Guide
Fire risk assessment template: what the record must contain by law
Updated
Searching for a fire risk assessment template usually means one of two things: you have to produce a record and do not know what goes in it, or somebody has asked to see yours. The law answers the first question directly.
There is no official government template, and that is not an oversight
Government publishes fire safety guidance by premises type rather than a form to fill in (gov.uk). The reason is in the duty itself: article 9(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to "make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed". Suitable and sufficient is measured against your building, not against a form.
This is why a downloaded template can pass for a fire risk assessment and still leave you in breach. The document is evidence of the assessment. It is not the assessment.
What the record must contain
Article 9(6) requires the responsible person to "make a record of the assessment or review, which must in particular include the information prescribed by paragraph (7)", and to do so "as soon as practicable after the assessment is made or reviewed" (legislation.gov.uk). The prescribed contents are short, and they are the closest thing to an official template that exists:
- The findings of the assessment. What hazards were identified and who is at risk from them.
- The measures which have been or will be taken. Not intentions in general terms: the precautions themselves.
- Any group of persons identified as being especially at risk. Sleeping occupants, people with reduced mobility, lone workers, children, contractors unfamiliar with the building.
Review is part of the duty, not an optional extra
Article 9 also requires the assessment to be reviewed regularly so that it stays current, and specifically where there has been a significant change in the premises or in the organisation of the work. A record dated three years ago describing a layout that has since changed is not a current assessment, whatever template it was written on.
Article 9 additionally prohibits starting a new work activity involving dangerous substances until the risk assessment is completed and the required measures are implemented. Sequence matters: the assessment comes before the activity.
Where a template helps and where it hurts
- It helps as a checklist of prescribed contents. If your record covers findings, measures and groups especially at risk, it contains what article 9(7) asks for.
- It hurts when it substitutes for looking. A pre-filled hazard list encourages ticking rather than surveying, and the hazards that matter in your building are the ones not on the generic list.
- It hurts when it implies completeness. Nothing about filling in a form demonstrates that the assessment was suitable and sufficient, which is the standard you are actually held to.
- It cannot decide competence. The Order requires the assessment to be made properly; it does not certify whoever made it. Who did it, and on what basis, is a question a template cannot answer for you.
What this page does not give you
We publish no downloadable form. A form here would be a generic hazard list dressed as compliance, and the one thing the legislation is clear about is that suitability is judged against your premises. What is above is the statutory content requirement, quoted from the Order, which is the part a template can legitimately help you cover.
Government's own fire safety responsibilities guidance sets out the duty in plain terms alongside the premises-specific guides (gov.uk).