Why fire risk assessment reports aren't standardised, and why that's now a problem

Short answer: In England, the law says a fire risk assessment must be "suitable and sufficient" and that its findings must be recorded, but it doesn't set a format. PAS 79-1 and BS 9792 recommend a method, but both are voluntary. So two competent assessors can inspect the same building and hand over reports that look nothing alike. Since October 2023 the full assessment must be recorded and the assessor named, so an unclear or badly structured report is now a compliance risk, not just a presentation issue.

What does the law actually require of an FRA report?

Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to make a "suitable and sufficient" assessment and to record its findings, including the measures taken or planned and any groups of people especially at risk.

That's it. The Order doesn't say how long the report should be, what order it should follow, how risk should be rated, or how actions should be set out. Those choices are left to the assessor.

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 raised the bar from 1 October 2023. According to London Fire Brigade, every responsible person must now record all findings, not just significant ones, and record the name of anyone they appoint to carry out or review the assessment. Before that, only some premises had to keep a written record at all.

If there are standards, why do reports still vary so much?

Because the standards are guidance, not rules.

• PAS 79-1 covers premises other than housing. BSI describes it as a voluntary code of practice that gives a recommended method and example documentation.
• BS 9792:2025 covers housing and supersedes PAS 79-2, which was withdrawn in 2021.

Plenty of firms follow one of these closely. Plenty of others use a template built up over years, a generic health and safety format, or a document that's been copied and edited so many times nobody remembers where it started. Each can produce a valid assessment. But the result is a market where:

• the same building can receive very different reports from different assessors
• risk ratings use different scales and mean different things
• action plans range from clear, prioritised and owned to a long list nobody acts on
• photos, findings and actions are hard to match up
• a responsible person has no easy way to tell a good report from a poor one

None of that necessarily means the inspection was bad. Often the assessor's judgement on site was sound and the problem is in the write-up. But the report is the only thing the client, the enforcing authority or a court will ever see.

Why is inconsistency now a bigger problem than it used to be?

Three things have changed at once.

1. The record is the evidence. With every finding now recorded and the assessor named, the report is the evidence of what was assessed and by whom. If a finding is buried, unclear or missing, the responsible person and the assessor are both exposed.

2. Competence is being defined. BS 8674:2025 sets out Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels of competence for individual fire risk assessors, matched to the complexity of the building. A consistent, well-evidenced report is one of the clearest ways an assessor can show they're working at the right level.

3. Certification is coming. In March 2026 the government launched a consultation as part of its commitment to mandatory certification for fire risk assessors. It closed in June 2026, and a response is still awaited. The Fire Protection Association has estimated that full mandatory certification could take effect around 2028 to 2029. When it does, report quality is likely to be one of the first things certification bodies look at.

What does a consistent FRA report look like?

Consistency doesn't mean every report reads the same. Every building is different, and the assessor's judgement has to come through. It means the structure is predictable, so anyone picking it up can find what matters. A consistent report:

• follows a recognised method (PAS 79-1 for non-domestic premises, BS 9792 for housing) section by section
• answers every question in that method, with "not applicable" stated rather than left blank
• ties each finding to its evidence: the photo, the location and the question it answers
• gives each action a priority, a timescale and a clear owner
• uses one risk rating method, explained in the report
• names the assessor and, where the firm has one, the person who reviewed or validated it
• states what was not inspected and why

How does this affect assessors and firms?

For a sole practitioner, a consistent structure is protection. If the report is ever questioned, it shows exactly what was looked at and why each conclusion was reached.

For a multi-assessor firm, it's quality control. Without a shared structure, every assessor writes in their own style, and the person reviewing reports has to work out each one from scratch.

For the industry as a whole, it's about raising the floor. Most assessors take the work seriously. A shared standard for how findings are recorded makes it much harder for the weakest reports to pass as good enough.

What this means for your reports

If you write FRAs, it's worth a quick check against your own template:

1. Does every report follow the same recognised method, in the same order?
2. Could a stranger match each action back to the finding and photo behind it?
3. Is your risk rating method stated in the report?
4. Are you and your reviewer clearly named?

If the answer to any of these is "not always", that's the gap to close before certification makes it compulsory.

Cindr builds PAS 79-1 and BS 9792 reports from the assessor's own site notes, photos and judgement, in a consistent structure. The assessor sets every rating and signs off every report.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a legal format for a fire risk assessment report?

No. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a suitable and sufficient assessment and a record of its findings, but it doesn't prescribe a format. PAS 79-1 and BS 9792 are the most widely used recommended methods.

Is PAS 79-1 mandatory?

No. BSI publishes PAS 79-1 as a voluntary code of practice for premises other than housing. Many firms use it because it's widely recognised and makes reports easier to audit.

What changed for fire risk assessment records in October 2023?

Under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, all responsible persons must record the full findings of their fire risk assessment, not just significant findings. They must also record the name of anyone they appoint to carry out or review it.

Will fire risk assessors need to be certified?

The government has committed to mandatory certification and consulted on the detail in 2026. The final rules and timetable haven't been confirmed yet.