Portable fire extinguishers — annual check and ten-year overhaul (France)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For French companies under the Code du travail and for operators of premises open to the public (ERP). The kit gathers the annual check by a competent person or body, the dated label and its entry in the safety register, the full ten-year overhaul, the periodic visual check asked for by insurers, and the end of life of the extinguisher as hazardous waste. Statutory frequencies and insurance frequencies are kept apart, because only the first are an obligation. It helps you meet the duties; it does not replace the maintenance contract or reading the cited texts.
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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 3 months 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
Have the dated label applied and record the check in the register
At each check the technician applies a dated label to the extinguisher, and that label is the first thing a safety inspector looks at; the intervention must also be entered in the site safety register, which brings every periodic check together in one document. The control lets whoever runs the site notice a missing or illegible label before an inspector does. The duty falls on the ERP operator or the employer; the label is applied by whoever performs the check.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationArrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. MS 38France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 02
Have the portable extinguishers checked every year
Every extinguisher must be checked once a year by a competent person or body: general condition, pressure, tightness, accessibility and legibility of the labelling. The duty applies both to the employer, under the Code du travail, and to the operator of premises open to the public, under the arrêté of 25 June 1980: where a site is both, the two regimes add up and a single check satisfies them. The work is for a competent technician or body, often certified, not for in-house staff.
every 12 months since the last inspectionLegal obligationCode du travail art. R4227-39 ; Arrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. MS 38France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 03
Close out the faults found by the checks
A check reporting a discharged, blocked or expired extinguisher is worth something only if someone closes the report: this line tracks open faults, who took them on and the date they were resolved. It is an organisational practice the kit proposes, not a statutory duty, and it is what lets you show that the inspection report was actually read. It is for whoever runs the site, who may delegate it to the safety officer.
continuous check, confirm every 6 monthsCompany ruleFrance only - 04
Have the ten-year overhaul of the extinguishers carried out
Every ten years an extinguisher must undergo a full overhaul: opening, testing or replacement of components and re-stamping of the body. The ten-year interval comes from the arrêté of 25 June 1980, art. MS 38, and is confirmed on the source consulted; the number of the technical standard often quoted for the operating method (NF S 61-919) was not re-verified and is therefore not presented here as a reference. The overhaul is for a competent body or technician, never for in-house staff.
every 120 months since the last jobLegal obligationArrêté du 25 juin 1980 modifié, art. MS 38France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 05
Run the periodic visual check asked for by insurers
Rule APSAD R4 recommends a quarterly visual check by trained staff: presence, accessibility, signage, intact seal and pressure in the correct band. It is not a statutory duty — it is a private CNPP standard — but insurers often impose it as a policy condition, and its absence gets discussed when a claim is made. The check is done by a trained member of staff, and its results do not replace the annual check.
every 3 months since the last inspectionRecommendedRègle APSAD R4 (CNPP)France only - 06
Have withdrawn extinguishers taken as hazardous waste
The event that triggers this control is the withdrawal or replacement of an extinguisher. A withdrawn extinguisher is a pressure vessel containing dangerous substances and falls under waste code 16 05 04*: it must be degassed and dismantled by an authorised operator, and it cannot go into household waste or generic scrap metal. The holder remains responsible until the authorised operator takes charge of it; in a business the operation is traced like any other hazardous waste.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsLegal obligationCode de l'environnement art. R541-8 et nomenclature des déchets — code 16 05 04*France onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026
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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