Is there one regulation that lists every fire safety sign I need?

No. The Fire Safety Order requires escape routes and exits to be signed, the Safety Signs and Signals Regulations set the format, and British Standards give the detail. Your fire risk assessment brings them together for your building.

Do old-style fire exit signs have to be replaced?

Not automatically. What matters is that the signs along a route are consistent and understood. If you are adding or replacing signs, it makes sense to move the whole route to the current ISO 7010 style rather than mix formats.

Who is the responsible person for fire safety?

Usually the employer for a workplace, or otherwise the person in control of the premises, such as the owner or managing agent. In shared buildings there can be more than one responsible person, and they must cooperate with each other.

Fire Safety Signage Regulations in England

What are the rules for fire safety signage in England?

In short: escape routes and exits must be signed where people need guiding to safety, the signs must follow the standard safety sign format, and where a route needs emergency lighting they must stay visible when the lights fail. The detail comes from two pieces of law, Building Regulations guidance and a handful of British Standards.

No single document lists the signs your building needs. The responsible person's fire risk assessment decides what is required and where. This guide explains how the pieces fit together. It is general information, not legal advice — for your own premises, consult a competent fire risk assessor.

What does the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 require?

The Fire Safety Order applies to almost all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including the common parts of blocks of flats. It places duties on the responsible person: usually the employer, the owner or whoever controls the premises.

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment, keep it under review and put in place the measures it identifies. Article 14 deals with emergency routes and exits: they must be indicated by signs and, where they need illumination, have emergency lighting of adequate intensity if the normal lighting fails. Article 17 requires fire safety facilities and equipment to be maintained in efficient working order and good repair.

How do the Safety Signs and Signals Regulations apply?

The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 require employers to provide safety signs where a risk cannot be avoided or adequately reduced in other ways, and they set what those signs look like. Emergency escape signs are rectangular or square, with a white pictogram on a green background.

The Regulations also expect signs to be maintained, placed where they can be seen, and not crowded together so they lose their effect. Where natural light is poor they call for phosphorescent colours, reflective materials or artificial lighting, and signs that need power must have an emergency supply in a power cut. The HSE publishes guidance on the Regulations, known as L64.

What does Approved Document B say about signage?

Approved Document B gives practical guidance on meeting the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations in England. It applies when building work is done — a new building, an extension, a material alteration or a change of use — rather than to the day-to-day running of existing premises.

Volume 2, for buildings other than dwellings, says exits that give access to a means of escape, other than those in ordinary everyday use, should be clearly marked with exit signs, and points to the safety signs regulations and British Standards for their form. It also sets out where escape lighting is expected. Building control checks this when the work is designed and completed; after that, the fire risk assessment takes over.

Which British Standards cover escape route signs?

Three standards do most of the work. BS 5499-4 is the code of practice for escape route signing: where signs go, how far away they can be read, how arrows are used and how a route is signed from start to finish. BS EN ISO 7010 sets the registered safety sign pictograms, including the running-man emergency exit sign. BS 5266-1 is the code of practice for emergency lighting, including the lighting of exit signs.

British Standards are not law in themselves. But fire risk assessors, building control and enforcing authorities use them as the benchmark, so following them is the most straightforward way to show the job has been done properly.

How should escape route signs be planned?

Treat escape signing as wayfinding for the worst moment. As a principle, from anywhere in the building a person should be able to see either an exit or a sign pointing towards one. Signs go at changes of direction, at junctions where the way is not obvious, at stairs and over final exit doors.

Keep one style along the whole route and do not mix old and new formats. Make sure menu boards, screens and promotional displays never hide or compete with escape signs. And remember that layouts change: a new partition, shelving run or seating plan can block a sign that worked last year, so check the signs whenever the space changes.

Are the rules different in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Yes. This guide covers England. The Fire Safety Order also applies in Wales, but Wales publishes its own Building Regulations guidance. Scotland has the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and its own building standards, and Northern Ireland has separate fire safety and building legislation. The Safety Signs and Signals Regulations cover Great Britain, with equivalent regulations in Northern Ireland.

If you look after premises in more than one nation, check the rules for each site rather than assuming one approach covers them all. The sign formats are broadly the same everywhere. The legal framework behind them is not.

Who checks fire safety signage?

The local fire and rescue authority enforces the Fire Safety Order for most premises. It can inspect, issue notices and, in serious cases, prosecute. Building control checks new work against the Building Regulations. Day to day, it is the responsible person's job to keep signs in place, visible and in good repair.

BD Signs makes and fits signage, but we do not carry out fire risk assessments or design fire safety systems. If you are not sure what your building needs, start with a competent fire risk assessor. Once the assessment sets out the signs required, the rest of your interior signage can be planned around them so the two work together.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Laws and standards change, so check the sources above for the current position.

What are the regulations for wayfinding signage for fire safety in England?