Fire safety tenders: the certification and competence…

In shortFire safety contracts carry life-safety risk, so public buyers test competence harder than in most trades. Under the Procurement Act 2023 they can set proportionate conditions on qualifications and experience, but must accept equivalents to any named qualification. Since 1 October 2023, responsible persons in England have had to record fire risk assessments in full and name whoever carried them out, and the government consulted in 2026 on mandatory certification for fire risk assessors.

Why fire safety tenders test competence so hard

Fire alarm, sprinkler, fire door, compartmentation and fire risk assessment contracts all support legal duties the buyer holds as a "responsible person" under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order). If your work is poor, the buyer is exposed. Expect selection questions, conditions of participation and quality questions that ask you to prove competence rather than just state it.

Public demand is substantial. For example, Kent County Council (trading as Procurement Services) published a Fire Safety Products and Associated Services framework on Find a Tender on 6 October 2026, with four lots worth £120m in total excluding VAT, open to public bodies across the UK and with tenders due on 5 November 2026. Search live fire safety opportunities free with our tender search.

What the Procurement Act 2023 lets buyers ask for

Under section 22 of the Procurement Act 2023, a buyer can set conditions of participation only where they are a proportionate way of making sure suppliers have the legal and financial capacity, or the technical ability, to perform the contract. For technical ability:

Conditions can relate to your qualifications, experience or technical ability.
Buyers must not require particular qualifications without allowing for their equivalents. If a tender names one certification scheme, check whether an equivalent you already hold is accepted, and ask a clarification question if it is unclear.
Buyers must not require you to have been awarded a contract by a particular contracting authority.
Buyers can ask for evidence that someone other than you can verify. A current certificate from an independent certification body, with a public register entry, is exactly that kind of evidence.
Buyers can treat you as meeting a condition through a supplier you will subcontract to, or bid with, under a legally binding arrangement.

Proportionality matters: section 22(5) says the buyer must have regard to the nature, complexity and cost of the contract. A small extinguisher service contract should not carry the same hurdles as a multi-site fire door remediation programme. Our PSQ guide covers how these questions appear at selection stage.

Third-party certification

Third-party certification means an independent certification body has assessed your company, or an individual, against a scheme's requirements, and keeps checking it. The Fire Sector Federation's guide to choosing a competent fire risk assessor explains the three types used for fire risk assessment:

Company schemes, run by a certification body, which look at the competence of staff and the company's management systems.
Person certification schemes, run by a certification body, which look at the competence of an individual.
Professional body registration schemes, which also look at the individual rather than the company.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredits certification bodies, not individual assessors. The Federation recommends using fire risk assessment companies, including sole traders, that hold third-party certification from a UKAS-accredited certification body. It lists the BAFE SP205 company scheme, delivered by NSI and SSAIB, IFC Certification's IFCC 0099 company scheme and Warrington Certification's FRACS schemes, alongside professional body registers held by the Institution of Fire Engineers, the Institute of Fire Prevention Officers and the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (BAFE SP205 certification bodies).

Installers and maintainers of fire alarms, suppression systems, fire doors and passive fire protection are often asked for trade-specific third-party certification as well. Requirements vary by buyer, so read the specification and selection criteria for each opportunity, and remember the equivalents rule above.

Fire risk assessor competence: what has changed

Full records since 1 October 2023. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order. Responsible persons in England must now record the whole fire risk assessment, not just the significant findings, and record the name of any person and organisation they appoint to carry it out or review it (GOV.UK guidance on section 156). Your name goes on the record, so buyers have a strong reason to check you.
A competence duty is written but not yet in force. The same section adds article 9A, which says a responsible person must not appoint someone to assist with a fire risk assessment unless they have sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities. GOV.UK says this will come into force at a later date, with guidance first.
Mandatory certification is planned. The government accepted the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendation for mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ran a consultation on the fire risk assessor profession from 26 March to 18 June 2026, covering a competency framework, ways of verifying competence and regulatory powers (announcement). The consultation notes that only two UKAS-accredited bodies were certifying fire risk assessors at the time.

If you bid for fire risk assessment work, holding certification now puts you ahead of the likely rules, and it is already the kind of verifiable evidence section 22 allows buyers to ask for.

Residential buildings: duties buyers will expect you to understand

Housing associations, councils and other landlords often buy fire safety work to meet specific legal duties. Show that you know them:

Structure, external walls and flat entrance doors. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that these are within the Fire Safety Order in residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, so flat entrance doors must be considered in the fire risk assessment (GOV.UK fire doors fact sheet).
Fire door checks above 11 metres. Since 23 January 2023, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have required responsible persons for multi-occupied residential buildings above 11 metres to check communal fire doors at least every three months, and to use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every 12 months, including that self-closing devices work.
Higher-risk buildings. In the occupation regime, a higher-risk building is one in England that is at least 18 metres high or has at least 7 storeys, and contains at least 2 residential units (section 65, Building Safety Act 2022). For new building work on higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Regulator checks that the client appoints people who are competent to do their job (GOV.UK).

These duties apply in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety legislation, so check which applies to the contract.

Building your fire safety evidence pack

Have this ready before the tender lands, so you are checking documents rather than chasing them:

Certificates and register entries for every relevant company and individual scheme, with expiry dates and scopes that match the work.
Named people and their competence, such as qualifications, professional registrations, training records and CPD for assessors, engineers and supervisors.
Relevant experience in similar buildings, especially occupied housing, schools, healthcare or higher-risk buildings, with contract values and buyer contacts who will give a reference.
Inspection, testing and record-keeping arrangements, including how you give the client records they can rely on.
Health and safety and general accreditations, such as an SSIP scheme or the Common Assessment Standard. See our main construction accreditations guide.
Insurance, including professional indemnity where you give design or assessment advice. Under section 22, buyers cannot insist the cover is in place before award, but they will usually ask you to confirm you will have it.

For the wider document list, see documents needed for public-sector tenders. For framework opportunities like the Kent example, read frameworks and dynamic markets explained: buyers can direct award call-offs using the scores suppliers achieve at framework stage, so the quality of your first submission carries forward for years.

How West Gate can help

Find the work: search open fire safety contracts free with our tender search, or set up free tender alerts for your sectors and regions. See our fire safety tenders page too.
Outsource the bid: our bid writers handle the research, compliance checks, writing, coordination and deadline pressure, so your engineers and assessors stay on site. West Gate has a 90%+ win rate† and does not support competing bidders on the same opportunity.
Talk it through: book a free 30-minute call to check whether your certifications meet a live tender's requirements before you commit time to it.

† Figures based on bids West Gate submitted and contracts awarded in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Can a public buyer insist on one named fire safety certification scheme?

Not without allowing equivalents. Section 22 of the Procurement Act 2023 says conditions of participation may not require particular qualifications without allowing for their equivalents, and any condition must be proportionate to the contract.

Do fire risk assessors need to be certified?

Not yet by law. Since 1 October 2023 responsible persons in England must record who carried out their fire risk assessment. A duty to appoint only competent assessors is written into the Fire Safety Order but not yet in force, and the government consulted in 2026 on mandatory certification.

What does UKAS accreditation mean for fire safety contractors?

UKAS accredits the certification bodies that assess companies and individuals, not the contractors themselves. A certificate from a UKAS-accredited certification body is independent, verifiable evidence of competence.

Which fire door checks are required in blocks of flats?

In England, for multi-occupied residential buildings above 11 metres, responsible persons must check communal fire doors at least every three months and use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every 12 months.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Always follow the tender documents and take legal advice where needed.

Fire safety tenders: the certification and competence evidence buyers ask for