Yes — UK law allows you to carry out your own fire risk assessment if you are competent to produce something that is suitable and sufficient for the premises under your control. There is no universal “assessor licence” and filling in a free template does not, by itself, make you compliant. Competence is judged against the building and the people at risk. A very small, simple, low-risk workplace may be within reach of a careful Responsible Person using official guidance. An HMO, multi-occupied block, care setting, busy commercial kitchen or any site with sleeping risk is rarely a safe DIY job.
This guide sets out what GOV.UK and the Fire Safety Order actually say, when self-assessment can work, when it fails the test, and how that differs from the HSE’s more permissive line on simple domestic legionella self-assessment.
What the law requires (not a “fire safety certificate”)
Commercial and other non-domestic fire safety in England and Wales sits under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Article 9 requires the Responsible Person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to relevant persons, and to review it regularly so it stays up to date — especially if it may no longer be valid or the premises have changed significantly. The old fire-certificate regime was abolished years ago; what you need now is a living fire risk assessment (FRA), not a “fire safety certificate”.
GOV.UK’s workplace fire safety pages put the same duty in plain English: as the Responsible Person you must carry out a fire risk assessment and review it regularly, put precautions in place, plan for emergencies, and train people. The Home Office’s 5-step checklist is expressly for the simplest premises — and only if you feel competent and capable of using it after reading the matching premises guide.
Since 1 October 2023, changes linked to section 156 of the Building Safety Act mean Responsible Persons must record the fire risk assessment in full, including findings, measures taken or planned, groups especially at risk, and the identity of anyone engaged to make or review the assessment. There is no longer a “five employees or fewer” carve-out for recording.
Responsible Person vs competent person
These are not the same role. The Responsible Person (typically the employer, owner, landlord or person with control) holds the legal duty. A competent person is someone with enough training, experience, knowledge and other qualities to help implement fire precautions — which can be you, an employee, or an external assessor. Appointing help does not hand the duty over. If the finished assessment is inadequate, enforcement still looks at the Responsible Person. For who that is in a lease, see Who is the Responsible Person in a commercial lease?.
When DIY fire risk assessment can work
Self-assessment is most defensible where all of the following are true:
- the premises are small, simple and low-risk (for example a compact single-occupancy shop or office with a straightforward escape route)
- you understand ignition sources, combustibles, detection, escape, fire doors, emergency lighting and management routines for that layout
- you use the relevant official GOV.UK premises guide and record significant findings in full
- you review the assessment after works, change of use, near misses or staffing changes — not only when a “certificate date” feels due (there is no fixed statutory expiry; see how often an FRA must be reviewed)
If you read the official guide and honestly cannot apply it, GOV.UK’s own premise is that you should seek expert help.
When DIY usually fails: HMOs, sleeping risk and autumn student lets
Shared houses, bedsits and student HMOs combine sleeping risk, unfamiliar occupants, shared kitchens and escape routes that licensing officers know how to stress-test. In cities such as Birmingham, mid-September occupancy after voids is exactly when councils and insurers look for a competent housing FRA — not a landlord template with tick-boxes and no significant findings.
The same caution applies to holiday lets and Airbnbs (paying guests unfamiliar with the layout), multi-tenant commercial floors, and any building where the Fire Safety Act 2021 brought structure, external walls and flat entrance doors firmly into scope. For HMO-specific expectations, start with fire risk assessments for HMOs and HMO licensing certificates.
Need a competent FRA? Request a quote via our nationwide matching network: https://safety-certificates.uk/quote/ — or see fire risk assessments.
A thin DIY report also fails the practical tests: insurance claims, sale or remortgage packs, and “what happens if you fail” enforcement outcomes — covered in What happens if you fail a fire risk assessment?.
Do not confuse fire DIY with legionella DIY
HSE tells landlords that a suitable and sufficient legionella risk assessment is required, that there is no “legionella certificate”, and that a simple domestic system can often be assessed in-house if you are competent — see the HSE landlords’ legionella page. That permissive line is about simple domestic hot and cold water, not a licence to DIY every HMO shower stack or commercial calorifier. Fire safety has its own regime under the Fire Safety Order; water hygiene sits under HSWA / COSHH / ACoP L8. One downloaded checklist does not discharge both.
If you outsource: how to choose a competent assessor
Home Office guidance for people with duties under the Order is clear: if you cannot produce a suitable and sufficient assessment yourself, use a professional, and prefer assessors (or companies) with recognised third-party certification or professional registration — especially for higher-risk or unfamiliar building types. Record their name and organisation on the assessment. Ask for experience that matches your premises (housing vs offices vs care), not a generic “we do FRAs” claim.
Safety Certificates UK is a matching network: we do not assess in-house. We connect Responsible Persons with vetted assessors for fire risk assessments (and legionella where needed). You keep the legal duty; the assessor produces the report and action plan. Nationwide cover includes Midlands cities such as Birmingham via our locations hub.
Request a free quote if you are unsure whether DIY is defensible for your property type, storeys and occupancy — tell us if you need fire, legionella or both.
Next step: Get a quote for a fire risk assessment through Safety Certificates UK’s matching network (we do not assess in-house).
Guidance only — not legal advice. Requirements depend on the premises and enforcing authority. Arrange a formal on-site assessment where needed.