Portable fire extinguishers (US)
A list of checks and obligations with their cadence, ready to add to your agenda.
For employers and building managers who keep portable fire extinguishers in a US workplace: the monthly visual inspection and the annual maintenance check required by OSHA, plus the internal examination and hydrostatic test intervals that come from NFPA 10 and from the fire code adopted by the state or the municipality. The NFPA intervals are given as recommendations, because the standard is paywalled and was not read in the original, and the local Authority Having Jurisdiction may require tighter intervals or a state-licensed technician. The kit closes with disposal: a discarded extinguisher is not in the federal universal waste categories and cannot go out with ordinary trash.
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
- 8 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
Five-year hydrostatic test: CO2 and wet chemical units
CO2 extinguishers and wet chemical units, the ones typically found in commercial kitchens, have a shorter hydrostatic test interval: five years, with the same procedure and the same consequence — a unit that fails does not go back into service. It also covers the high-pressure hose of CO2 units. The interval comes from NFPA 10 and is given as a recommendation, because the standard was not read in the original; the local fire code may make it mandatory and the insurer will usually ask for it anyway.
every 60 months since the last jobRecommendedNFPA 10, Cap. 8 (tabella degli intervalli di prova idrostatica)United States only - 02
Twelve-year hydrostatic test of dry chemical units
Stored-pressure dry chemical extinguishers face a hydrostatic shell test every twelve years, carried out by an equipped facility that re-stamps the unit; one that fails is taken out of service for good. The interval is the NFPA 10 one, given here as a recommendation because the standard is paywalled and was not read in the original, and it becomes binding where the local fire code adopts it. The owner of the equipment is the one who has to track it: the clock starts from the date stamped on the shell.
every 144 months since the last jobRecommendedNFPA 10, Cap. 8 (tabella degli intervalli di prova idrostatica)United States only - 03
Keep extinguishers mounted, identified and unobstructed
This is a standing duty of the employer: extinguishers must stay mounted, clearly identified and readily accessible to employees, without anyone having to expose themselves to a hazard to reach one. Obstruction — a pallet, a cabinet, a locked door in front of the unit — is among the most common findings in an inspection, and it is fixed the moment it is noticed. In practice this is checked during the monthly inspection.
continuous checkLegal obligation29 CFR 1910.157(c)(1)United States only - 04
Monthly visual inspection of extinguishers
The employer must have every portable extinguisher visually inspected once a month: location and access, seal intact, gauge in the green, shell and hose undamaged, label legible. No technician is needed — the owner, an operator or a designated employee can do it, with no certification. OSHA requires no record for the monthly inspection, but NFPA 10 asks for it to be noted on the extinguisher tag, and that tag is the first thing an inspector looks at.
every month since the last inspectionLegal obligation29 CFR 1910.157(e)(2)United States onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 05
Recharge any extinguisher that has been used
An extinguisher that has been operated, even for a second or for a test, does not go back on the wall: it must be recharged by a qualified technician and meanwhile replaced with a spare of the same type, so the station is never left empty. This is an NFPA 10 recommendation — a paywalled standard, not read in the original — but it is also how a gauge that still looks green stops being a false reassurance.
continuous checkRecommendedNFPA 10, Cap. 7United States only - 06
Six-year internal examination of stored-pressure units
Every six years stored-pressure extinguishers are emptied and opened for an internal examination of the shell and the seals, then recharged and re-tagged by a qualified technician. The interval is the NFPA 10 one, given here as a recommendation because the standard is paywalled and was not read in the original: where the state or municipal fire code adopts NFPA 10, the Authority Having Jurisdiction enforces it as a requirement. The date that counts is the one stamped on the unit, not the purchase date.
every 72 months since the last jobRecommendedNFPA 10 §7.3.2United States only - 07
Annual maintenance check and dated record
Once a year every extinguisher gets a full maintenance check — seals, discharge mechanism, charge, shell condition — and the employer records the date, keeping the record for one year after the last entry or for the life of the shell, whichever is shorter. The work belongs to a qualified technician: several states require a licence issued by the State Fire Marshal, and the technician leaves a dated service tag on the unit.
every 12 months since the last jobLegal obligation29 CFR 1910.157(e)(3)United States onlySourceverified on 12/09/2026 - 08
Disposal: an extinguisher is not federal universal waste
What triggers this rule is disposal: end of life, a failed hydrostatic test, replacement of the unit. The four federal universal waste categories are batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment and lamps: extinguishers are not among them, so whoever discards one remains an RCRA generator and must make a waste determination before handing it over. In practice the unit goes to a maintenance and recharge service or to a licensed hazardous waste and compressed gas contractor; never into ordinary trash or mixed scrap. States may be stricter than the federal baseline — California runs its own DTSC programme.
continuous checkLegal obligation40 CFR 273.2 (categorie federali di universal waste); 40 CFR 262.11 (hazardous waste determination)United 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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