Emergency lighting (BAES) — monthly and half-yearly tests (France)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For French operators of premises open to the public and for workplaces fitted with self-contained emergency luminaires. The kit gathers the monthly functional test, the half-yearly one-hour duration test, the use of SATI units that automate the tests, the recording of results in the safety register, battery replacement per the manufacturer and the end of life of the luminaires. It is the most frequent check in the whole safety register, and the first one to be forgotten. It helps you meet the deadlines; it does not replace the periodic check of the electrical installation.
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Ask what is in the manuals, how often the maintenance is due and what it takes to do it.
What it already has at hand
- No manual on this page
- 6 planned checks, the most frequent every month since the last inspection
Planned checks
Informative summary verified on 12/09/2026. It does not replace legal advice: the regulation cited prevails. If you spot an error, report it.
Some checks are only mandatory in certain countries: pick yours and the list follows.
In Italy this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
- 01
Run the monthly functional test of the emergency luminaires
Once a month you check that every self-contained luminaire lights up when the normal supply fails, that it switches off from the rest-mode remote control and that it returns to standby automatically when mains power comes back. It is the basic check of emergency lighting, required by art. EC 14 of the arrêté of 25 June 1980. The duty falls on the operator of the premises; the test may be run by in-house technical staff, and the results must be entered in the safety register.
every month since the last inspectionLegal obligationArrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. EC 14France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 02
Record the tests in the safety register
Monthly and half-yearly tests count as compliance only if they are written down: date, outcome, luminaires replaced or repaired and the name of whoever ran them go into the site safety register, alongside every other periodic check. The register is the first document a safety commission reads. The duty falls on the ERP operator, who also records tests carried out by an outside contractor.
continuous check, confirm every 6 monthsLegal obligationCode de la construction et de l'habitation art. R143-44 ; arrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifiéFrance only - 03
Check the one-hour duration every six months
Twice a year you check that the self-contained luminaires hold their rated duration, that is at least one hour running on the battery alone. It is the test that tells a genuinely ready installation from one that lights up and dies after five minutes, and the only one that exposes batteries at end of life. The duty falls on the operator of the premises; the test requires the supply to be off for the necessary time and should be scheduled outside busy hours.
every 6 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationArrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. EC 14France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 04
Use SATI units to automate the tests
Luminaires with a built-in automatic test system conforming to NF C 71-820 run the monthly and half-yearly tests on their own and report the outcome through an indicator. They are accepted in place of manual tests, but they do not remove the duty: someone must read the indicators, act on faulty units and record the result. This line is therefore an annual reminder for the operator, not an extra obligation, and it helps decide whether to fit them where manual testing is awkward.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsRecommendedNF C 71-820 ; Arrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. EC 14France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 05
Send replaced luminaires and batteries to the EPR channel
The event that triggers this control is the replacement of a luminaire or of its battery. The luminaire is electrical and electronic equipment and the battery is an accumulator: both go to the extended producer responsibility channel and not to ordinary waste. The distributor must take them back free of charge under the "one for one" principle when an equivalent device is bought. The holder stays responsible until hand-over, and in a business the operation is traced like other professional waste.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement — filières REP piles et accumulateurs et DEEEFrance onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 06
Replace the luminaire batteries per the manufacturer's guidance
How long the battery of a self-contained luminaire lasts is not set by any French text: the manufacturer states it in the product manual, and the half-yearly duration test is what reveals its decline. This line asks you to compare the test results with the maker’s guidance once a year and to plan the replacement of units that no longer hold the required hour. It is for whoever manages the installation; the work is done by the maintenance provider or by qualified technical staff.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsRecommendedFrance only
In Germany this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Switzerland this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Austria this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United Kingdom this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Spain this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Portugal this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In United States this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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