
Closes the door fully from any open position onto the latch.
No leaking, damage, or disconnection.
Hold-open devices (if fitted) are compliant and release on alarm.

Hinges and fixings

Correct number of hinges (usually three for FD30), fire-rated/CE-UKCA marked.
All screws present and tight, no missing fixings.
No signs of metal fatigue or movement.

Leaf and frame

Leaf undamaged, not warped or distorted.
Frame secure and undamaged.
No unauthorised holes, cut-outs, or modifications.
Apertures (e.g. for hardware) correct and sealed.

Glazing (if present)

Fire-rated glazing, intact and undamaged.
Glazing beads and seals correct and secure.

Hardware

Latch engages correctly so the door is held closed.
Locks, handles, and other hardware fitted correctly and working.
Any letterplates, vision panels, or air-transfer grilles are fire-rated.

Recording and acting on findings

For each door: record pass/fail against each item, note any defect clearly, and attach photos. Then:

Prioritise defects (a door that won't latch closed is critical; minor signage is not).
Assign each defect for remedial work by a competent person.
Re-inspect to verify the fix.
Keep the full record as part of the building's fire safety information.

Why digital wins here

With potentially hundreds of doors per building, paper checklists become unmanageable — photos get separated, defects get lost, and proving the inspection happened is hard. A fire door inspection app registers each door, presents the checklist on a tablet, attaches photos to each item, tracks every defect to verified closure, and produces the auditable record that fire safety duties increasingly require.

Key takeaways

A fire door inspection checklist covers identification, certification and signage, gaps, seals, the self-closer, hinges, the leaf and frame, glazing, and hardware. Record each door's result with photos, prioritise and assign defects to a competent person, and re-inspect to verify. With hundreds of doors to manage, a structured, digital, photo-backed checklist is the only practical way to keep them all compliant.