Ask most facilities managers if their site is compliant, and the answer is usually: "Yes, as far as I know."
That phrase is doing a lot of work.
This commercial compliance checklist gives facilities managers an honest answer, you'll have a five-point self-check you can run in the next two minutes - no jargon, no guesswork, just a clear answer on where you actually stand.
Why "As Far As I Know" Isn't Good Enough
Compliance rarely fails all at once.
It slips quietly:
- A fire extinguisher service that's a few weeks overdue
- An emergency light nobody's tested this month
- An electrical report that's technically still "in date," barely
- A legionella assessment last touched years ago
None of these look urgent on their own. Together, they're the gap between a building that's genuinely compliant, and one that's just assumed to be — right up until an inspection, an insurance claim, or an incident proves otherwise.
The 5-Point Commercial Compliance Checklist
1. Fire Extinguishers
Portable extinguishers need a basic service at least once a year, under BS 5306-3. It's the responsible person's job to make sure a competent person carries this out.
Ask yourself: Do you know the exact date of your last service?
2. Emergency Lighting
This is the one that catches people out most, because it's often treated as good practice rather than law. It is a legal requirement, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
BS 5266-1 sets the standard:
- Functional check: at least every month
- Full-duration test: at least once a year
Ask yourself: Has your emergency lighting been checked this month?
3. EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report)
There's no single law that names "EICR" by title. But the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require every business to keep its electrical systems safe - and a periodic EICR, typically every 3–5 years for commercial premises, is the accepted way to prove it.
Ask yourself: Do you know when your last EICR was carried out - and by whom?
4. Legionella & Water Hygiene
A risk assessment isn't a one-off box to tick when the system's installed. It needs ongoing review as usage, conditions, and the system itself change over time.
Ask yourself: Was your water system assessed as low-risk once, or reviewed recently?
5. PAT Testing
PAT itself isn't named in law. But the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require equipment to be maintained in a safe condition — PAT is simply the accepted way most businesses demonstrate that.
Ask yourself: Do you have a current, dated record?
Why This Matters Beyond the Checklist
This isn't about box-ticking for its own sake.
The real risk sits with insurance and liability. Cover can be affected if an incident occurs and a relevant certificate had lapsed — no matter how minor the oversight seemed at the time.
And the responsible person named on file carries that risk personally. That's exactly why "someone's probably on top of it" isn't a comfortable place to sit.
What a Proper Compliance Audit Actually Involves
A genuine audit isn't a walk-through and a signature.
It means:
- Checking every certificate against its actual renewal date
- Testing systems directly, not assuming records reflect reality
- Leaving you with a clear report of what's compliant, what isn't, and what needs doing next
Not a stack of paperwork to interpret yourself.
The Bottom Line
If you answered all five checks above with confidence, that's a good sign. It's still worth confirming with a periodic audit rather than assuming it holds.
If you hesitated on any of them, that's not a failure. It's useful information about exactly where the gap is.
Either way: a short, scheduled audit is a lot cheaper — and considerably less stressful — than finding out the hard way.
Ready to find out where you actually stand?
Book an Audit
