When to use this guide
- Designing or altering escape routes, fire doors or compartment boundaries
- Converting a building, creating flats or changing its use
- Coordinating cladding, service penetrations, fire stopping or firefighting access
What to check
Use these prompts with the responsible project team. Ticking a box does not certify compliance.
You can tick these prompts while reviewing the project.
Keep these records
- Fire strategy and coordinated drawings
- Product/assembly evidence and installation or inspection records
- Changes, commissioning information and fire-safety handover records
Common mistakes
- Treating future amendments in a collated document as already mandatory for all work.
- Assuming a door leaf label or a clash-free model proves the installed assembly is satisfactory.
When to get specialist help
Involve competent fire-design advice for complex, tall or unusual buildings and whenever an alteration may compromise an escape route or fire compartment. Building-control and occupation-stage fire duties are separate.
Scope and edition
Landing updated 16 September 2026: 2019 edition with 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2026 amendments, collated with 2029 amendments. The 2026 guidance on second stairs and evacuation lifts took effect 30 September 2026, subject to transition. Earlier guidance can remain applicable to qualifying pre-date submissions sufficiently progressed within 18 months. The 2029 fire-resistance classification changes take effect 2 September 2029, subject to transition, not today. Choose the correct volume and project-specific transition; do not treat a collated future amendment as currently mandatory. Common-building guidance may not be sufficient for tall, large or complex buildings; specialist fire design may be needed.
Fire safety in and around buildings; separate volumes for dwellings and buildings other than dwellings.
Use the official source to check the current text, amendments not yet incorporated, commencement and project-specific transition. A published future edition is not automatically the rule applying to your work.
Official sources
- GOV.UK — Approved Document BOfficial England guidance; check the applicable volume, edition and transition.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b
- Approved Document B: amendment commencement dates and transitional arrangementshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amendments-to-approved-document-b-fire-safety-circular-and-letter/approved-document-b-fire-safety-new-updates-to-support-enhanced-fire-safety
- Official Approved Document B FAQshttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/approved-document-b-fire-safety-frequently-asked-questions
Source links lead to external official websites. We provide original explanatory notes and do not reproduce paid standards.
About this library
Independent, plain-English reference notes by Saeed Azarshab. The library covers the 42 subjects listed here; it is not every law affecting construction, an official government publication or a project-specific compliance decision. Building Regulations, Approved Documents, workplace safety duties and planning permissions have different roles.
Editorial source review: . Check the current official text, commencement dates, outstanding amendments and transitional arrangements before relying on a requirement. Publication date is not necessarily the date a rule applies. A relevant competent professional or authority must resolve project-specific questions.
Sources and lawful reuse
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated. These are original practical summaries, with links to the official material. No government endorsement is implied. We do not host copies of proprietary BS, ISO or Eurocode standards, third-party diagrams or publisher layouts. Check each source’s rights notice before reuse.
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