A fire-rated door stays fire-rated only if someone checks it, not because the tag says so.
A fire door holds its rating only if the self-closing device works, the seals are intact and nothing wedges it open. In Italy UNI 11473-1 sets a periodic inspection at least every six months, and the DM 1 settembre 2021 requires it to be logged and carried out by a qualified technician. Here is what to check, how often, and what changes in the other countries.
What actually keeps a fire door's rating in place, day to day
A fire door — rated REI or EI, depending on what it has to guarantee — doesn't resist fire because it's made of some special material, but because the frame, leaf, seals and hardware were tested together, as a single object, in a laboratory under the relevant standard. Swapping a hinge, drilling the leaf for a badge reader, or repainting the seal with the wrong paint can be enough to void that rating, even though the door still looks the same.
Periodic maintenance doesn't check whether the door is "still well made": it checks whether the conditions that let it pass the original test are still in place. The self-closing device has to pull the leaf fully shut on its own, with no need for a push; the intumescent seals have to be intact and not covered in paint or stickers; nothing has to be holding the door open. Three simple conditions to list, and easy to lose in the day-to-day life of a corridor.
In Italy this check has its own technical standard, UNI 11473-1, and a decree that requires it to be traceable, the DM 1 settembre 2021. In other countries the same need — that the door actually closes, not just on paper — comes from different sources: a regulation for buildings open to the public, a workplace standard, a building ordinance. The rest of this guide follows the Italian model first, then the differences.
Surveillance, inspection, maintenance for fire doors: who does what
As with fire extinguishers, it isn't one activity: UNI 11473-1 distinguishes three levels, with different people and different intervals.
- 01
Surveillance check
according to the in-house plan (in practice, a frequent visual check)
whoever works on site
- 02
Periodic inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
- 03
Ordinary and extraordinary maintenance
whenever the inspection or a fault makes it necessary
qualified maintenance technician
UNI 11473-1 doesn't set a fixed number for the surveillance check or for maintenance: the six-monthly inspection is the only fixed interval, the other two follow whatever the inspection finds or whatever the manufacturer's manual prescribes.
The intervals, at a glance, country by country
Full detail for each country — standards and complete intervals — is further down. Here is the summary to get your bearings at a glance.
| Country | Typical interval | Who carries it out |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | at least every 6 months (UNI 11473-1) | qualified maintenance technician |
| France | at least every 6 months in workplaces, annual in practice in public buildings | competent technician |
| Germany | annual for hold-open systems (DIN 14677); for the door leaf, per the manual | qualified technician |
| Switzerland | annual in practice; the interval is set by the cantonal authority | qualified personnel |
| Austria | annual, under ÖNORM B 3850/B 3852 and the manual | qualified person |
These are indicative intervals: the source that counts is the standard cited for each country, together with the door manufacturer's manual.
Which rules apply, and why they differ by country
There is no single European regulation that says how often a fire door must be inspected: each country derives it from a different source, and often from more than one at once. In Italy it's a voluntary technical standard invoked by a decree — UNI 11473-1 inside the DM 1 settembre 2021 — which makes it, in practice, a requirement for anyone keeping a fire safety inspection logbook.
In France the source depends on what the building is used for: the safety regulation for buildings open to the public (ERP) requires fire door assemblies to be kept in working order, while for workplaces a specific order on automatic doors sets an explicit minimum interval of six months. In Germany and Austria the door itself follows the manufacturer's manual and the building code, while only an electromagnetic hold-open device that keeps it open until the alarm sounds has a technical standard with precise numbers — DIN 14677 in Germany, TRVB B 148 in Austria.
Switzerland is the most open of the five: the VKF fire safety regulations place the maintenance duty on the owner, but it is the cantonal authority, together with the door's manual, that sets the applicable interval case by case. In none of the five countries does a "common practice" interval count as a legal figure: where no source sets one, this guide says so, instead of inventing it.
What the six-monthly inspection covers
The operations UNI 11473-1 calls for at the periodic inspection: what a qualified technician checks, door by door.
- The leaf closes fully into the frame on its own, with no need for a push
- The intumescent seals are intact, not cut and not covered in paint or stickers
- Hinges, door closer and panic bar are firmly fixed and work properly
- Glazing and panels still carry the manufacturer's marking, with no sign of improper replacement
- Nothing — no wedge, prop or object — is holding the door open
- The tag showing rating, manufacturer and installation date is legible
The wedge under the door is the most common mistake
Propping a fire door open with a wedge, a bucket or a doorstop for airflow cancels the compartmentation right then, regardless of when the last inspection was done: if a fire breaks out, that door won't close on its own. The second most common mistake is sneakier: repainting a fire door during a general paint job, burying the intumescent seal under a layer of paint that's meant to expand under heat. In both cases the door still looks like a fire door, but it no longer works like one.
The plan comes from the manufacturer's manual, not a generic number
Ninz, Novoferm and Hörmann, to name three manufacturers commonly found in the catalog, each supply a manual for their models specifying hinge lubrication intervals, seal replacement and self-closing device checks: more precise guidance than any general standard can give, because it speaks to that specific model. UNI 11473-1 and the DM 1 settembre 2021 set the floor — an inspection at least every six months, logged in the register — the manufacturer's manual can ask for more, never less.
This guide is informational material: it does not replace the standards cited, the manufacturer's manual or the judgement of a qualified technician. ToriSet organises deadlines and documents; it does not certify compliance.
The same deadlines, without the spreadsheet to recalculate.
Anyone who reaches the end of a guide like this one usually keeps the dates on a spreadsheet, on a tag, or from memory. It works as long as the assets are few and there is one person keeping track. Here is what changes with a logbook.
A spreadsheet with one date per row, on a single computer
A shared logbook: whoever opens the record sees what's due and who did the last job
You recalculate the next deadline yourself, if you remember
ToriSet calculates it from the last job: by months, by hours of use, or whichever comes first
The reminder is a sticky note or a diary
An email 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before, to you and to whoever has to act
Reports and invoices in a folder, to go looking for when needed
Attached to the job, on the product's record
What changes from one country to the next.
The duty to maintain a fire door changes source from one country to the next — a technical standard in Italy, a regulation for buildings open to the public in France, a general building-code principle in Germany and Austria, cantonal fire regulations in Switzerland. Below is the picture country by country; the source that counts is still the standard cited, together with the door manufacturer's manual.
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Italy
References
UNI 11473-1
The technical standard for installing and maintaining fire- and smoke-resistant doors and windows: it sets a periodic inspection at least every six months and distinguishes surveillance, inspection and maintenance.
DM 1 settembre 2021
The "decreto controlli" (Italy's inspections decree): it lists UNI 11473 among the applicable standards and requires the work to be logged and carried out by a qualified technician.
DM 3 agosto 2015
Italy's fire prevention code: it sets when a compartment requires EI-rated elements, doors included. It concerns design, not periodic maintenance.
Intervals
Surveillance check
according to the in-house plan (in practice, a frequent visual check)
whoever works on site
Periodic inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
Ordinary and extraordinary maintenance
whenever the inspection or a fault makes it necessary
qualified maintenance technician
NoteThis is the most detailed framework of the five: UNI 11473-1 distinguishes the three stages, and the DM 1 settembre 2021 requires them to be traceable in the fire safety inspection logbook.
France
References
Arrêté du 25 juin 1980
France's safety regulation for buildings open to the public (ERP): it requires fire door assemblies to be kept in working order and logged in the safety register.
Arrêté du 21 décembre 1993
For automatic and semi-automatic doors in workplaces: it sets a minimum six-monthly interval for maintenance and inspection, with a dedicated maintenance logbook.
NF S61-937
The standard series for safety-actuated devices (DAS), which covers the electromagnetic hold-open systems that keep fire doors open until the alarm sounds.
Intervals
Periodic check (workplaces)
at least every 6 months
competent technician or trained in-house staff
Maintenance (ERP)
annual in practice, logged in the safety register
competent technician
Hold-open device (DAS) check
under the maintenance contract and the manufacturer's manual
competent technician
NoteIn France the source changes with what the building is used for: workplaces and ERP have different texts. Always check which applies to your building, and what your maintenance contract adds.
Germany
References
DIN 14677
The standard on maintaining electromechanical hold-open systems (Feststellanlagen) that keep fire doors open: annual maintenance by a qualified technician and a functional test at least every three months.
Musterbauordnung (MBO)
The model building code, adopted with local variations by each Land: it requires compartmentation elements — fire doors included — to be kept in working order, without setting a single nationwide interval.
Intervals
Hold-open system maintenance (Feststellanlage)
at least once a year
qualified technician
Hold-open system functional test
at least every 3 months
qualified technician
Fire door maintenance
per the manufacturer's manual, annual in practice
specialist technician
NoteFor the door itself, Germany sets no single legal interval: the duty to keep it working comes from the Musterbauordnung as adopted by each Land, the practical interval from the manufacturer's manual. Only for hold-open systems wired to the alarm does DIN 14677 set precise numbers.
Switzerland
References
Brandschutzvorschriften VKF / AICAA
Switzerland's fire safety regulations: they place the duty to keep compartmentation elements — fire doors included — in working order on the owner, without setting a single interval for the whole country.
Intervals
Maintenance and functional check
annual in practice; the applicable interval is set by the fire safety regulations and the cantonal authority
qualified personnel
Visual check
according to the organisation's in-house plan
staff on site
NoteAs with fire extinguishers, competence in Switzerland is cantonal: check what your canton's fire authority requires and what the door's manual says.
Austria
References
ÖNORM B 3850
The Austrian standard on hinged and pivoted fire doors: it sets the requirements and refers maintenance to the manufacturer's instructions.
ÖNORM B 3852
The Austrian standard on sliding, roller and folding fire doors.
TRVB B 148
The Austrian technical directive on hold-open systems (Feststellanlagen): it calls for a monthly functional check by a trained person.
Intervals
Professional maintenance
once a year, under the cited ÖNORM standards and the manufacturer's manual
qualified person
Hold-open system functional check
monthly
trained person (for example the fire safety officer)
NoteThe Austrian framework treats the door (ÖNORM B 3850/B 3852) separately from any hold-open system wired to the alarm (TRVB B 148): keep them separate in your maintenance plan too.
What we get asked most.
How often does a fire door need to be inspected?
In Italy UNI 11473-1 calls for a periodic inspection at least every six months, carried out by a qualified maintenance technician, plus a surveillance check left to whoever works on site. In other countries both the source and often the number change: six months in French workplaces, a year in practice in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the door itself — with more precise numbers only for any hold-open system wired to the alarm.
Who is allowed to service a fire-rated door?
A qualified maintenance technician: in Italy the competence requirements are set by UNI 11473-3 and the work has to be logged under the DM 1 settembre 2021. In other countries the principle is the same — a competent technician or a qualified person, not just anyone with a screwdriver — even if the name of the qualification changes from one country to the next.
What's the difference between a REI door and an EI door?
The letters state what the door guarantees under fire: E is integrity against flames and hot gases, I is thermal insulation, R is load-bearing capacity. A door, not being a structural element, is almost always rated EI (sometimes just E); the REI rating applies more often to walls and floors. In everyday language "REI door" has become shorthand for fire door, but the product certificate shows the exact rating.
What happens if I prop a fire door open?
Compartmentation stops working right then, not at the next missed inspection: a door held open with a wedge or a doorstop won't close on its own if a fire breaks out, no matter when it was last serviced. If a door needs to stay open for everyday use, the answer is a hold-open device wired to the detection system, not something propped there by hand.
What fire door brands are in the ToriSet catalog?
The catalog includes fire doors from manufacturers such as Ninz, Novoferm and Hörmann, among others: each product page carries the maintenance plan drawn from that manufacturer's own manual, not a generic interval applied to every door alike.
Does ToriSet keep track of fire door deadlines for me?
ToriSet helps you keep to them: you record each door with its model, its rating and its location, and from there you work out the next inspection from the last piece of work, get a reminder in advance, and keep the job reports attached to the right door. The work itself stays the responsibility of the qualified technician, and the fire safety inspection logbook remains your obligation.
One fire door per corridor, one inspection every six months each.
You can't hold that in your head, and on a spreadsheet it gets lost. Put your fire doors in a single logbook: inspections work themselves out, reminders arrive in time and job reports stay attached to the right door.
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