Fire Safety Signs and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: What Building Managers Need to Know

If you manage a block of flats, the first fire safety signs question is not which sign to buy. It is which rule applies to the building in front of you. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced a specific wayfinding requirement for certain high-rise residential buildings, but they did not create a new blanket signage rule for every building in England.

That distinction matters. A building can have perfectly familiar green fire exit signs and still fail to address the separate firefighter wayfinding duty in Regulation 8. Equally, a lower-rise building does not become subject to Regulation 8 simply because floor-number signs would be useful. This guide explains where the line sits and what a building manager should check.

What did the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 change for signage?

The Regulations came into force on 23 January 2023 and added specific duties for responsible persons in multi-occupied residential buildings. For high-rise residential buildings, those duties include wayfinding signage intended to help fire and rescue crews identify floors and flats during an incident. The Home Office Regulation 8 fact sheet explains that this became a legal requirement for existing high-rise residential buildings in England.

The legal wording is narrower than the phrase “fire safety signs” can suggest. Regulation 8 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires clear markings for floor identification and the identification of domestic premises. Those markings must be designed and located in line with the referenced Approved Document B guidance.

Our view is simple. Establish the legal scope before you specify a material, size or sign type. Starting with a catalogue can encourage the wrong question, because Regulation 8 is about a particular building type and a particular operational need.

Does Regulation 8 apply to your building?

Regulation 8 applies to the responsible person for a high-rise residential building in England. Under the Regulations, that means a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises that is at least 18 metres above ground level or has at least seven storeys.

The height and storey tests are alternatives. A building does not need to meet both. The Regulations also contain rules for how height and storeys are counted, including the treatment of below-ground storeys and some mezzanine floors. If your building sits close to a threshold, check the statutory definition rather than relying on an estate schedule or marketing description.

A job title does not settle the legal duty. The Regulations place the obligation on the “responsible person” under the Fire Safety Order. A building manager may be the responsible person, may act on behalf of one, or may manage practical checks while another organisation holds the legal duty. The Home Office guidance for responsible persons is the right place to confirm how the duties apply before assigning actions internally.

When we look at a fire safety signs requirement, building scope is one of the first things we would pin down. It avoids two common errors: treating Regulation 8 as universal, or assuming a familiar building description such as “six floors plus ground” tells you everything you need to know about the statutory storey count.

What must Regulation 8 wayfinding signs show and where should they go?

The signs need to do two jobs. They must tell firefighters which floor they are on, and which flats can be accessed from that level. Regulation 8 ties the design and location of those markings to Approved Document B.

The Approved Document B wayfinding specification gives practical dimensions and positioning for floor identification and flat indicator signs. The wayfinding provisions in paragraphs 15.13 to 15.16 include the following checks.

For Regulation 8 fire safety signs, these are not details to leave until installation day. We would treat mounting height, sight line and flat numbering as part of the specification itself. A beautifully printed sign in the wrong place is still the wrong outcome.

There is another practical point. The floor sign should be visible from the top step of a firefighting stair and, where possible, from inside a firefighting lift when the doors open. That means a desktop artwork check cannot prove the finished installation works. Someone needs to stand in the building and look from the positions the guidance is designed around.

Does Regulation 8 require photoluminescent signs?

No. Regulation 8 does not state that the wayfinding signs must be made from photoluminescent material. It requires the markings to be visible in low-level lighting conditions or when illuminated with a torch. Material choice should therefore follow the required visibility, location and building conditions rather than being presented as a blanket legal rule.

Photoluminescent material can be a sensible option within a fire safety signs scheme where low-light visibility is important. Stocksigns supplies photoluminescent fire safety signs for applications where that property is useful. The key is to keep the reasoning in the right order. First establish the performance and placement requirement. Then choose a material that achieves it in the building.

We would not specify photoluminescent material simply because the word “fire” appears in the brief. That shortcut sounds safe, but it can hide the more important checks around contrast, position, text size and what the sign needs to communicate.

Regulation 8 signage is not the same as ordinary fire exit signage

Floor and flat wayfinding signs answer a firefighter orientation question. A fire exit sign answers an escape-route question. A fire extinguisher sign identifies equipment. They can all sit within a wider fire safety signage system, but they are not interchangeable.

The Health and Safety Executive guidance on safety signs and signals explains that fire safety signs include information on escape routes and emergency exits, the identification or location of firefighting equipment, and fire warnings. It also makes the broader residual-risk point: safety signs are used where a significant risk remains after other relevant measures have been put in place.

This is where a lot of building audits become muddled. A manager sees a good set of green exit signs and assumes the signage question is covered. Regulation 8 asks something different. Can firefighters identify the floor quickly, then identify which flats are accessed from that level, including when visibility is poor?

At the same time, installing floor numbers does not remove the need to review escape routes or equipment identification. Your wider fire safety signs should still be selected against the risk assessment, the building layout and the relevant fire safety guidance.

We separate these functions when specifying signage because it produces a cleaner audit trail. One sign family supports firefighter orientation. Another supports occupant escape. Another identifies equipment or instructions. Once those jobs are named, gaps are easier to see.

A practical fire safety signs audit for building managers

A useful audit of fire safety signs starts with the legal duty, then follows the building as a person would move through it. Do not start by counting signs. Start by confirming what each sign is meant to achieve.

1. Confirm who the responsible person is. Record who holds the duty and who is carrying out the inspection or procurement work on their behalf.
2. Confirm whether Regulation 8 applies. Check the high-rise residential definition, including height and storey counting where the building is close to a threshold.
3. Walk every protected stair landing and relevant lift lobby. Look at the sign from the firefighter approach, not just from the corridor.
4. Check wording and numbering. Make sure floor numbers and flat ranges match the building, floor plans and resident-facing references.
5. Measure the installation. Check letter height, floor numeral height and mounting height against the Approved Document B specification.
6. Check visibility. Look for low contrast, glare, poor illumination, decorative obstruction, open doors, noticeboards or equipment that can hide the sign.
7. Check condition. Replace signs that are damaged, illegible, missing or no longer accurate after changes to the building.
8. Review the wider fire signage separately. Escape-route signs, fire action notices and firefighting equipment signs have different functions and should not be treated as evidence that Regulation 8 has been covered.

The Home Office guidance says Regulation 8 signs should be kept in good condition and checked regularly. That is a sensible point to build into existing inspection routines rather than creating a once-only installation project that nobody revisits.

We would also record defects by exact location. “Third floor, east stair, flat range sign obscured by noticeboard” is actionable. “Fire signage needs attention” is not. The more specific the record, the easier it is to quote, manufacture, install and close out the issue.

When a standard sign is not enough

Some buildings are straightforward. A standard fire safety signs specification, correct wording and careful installation may be all that is needed. Others have split levels, multiple cores, unusual flat numbering, several firefighting lifts or an estate-wide signage standard that needs to stay consistent across many blocks.

That is where custom manufacture becomes useful. The sign still has to do the regulatory job. Customisation should help it fit the actual numbering, layout, fixing surface and viewing conditions without sacrificing legibility.

Stocksigns manufactures standard and custom-made signage in-house and also offers a site survey and installation service for larger or more complex projects. We would move into that route when the hard part is no longer choosing a product from a list, but working out what needs to go where across the building.

A site survey is not a substitute for the responsible person’s fire safety duties. It is a practical way to turn an identified signage requirement into a clear specification, especially where there are several sign types, locations or building constraints to coordinate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are fire safety signs mandatory in every building?

No. There is no rule that every possible fire safety sign must appear in every building. The signs you need depend on the premises, the applicable fire safety duties and the findings of the relevant risk assessment. Regulation 8 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 is narrower still. Its specific floor and flat wayfinding duty applies to high-rise residential buildings in England that meet the definition in the Regulations.

What counts as a high-rise residential building under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022?

For these Regulations, a high-rise residential building is a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises that is at least 18 metres above ground level or has at least seven storeys. The Regulations also set out how height and storeys are counted. If a building is close to either threshold, use the statutory definition rather than an informal description of the building.

Do Regulation 8 signs have to be photoluminescent?

No. Regulation 8 requires floor and flat identification markings to be visible in low-level lighting conditions or when illuminated with a torch. It does not name photoluminescent material as the only way to meet that requirement. Photoluminescent signage can be appropriate where it suits the application, but material choice still needs to be considered alongside contrast, location, text size and the actual viewing conditions.

Where should floor identification signs be installed?

Approved Document B says floor identification signs should be provided on every landing of a protected stairway and every relevant protected corridor or lobby, including an open access balcony, into which a firefighting lift opens. They should be visible from the top step of a firefighting stair and, where possible, from inside a firefighting lift when its doors open.

Who is responsible for maintaining Regulation 8 wayfinding signage?

The legal duty sits with the responsible person for the high-rise residential building. The Home Office guidance says the signs should be maintained in good condition and checked regularly. A building or facilities manager may carry out those checks in practice, but organisations should be clear about who is the responsible person and how inspection, repair and record keeping are assigned.

Do the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

No. These Regulations apply in England. Fire safety law and guidance differ across the UK, so a building manager responsible for property in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should use the legislation and regulator guidance that applies in that jurisdiction. Do not treat an England-specific Regulation 8 requirement as a UK-wide legal rule.