Emergency lighting and exit signs (US)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For owners and managers of commercial buildings in the US: the thirty-second functional test every month on each self-contained unit and each exit sign, the ninety-minute duration test once a year, what to do with units that fail, and the records the Authority Having Jurisdiction expects to see. The intervals come from NFPA 101 and UL 924, paywalled standards not read in the original: here they are recommendations, and they become obligations where the local fire code adopts them. The kit closes with the end of life of the unit batteries, which is federal universal waste.
Questions about this product?
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
- 7 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.
In France this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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.
- 01
Annual ninety-minute duration test
Once a year the units run on battery alone for ninety consecutive minutes, the time for which they must light the means of egress: any unit that dies early, drops below the required level or fails to restart is recorded and treated as a failure. This is the test that finds tired batteries — the ones that pass the monthly thirty seconds without trouble. The interval comes from NFPA 101, a paywalled standard not read in the original, and it binds where the local code adopts it.
every 12 months since the last inspectionRecommendedNFPA 101 §7.9.3United States only - 02
Check the age and condition of the unit batteries
The batteries in self-contained units age even without a power cut: replacement follows the manufacturer’s guidance and the result of the duration test, not a statutory deadline. Once a year it pays to read the battery installation dates alongside the ninety-minute report and to schedule replacement of the oldest batches before they fail together. The building manager provides for it; the servicing contractor or in-house technical staff do the work.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsRecommendedUnited States only - 03
Check which code and which edition apply to the building
There is no federal fire code for private buildings in the US: the duty comes from the code the state or the municipality has adopted — typically the International Fire Code or NFPA 101 — in a specific edition, and from the Authority Having Jurisdiction that enforces it. The building manager has to establish this, with the designer or the servicing contractor: it can change the cadence, require a licensed firm to do the work, or add an annual filing. The check repeats yearly because local adoptions move edition by edition.
continuous check, confirm every 12 monthsCompany ruleUnited States only - 04
Keep the test records available for inspection
Monthly and annual tests are worth exactly as much as the register that documents them: date, unit or zone, result, corrective action and the name of whoever performed it. The register stays in the building, available to the Authority Having Jurisdiction and to the insurer. Keeping it for four years is common industry practice, not a federal threshold: where the locally adopted code sets a different period, that one wins. The building manager keeps the register.
continuous checkCompany ruleUnited States only - 05
Repair or replace units that fail a test
What triggers this rule is a failure: a lamp that does not light, a battery that does not hold, an unreadable exit sign, a fault indicator on. The unit must be repaired or replaced before the next test, and the corrective action must be recorded next to the result — a log full of failed tests with no follow-up is worse than no log at all. The building manager provides for it through the servicing contractor; how long is acceptable is set by the local Authority Having Jurisdiction, not by this kit.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 101 §7.9.3United States only - 06
Monthly thirty-second functional test
Every thirty days each self-contained emergency luminaire and each exit sign is switched to emergency for at least thirty seconds, checking that every lamp lights and that no indicator reports a fault. Trained in-house staff or the servicing contractor can do it; the owner or building manager answers for it. The interval comes from NFPA 101, a paywalled standard not read in the original: it helps you meet the local code where that code adopts it, but the source of the obligation remains that code.
every month since the last inspectionRecommendedNFPA 101 §7.9.3; UL 924United States only - 07
Battery end of life: handle it as universal waste
The trigger is a battery change or the retirement of the unit. Batteries — sealed lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, lithium — fall in the federal universal waste category: no hazardous waste manifest, but a labelled container, limited accumulation time and delivery to an authorised destination facility or recycler, with a receipt. Whoever discards them answers as the handler. Several states run programmes stricter than the federal baseline, and those must be checked before shipping.
continuous checkLegal obligation40 CFR part 273 (universal waste, categoria "battery"); 40 CFR 273.2United States onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026
In Other country this product has no planned checks: the ones listed apply to other countries.
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