Fire door signs: keep shut, keep locked shut, or keep clear?

Fire doors only work when they are shut, which is why they carry their own signs: blue mandatory signs that tell people to keep them closed. They are not the same as fire exit signs, and mixing the two up is one of the most common faults a fire risk assessor finds. This guide explains which sign goes on which door, the rules for flats that came in during 2023, and the labels inspectors use. It is general guidance; your fire risk assessment decides what your building needs.

Fire door or fire exit? #

• A fire exit is a way out. It gets a green safe condition sign with the running man.
• A fire door is a barrier. It holds back fire and smoke for a set time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, so a corridor or stair stays usable while people leave. It gets a blue mandatory sign.

Some doors are both, for example a fire-resisting door at the bottom of a protected stair that also leads outside. Those carry both signs: the exit sign above, the fire door sign on the face of the door.

Which sign goes on which door #

The wording comes from long-standing building guidance in England (Approved Document B) and the British Standard for fire safety signs:

• “Fire door keep shut” on both sides of an ordinary fire door that is meant to stay closed.
• “Fire door keep locked shut” on the outside only of fire doors to cupboards, stores and service risers, which are kept locked.
• “Automatic fire door keep clear” on doors held open by a device that releases them when the alarm sounds. The sign tells people not to park a trolley or a chair in the way.

Fix the sign at eye level on the door face, roughly in the middle, where nobody can miss it as they push through. Do not screw through a fire door’s glazing or its intumescent strips, and on a certified door check with the door maker or your fire door inspector before drilling; a self-adhesive vinyl sign avoids holes altogether.

The rules for blocks of flats #

Since 23 January 2023 the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have added duties for residential buildings with two or more flats:

• Every such building: residents must be given information on why fire doors matter and must be told to keep them shut.
• Buildings over 11 metres tall: the communal fire doors must be checked at least every three months and flat front doors at least once a year, on a best-endeavours basis.
• Buildings over 18 metres: wayfinding signs showing floor and flat numbers, visible in low light, for firefighters.

Signs on the doors are part of how a building shows residents and visitors that a door is a fire door, and a dated label is an easy way to show when it was last checked.

Inspection labels #

Fire door inspectors often stick a small label on the hinge edge or top of the door recording the inspection date, the next one due and who did it. Our fire door inspection labels come in 76 × 51 mm and 96 × 45 mm with write-on lines, and your company name printed on. If the same engineers look after emergency lights and extinguishers, there are matching emergency lighting test labels and fire extinguisher service labels.

Faults that undo the sign #

• A wedge, a fire extinguisher or a bin holding the door open. The sign cannot fix that; a hold-open device linked to the alarm can.
• A closer that no longer pulls the door fully into the frame.
• Gaps around the door far bigger than when it was fitted, or missing smoke seals.
• A “Fire door keep shut” sign on a plain door that is not fire resisting at all. Signs should tell the truth about the door.

Need a sign wording that is not in our standard range, such as “Fire door keep locked shut” in a particular size? Send the details through get a quote. For green exit signs see our fire exit signs guide, and for what each colour means, the safety sign colours guide.

Questions people ask #