Can I write my own fire risk assessment?
Matt McAllen, AIFSM, CMIOSH
Last reviewed: June 2026 Yes. The person responsible for the premises is allowed to carry out their own fire risk assessment — the law requires no professional. But under Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order it must be "suitable and sufficient," and whoever does it has to be competent for that type of building. For simple, low-risk premises that's realistic. For anything complex, the government strongly recommends a professional.
Is it legal to write my own fire risk assessment?
Yes. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places the duty on the "responsible person" — but it never says a professional has to carry the assessment out. The law sets a standard for the result, not a rule about who does the work.
That standard is Article 9: the responsible person must make a "suitable and sufficient" assessment of the risks to the people who could be affected by a fire. The government's own guidance confirms you can do this yourself, with the help of the free official fire safety risk assessment guides — and only need to bring in a competent person, such as a professional assessor, if you don't have the expertise or time.
The "responsible person" is usually the employer, owner, landlord, occupier, or whoever else has control of the premises. So if that's you, the choice is genuinely yours. The question worth asking isn't am I allowed — it's can I produce something that actually meets the test.
What does "competent" actually mean?
It's a legal test, and it's the real catch. The Order says whoever assists with the assessment must be competent — defined in Article 18 as having sufficient training and experience, or knowledge and other qualities, to do the job properly. There's no mandatory qualification. But "competent" isn't a label you give yourself; it's something you have to be able to demonstrate if anyone ever asks.
The part most do-it-yourself attempts miss is that competence is specific to the building. The Home Office's own guidance makes the point plainly: an assessor who's perfectly capable in offices and shops may not be competent to assess a care home, a high-rise block of flats, or a heritage building. The same logic applies to a landlord assessing their own HMO — sleeping accommodation is a harder, higher-risk job than a shop floor, and the standard expected reflects that.
So competence isn't a fixed bar you clear once. It rises with the complexity of the premises — and a generic, off-the-shelf checklist filled in by someone without fire-safety knowledge is, by definition, neither suitable nor sufficient.
When is doing it yourself fine — and when isn't it?
For simple, low-risk premises, doing it yourself with the official guides is legitimate. For sleeping accommodation, HMOs, multi-storey or complex buildings, it usually isn't. That's not a sales line — it's exactly where the government draws the line too.
The official method is five steps: identify the fire hazards; identify the people at risk; evaluate, remove or reduce the risks; record your findings and plan for an emergency; then review and keep it up to date. For a small, single-storey shop or office with a simple layout and no one sleeping on site, a careful owner can work through that with the gov.uk premises guides and produce something defensible.
Where it gets hard is the judgement, not the paperwork. Compartmentation, escape strategy for people who may be asleep, fire-door performance, detection coverage, the impact of the Fire Safety Act changes on external walls and flat entrance doors — these need someone who knows what "good enough" looks like and can evidence it. The Home Office is explicit: if you can't make the assessment suitable and sufficient yourself, it strongly recommends using a professional fire risk assessor.
I've been called in to replace do-it-yourself and bargain-basement assessments after fire service audits and licensing officers rejected them. In almost every case the problem wasn't honesty or effort — it was that the person genuinely couldn't tell what the building was missing. The cost of getting it right twice is always higher than getting it right once.
Not sure yours is simple enough to DIY?
Tell me about the premises and I'll give you a straight answer — and if it's a job you can do yourself, I'll say so. Fixed prices from £199 if you'd rather hand it over. No upfront payment.
Do I have to write it down?
Yes — in full. This is the part that's changed recently and catches people out. Since 1 October 2023, when Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order, the responsible person must record the fire risk assessment in full — including all the findings — and the fire safety arrangements for the premises. That applies regardless of how many people you employ.
Before that date, full written records were only required where five or more people were employed. They aren't anymore. An assessment that lives in your head, or as a few ticked boxes with no reasoning, no longer meets the standard — however small the premises.
This matters for the DIY question specifically. A proper record isn't a form; it's a narrative that describes the building, sets out the hazards and who's at risk, judges how the existing measures perform, and gives a prioritised action plan. If you write your own, that's the bar the document has to clear.
Who's liable if a DIY assessment is wrong?
You are — always. This is the single most important thing to understand before doing your own. The duty and the liability stay with the responsible person and never transfer to anyone who helps. Even if you pay a professional, you remain accountable in law — which is exactly why bringing in someone competent is protection, not just a cost.
The penalties are real. Minor breaches can carry fines of up to £5,000; serious breaches carry unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment. A fire and rescue authority can give you advice and will inspect your premises — but they cannot carry out your risk assessment for you, and they won't sign off a DIY one as correct. If yours falls short, the first you may hear of it is an enforcement notice, or worse.
So the honest calculation isn't "can I save the fee." It's "if this is ever tested — by an inspector, an insurer, or a fire — does it hold up, and am I comfortable that it's my name on it." For simple premises, that can absolutely be yes. For anything complex, it's the reason most people decide it isn't worth the risk.
Rather have it done properly and off your plate?
I carry out the assessment, send you a draft to review, and only invoice once the finalised report is issued. No deposit, no upfront fee — and your name's on a report that holds up.
People also ask
Is it illegal to do your own fire risk assessment?
No. The Fire Safety Order places the duty on the responsible person but doesn't require a professional. You can do it yourself, provided the assessment is suitable and sufficient and you're competent to carry it out for that type of premises.
Do I need a qualification to do a fire risk assessment?
The law requires no specific qualification — only demonstrable competence under Article 18 of the Order: sufficient training, experience or knowledge for that building. The harder and higher-risk the premises, the more that competence has to be evidenced if it's ever challenged.
Can I do my own HMO or landlord fire risk assessment?
Legally yes, but sleeping accommodation is a higher-risk category than commercial premises, and government guidance flags residential buildings as the type a general assessor may not be competent to assess. For most landlords, a competent professional is the safer route — and licensing councils will expect a proper one.
Can I use a free template or online fire risk assessment?
A template can help you record findings, but it can't supply the judgement. A generic checklist with no reasoning specific to your building isn't suitable and sufficient on its own, and that's the most common reason DIY assessments fail an audit.
Can the fire service do my fire risk assessment?
No. Fire and rescue authorities give advice and carry out inspections, but they cannot carry out your assessment for you, and they won't certify a DIY one as compliant.
Want a second opinion before you decide?
Tell me about your premises and I'll tell you honestly whether it's a job you can do yourself — and quote you a fixed price if it isn't. No upfront payment.