If you’ve had a fire safety survey carried out on an older building, you may have come across the term “notional fire door”.
But what is a notional fire door? And how does it impact the level of fire compartmentation and protection provided by your building?
In this post, we explain what notional fire doors are, how they differ from certified fire doors and what to do if you have notional fire doors in your building.
What is a notional fire door?
A notional fire door is a door that is believed to offer some degree of fire resistance. But it hasn’t been formally tested to show that it meets current UK fire safety regulations.
The term is most commonly used to describe older fire doors that were installed when a building was constructed, under regulations that have since changed.
At the time, they may have been perfectly adequate. But fire safety standards have evolved considerably over the years, and a door that met the requirements of the 1980s or 1990s may fall well short of best practice today.
Notional fire doors often lack the features we now consider essential for fire door performance — intumescent seals that expand to block flames and smoke, self-closing mechanisms and precise measurements between a fire door and its frame.
Critically, because notional fire doors haven’t been tested to current standards, there’s no reliable way to know how long the door would actually hold back fire. You’re relying on an assumption rather than a guarantee.
Notional fire doors vs nominal fire doors
The terms notional and nominal are easy to confuse. But they refer to two slightly different types of fire door.
Notional fire doors are doors that are assumed to provide fire resistance based on their age, construction or visual appearance, but without any formal certification or test evidence.
Nominal fire doors have been assessed by a professional fire door inspector. Based on their checks, the inspector has concluded that the door is likely to provide a reasonable level of fire protection.
In both cases, there’s the same limitation in terms of fire safety. There’s no official evidence that the door will perform effectively in a real fire.
Notional and nominal fire doors vs certified fire doors
A certified fire door offers the best possible protection against fire.
Unlike notional and nominal fire doors, it has been independently tested by an accredited third-party organisation to a recognised fire safety standard — typically BS 476-22 or EN 1634.
Certified fire doors are at least 44 millimetres thick. They feature intumescent seals, self-closing mechanisms and precise measurements between the door and its frame.
Every element of the fire doorset, including the frame, hinges or hardware, is tested to ensure the doorset provides the right level of fire protection.
Certified fire doors come with an FD-rating, ranging from FD30 (30 minutes of fire protection) and FD60 (60 minutes of fire protection) all the way up to FD240 fire doors (four hours of fire protection).
You can confirm that a fire door is certified by checking for a certification label — usually on the top edge of the door leaf. This label provides information on the fire door rating and the third-party certifier.
Ultimately, certified fire doors are the only way to guarantee that your doors will perform as required in a fire.
Why doesn’t a notional fire door guarantee fire safety?
A notional fire door doesn’t guarantee fire safety because there’s no proof of its performance.
While a certified fire door has been subjected to controlled testing under standardised conditions, a notional fire door hasn’t.
A door may look solid and have been in place for years without issue. But this tells you nothing about the door’s construction or how it would behave in an actual fire.
What should you do if your building has notional fire doors?
If a fire safety survey has identified notional or nominal fire doors in your building — and this puts people and property at too great a risk — you have two options: upgrade them or replace them.
The right choice depends on the condition of your doors and the risk level of your building. And our strong advice is not to ignore the issue.
Upgrading notional fire doors
In some cases — particularly in larger residential buildings where replacing every door to meet current fire safety standards would be prohibitively expensive — it may be possible to upgrade a notional fire door to improve its performance.
Upgrades typically involve some combination of the following:
- Adding intumescent strips and cold smoke seals to the door and frame
- Installing fire-resistant panels and glazing
- Reinforcing hinges and frames
- Upgrading closers and other fire door hardware
- Addressing gaps between the door and its frame
It’s important to be realistic about what a fire door upgrade can achieve.
Even a well-executed upgrade cannot make a notional fire door equivalent to a new certified door. It can reduce risk and improve performance, but it can’t provide the same level of documented assurance that independent testing gives you.
If you’re considering upgrading your fire doors, always use a certified third-party installer. And always seek professional advice on whether an upgrade is sufficient for the risk level of your building.
It could be that a fire door replacement is the safer (and perhaps more cost-effective) option.
Replacing fire doors
Replacing a notional or nominal fire door is the only way to guarantee your fire door meets up-to-date UK fire safety standards.
When choosing a replacement fire door, look for doors that:
- Meet the specifications laid out in your fire risk assessment (or in a recent fire safety survey)
- Are independently tested to BS 476-22 or EN 1634
- Are supplied as complete door sets with fire-rated frames and all necessary hardware
Also, choose a certified installer to fit your fire doors. This is the only way to ensure an FD-rated fire door achieves its documented fire performance — and to protect people and property with confidence.
Fire door inspections and replacements from FDS
If you’re unsure whether your building has notional fire doors — or if you already know it does and need advice on what to do next — the team at Fire Door Systems can help.
Our accredited technicians carry out fire safety surveys for residential, commercial, public and industrial buildings across the UK.
We assess your existing fire doors, identify any that are non-compliant and give you clear, practical advice on whether an upgrade or a replacement is the right course of action.
Where replacement is needed, we supply, manufacture and install certified fire doors to the correct specification for your building. These are complete doorsets, professionally fitted and fully documented.
Don’t leave it to chance. If you’re not sure your fire doors would perform in a real fire, find out whether they’re up to the task and take action today. Get in touch with the FDS team to book a fire safety survey or get a fire door replacement quote.
FAQs
What is the difference between a notional and a nominal fire door?
A notional fire door has had no formal assessment — its fire resistance is simply assumed.
A nominal fire door has been assessed by a professional fire door inspector who has concluded that it likely provides the right level of protection.
However, neither a notional nor a nominal fire door has been independently tested. So they don’t offer the same protection and peace of mind as a certified fire door.
How can I tell if my fire doors are certified?
Check for a certification label on the top edge of the door leaf. This should show the fire rating and the certifying organisation. If there’s no label, the door’s certification can’t be confirmed. This means it may be a notional or nominal door.
Do I have to replace notional fire doors?
Not necessarily. It depends on what it says in your fire risk assessment. In some cases, upgrading a notional fire door is an option. But where the risk level is unacceptable, replacement is always the safer choice. A fire safety survey can help you determine the right approach.
Can a notional fire door be upgraded to meet current standards?
It can be improved — by adding intumescent seals, upgrading closers and addressing gaps between the door and its frame. But it can’t be made equivalent to a new certified door.
