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Aipedia: Fire risk assessors
No regulator or fire body has issued AI guidance for fire risk assessors, so AI-assisted work is judged against the Fire Safety Order, NFCC advice and competence standards. Those rules are tightening, with mandatory certification proposed in March 2026.
Part of: AI in fire risk assessment
In short
Fire risk assessors have no statutory regulator and no AI-specific guidance. AI-assisted assessments are judged against Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires a suitable and sufficient assessment kept up to date, and against NFCC advice telling duty holders to check competence, references and professional indemnity insurance. The Competency Council criteria and BS 8674:2025 set the competence benchmark. MHCLG's March 2026 consultation proposes mandatory certification, a code of conduct, a central register and offences, but does not mention AI or PI.
Unlike surveyors or accountants, fire risk assessors have no statutory regulator. MHCLG's 2026 consultation confirms there is no statutory definition of a fire risk assessor: anyone can help a responsible person (RP) meet the Article 9 duty, and an RP can assess their own premises. Instead, several sources shape what a competent assessor is expected to do, and none of them has yet said anything about AI.
The table below summarises what each source is, whether it binds anyone and whether it addresses AI:
| Source | Status | Date | AI mentioned? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | Binding law on RPs | 2005, as amended | No |
| NFCC guidance on choosing an assessor | Guidance for duty holders | Last modified 19 March 2026 | No |
| Competency Council criteria | Voluntary benchmark used by NFCC | Current criteria | Not AI-specific |
| BS 8674 | British Standard, competence framework | 2025 | Not AI-specific |
| MHCLG consultation | Proposals, not yet law | 26 March to 18 June 2026 | No |
| Home Office assessor survey | Research | 30 September 2024 | No |
Article 9 requires the RP to make a "suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks" to identify the general fire precautions needed. It must be reviewed regularly to keep it up to date, and particularly where there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. The significant findings must be recorded, including the measures taken or to be taken and any group of people identified as especially at risk.
Article 3 defines the RP, Article 5 extends duties to others with control of premises, and Article 25 makes fire and rescue authorities the enforcers. Enforcement is against RPs, not assessors. For an assessor, the practical point is that "suitable and sufficient" is the yardstick a court or an auditing inspector will use. An AI tool that produces a polished but generic report does not change that test. Our fire safety risk assessment guide explains the duty in more detail.
The NFCC fire safety risk assessment guidance is written for duty holders, but it effectively sets the client's checklist for appointing an assessor. Duty holders are told to:
NFCC also states that duty holders "retain responsibility for ensuring that the assessment fulfils the requirements of the law". Clients who follow this advice are likely to ask more questions about method, including how reports are produced.
The Competency Council publishes Competency Criteria for Fire Risk Assessors, used by NFCC as the benchmark. BS 8674, published in 2025, provides a framework for assessor competence, and BS 4422:2024 covers fire vocabulary. MHCLG notes that only two UKAS-accredited bodies currently certify fire risk assessors. Neither is an AI-specific standard. Competence, though, is personal: a tool can supply text, but it cannot supply the knowledge and experience the criteria describe.
MHCLG published the Fire risk assessors profession consultation on 26 March 2026, closing 18 June 2026, responding to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendation to "establish a system of mandatory accreditation to certify the competence of fire risk assessors". The Inquiry found the Grenfell assessor had misrepresented his experience and qualifications.
The main proposals in England are:
Regulation would sit within the integrated built environment system and the Professional Qualifications Act 2022. The Government will legislate "when parliamentary time allows". The consultation does not mention AI, templates, remote assessments or PI. See mandatory certification and AI.
Until a regulator speaks, an assessor using AI should be able to show that every assessment reflects the building inspected and the assessor's own judgement. That means a documented method, clear scope and evidence of review. On PI, there is no statutory requirement, but NFCC's advice means clients will ask for proof. Fire safety restrictions are common in PI wordings, and how a policy treats AI-assisted work depends on its terms. See PI for fire risk assessors, whether PI covers AI errors in FRAs and the fire risk assessor Aipedia hub. The AI report writing guide covers drafting controls. Apex arranges PI for fire risk assessors and can review how your wording treats AI-assisted assessments.
No. As at October 2026, MHCLG, NFCC, fire and rescue services and the Competency Council had not published AI guidance. The March 2026 consultation and the 2024 Home Office survey do not mention AI.
The Government has proposed mandatory certification in England, consulting from March to June 2026. It will legislate when parliamentary time allows and has not given a date, so certification is not yet compulsory.
No. PI is not mentioned in the consultation. NFCC separately advises duty holders to ask for proof of sufficient professional indemnity insurance, and certification schemes may make it a condition of membership.
The fire and rescue authority enforces against the responsible person, who keeps legal responsibility. The client may then bring a civil claim against the assessor if the assessment was negligent, which is where PI becomes relevant.
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