Is your emergency lighting still compliant - or just installed?

[ BS 5266-1:2025 5-Year Emergency Lighting Verification Survey ]

Emergency lighting is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. As the responsible person, you must keep it maintained and in working order. BS 5266-1:2025, the current British Standard code of practice for emergency lighting, sets out how that duty should be met in practice — and it recommends that every system undergo a full on-site verification survey every five years, on top of routine monthly and annual testing.

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[ Why does this survey exist? ]

Emergency lighting is a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the "responsible person" for a building must ensure emergency lighting is provided and kept in efficient working order at all times. BS 5266-1:2025, the current British Standard code of practice for emergency lighting, sets out how that duty should be met in practice — and it recommends that every system undergo a full on-site verification survey every five years, on top of routine monthly and annual testing. A monthly flash test or annual duration test can only tell you a fitting switches on. It can't confirm that light levels across your escape routes still meet the required standard or that changes to the layout, furniture or partitioning haven't left parts of the building under-lit. The 5-year survey is designed to catch exactly that — verifying performance against the original design, with a certified report you can hand to your insurer, auditor, or fire risk assessor as evidence of compliance and most importantly, keeping the occupants of your building safe.

[ What the survey covers ]

Visual Inspection

(included)

Visual inspection of every emergency luminaire and exit sign for correct operation, positioning, and condition. We will check for compliance against the British Standard recommendations

Light Measurements

(included)

Using high-end, calibrated illuminance meters, we will systematically and methodically measure several pre-defined points across the room to check for compliance against the British Standard recommendations, and original performance specification (if available).

Luminance Check

(optional)

Over time, your Exit Signs will naturally deteriorate. Using a calibrated luminance meter, we can check the luminance properties of your exit sign surfaces to check for compliance against the British Standard recommendations.

[ What will you receive? ]

Following our on-site survey, you will receive a full detailed verification report including;

Record of all light measurements taken
Compliance assessment against all relevant British Standards and your fire risk assessment
Clear pass or fail for each space with a schedule of any non-conformities
Priority rating of any defects and recommendations for remedial work

[ How it works ]

1 ] Initial Consultation

During the initial consultation, we will work with you to determine the exact scope of the survey, understand what existing documentation you may or may not have and built a tailored plan for you.

2 ] Pre-Survey Review

Prior to attendance, we will build a survey plan including understnding how each space is used, calculating our measurement grids and building the report structure to record measurements taken accuratley.

Doing this prior to attendance will minimise the amount of time requred on site to complete the survey, ensuring minimal disruption to your building use.

3 ] On-Site Survey Completed

We will attend site on an agreed date(s) and undertake our detailed measurement process. Often this is done out-of-hours, to minimise the impact of stray light and reduce our impact on your building operation.

4 ] Off-Site Compliance Checks

Using our deep understanding of the standards we will methodically assess the positioning and measurements taken in each space against all relevant British Standard documents (incluing BS 5266-1, BS 1838 an BS 50172) and your fire risk assessment.

5 ] Detailed Report Delivered

We will create and deliver a detailed report for each space in your building with the results of the survey, a schedule of any non-conformities and reccomendations for any remedial works. This report can be kept on file to demonstrate compliance during any audit or fire risk assessment.

6 ] Re-attendance (if required)

If any spaces failed the assessment and you have rectified through remedial works, we can re-attend and survey those areas to update your report.

[ Is your 5-Year survey due? ]

Please complete the form and we will be in touch shortly to discuss your project.