You don't need to be a fire door specialist to check fire doors. The government's own guidance on regulation 10 says the quarterly checks "should be simple and basic" and that "with appropriate instruction, caretakers, managing agents, housing officers and maintenance personnel should be able to do them as the checks are only visual."

That's good news if you're a managing agent delegating fire door checks to a caretaker or building manager. But "simple and basic" still needs a clear method. This guide walks through the process step by step — what to look at, what to look for, and what counts as a problem.

Before You Start

What you'll need:

A clipboard or phone to record findings (door location, pass/fail, notes)
A £1 coin (for checking gaps — it's roughly 3mm thick)
A phone camera (for photographing defects)
Access to all communal areas

How long it takes:

Roughly 2–3 minutes per door once you know what you're looking for. A building with 30 communal fire doors takes about 60–90 minutes. The first time will be slower as you familiarise yourself with the checks.

Which doors to check:

Every fire door in the communal parts of the building: stairwells, corridors, lobbies, plant rooms, and any door separating a flat from the common area. For the quarterly check under regulation 10, you're checking communal doors. Flat entrance doors are checked annually — see our guide on how often fire doors need to be inspected for the full breakdown.

The Walk-Through: 6 Steps Per Door

Work through these six steps on each fire door. Stand in front of the door, then work systematically from the door itself outward to the frame, hardware, and operation.

Step 1: Look at the Door Itself

Stand back and look at the door leaf as a whole.

Check for:

Cracks, holes, splits, or warping in the door surface
Signs of delamination (the surface peeling or bubbling away from the core)
Unauthorised modifications — has someone cut a letterbox, fitted a cat flap, or drilled extra holes through the door?

Look for the fire rating label — a colour-coded plug or sticker, usually on the top edge or hinge side. It should say FD30 (30 minutes fire resistance) or FD60 (60 minutes). If there's no label, note it — it doesn't necessarily mean the door isn't fire-rated, but you can't confirm it is.

What a problem looks like: A door with visible cracks through the surface, noticeable warping (it doesn't sit flat in the frame), or any hole drilled through the leaf that wasn't part of the original installation.

Step 2: Check the Seals

Run your finger along the edges of the door where it meets the frame. You're looking for two types of seal:

Intumescent strips — usually a thin strip embedded in the door edge or frame rebate. These expand in heat to seal the gap during a fire. They should be continuous along both vertical edges and the top edge.

Cold smoke seals — a brush or rubber strip, often alongside the intumescent strip. These prevent cold smoke passing around the door before the intumescent activates.

What a problem looks like: Strips that are missing from any edge, cracked, painted over (paint prevents expansion), or pulling away from the groove. Smoke seals that are flattened, hardened, or missing. FDIS inspection data shows seal problems are among the most common fire door failures — this is one of the most frequently failed checks.

Step 3: Check the Gaps

Close the door and look at the gap between the door and the frame on all four sides.

The test: Hold a £1 coin against the gap. A £1 coin is roughly 3mm thick. The gap should be roughly this size — consistent around the door, no more than 3–4mm.

What a problem looks like: Gaps wide enough to easily see through, or significantly wider at the top than the bottom (this usually means the door has dropped on its hinges). According to FDIS data, excessive gaps are the single most common fire door defect.

Step 4: Check the Hinges

Fire doors need at least three hinges. Count them.

Check for: Missing screws (look for empty screw holes), loose hinges (grip the door at the lock side and gently push up and down — there should be no movement), and visible sagging.

What a problem looks like: Fewer than three hinges, empty screw holes, or the door moving up and down when you push it — all signs of hinge failure that will eventually cause the door to drop and the gaps to widen.

Step 5: Check the Closer and Operation

Open the door to about 90 degrees and let go. Watch what happens.

Check for:

Does the door close fully into the frame on its own? Not almost-closed — fully closed, with the latch engaged.
Does the closer work smoothly, or does the door slam, stick, or stop partway?
Is there a door closer visible (overhead arm, concealed closer, or rising butt hinges)?
Is anything preventing the door from closing — wedges, doorstops, boxes, bins, furniture?

What a problem looks like: A door that doesn't close fully on its own, a closer that's leaking hydraulic fluid, a bent closer arm, or any object holding the door open. Note: some doors have legitimate hold-open devices linked to the fire alarm — these release automatically when the alarm activates and are acceptable.

Step 6: Check Signage and Glazing

Signage: Look for a "Fire Door — Keep Shut" sign (or "Fire Door — Keep Locked" for locked doors). It should be present, legible, and securely fixed.

Glazing: If the door has glass panels, check for cracks in the glass and look for small etched markings in the corner that indicate fire-rated glass. Check that the beading holding the glass in place is secure.

What a problem looks like: Missing or illegible signage, cracked glass, missing fire-rating marks on glass, or loose glazing beads.

Recording Your Findings

For each door, record:

Building name and door location (e.g., "Block A, 3rd floor stairwell door")
Pass or fail for each of the 6 steps
Specific defects found (be precise: "intumescent strip missing from hinge side, full length" is useful; "seal issue" is not)
Photo of any defect

This record forms your regulation 10 compliance evidence. Even if every door passes, record the inspection — the evidence that you checked matters as much as the findings.

Generate a per-building checklist to take on-site →

What Happens After Checking

All doors pass: File the inspection record with the date and inspector name. Your next quarterly check is in 13 weeks.

Some doors fail: Report the defects to whoever manages the building's fire safety compliance (usually the managing agent). Each defect needs to be prioritised and scheduled for repair:

Critical defects (closer not working, missing seals, large gaps) — fix within days
Important defects (missing label, loose hinges, missing signage) — fix within 2–4 weeks
Minor defects (cosmetic damage, slight wear) — schedule at next maintenance window

Don't try to fix fire door defects yourself unless you've been trained and the task is within your competence (tightening hinge screws, removing obstructions, adjusting closer tension). Anything involving seals, door leaf work, or structural repairs needs a fire door specialist.

For a full breakdown of how to manage the remediation process, see our guide to fire door remedials for managing agents.

The Bigger Picture

Checking fire doors as a non-specialist is the front line of regulation 10 compliance. You're the person who spots the problems. But the real challenge for managing agents is what happens next — tracking hundreds of defects across dozens of buildings through remediation cycles that overlap with the next round of quarterly inspections.

FDIS data shows 75% of fire doors fail inspection. That's not a one-off cleanup — it's an ongoing compliance cycle that needs a system behind it.

FireDoorReady is being built for managing agents who need to schedule inspections, record findings, and track every defect through to resolution — across every building in their portfolio. Join the waitlist →

This guidance applies to England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have separate fire safety legislation.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Consult a fire safety professional or legal adviser for advice specific to your buildings.

Sources

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance — GOV.UK
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10 — legislation.gov.uk
FDIS survey: three-quarters of UK fire doors fail inspection — Guild of Architectural Ironmongers

Checking Fire Doors: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Specialists