Emergency lighting testing requirements in UK commercial premises are a short function test every month and a full rated duration test once a year — normally three hours — with every test written into a log book kept on site. Since 31 October 2025 the governing code of practice has been BS 5266-1:2025, which also recommends a photometric check of the light levels actually reaching floor level, carried out initially and every five years after that. Emergency lighting is the battery-backed lighting that comes on by itself when the normal supply fails: the illuminated exit signs, the bulkheads on stairs and corridors, the units above final exit doors. Almost every non-domestic building in Nottingham has some, and plenty of the people responsible for it have never been told what to do with it. Is emergency lighting testing a legal requirement? The duty comes from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. It names a "responsible person" — the employer, owner, landlord, occupier or managing agent, whoever has control of the premises — and requires fire safety equipment to be maintained in efficient working order and good repair. Emergency escape lighting is fire safety equipment. The Order itself sets no test intervals. BS 5266 does, and following it is the recognised way of showing the duty has been met. Enforcement sits with the local fire and rescue authority, and the opening question in an inspection is usually the same one: can you show me the log book? The duties are set out on GOV.UK; whether your arrangements satisfy them is a matter for your fire risk assessment and your own adviser. How often does emergency lighting need to be tested? The routine servicing standard is BS EN 50172:2024, published in the UK as BS 5266-8:2024. It sets a cycle, not a single annual event: • Daily — a visual check of the indicators on a central battery system, where one is fitted. Buildings with self-contained fittings do not need it. • Monthly — a brief function test: the supply to each fitting is interrupted long enough to confirm the lamp lights on battery, and the result recorded. • Annually — a full rated duration test. The system runs on battery for its whole rated period and must still be giving light at the end of it. • Initially and every five years — photometric verification, new in the 2025 code: measuring the light actually reaching floor level against what the system was designed to deliver. Three hours is the normal rated duration in UK premises. One hour is only appropriate where a building is evacuated immediately on supply failure and not reoccupied until the batteries recharge, which rules out most workplaces. What changed in the emergency lighting standards in 2025? Three of the relevant documents have been reissued recently, and much of the guidance still online has not caught up. • BS 5266-1:2025 took effect on 31 October 2025 and supersedes BS 5266-1:2016, now withdrawn. Its scope takes in local area and standby lighting as well as escape lighting, and the documentation expectations are tighter. • BS EN 50172:2024 (BS 5266-8:2024) replaces the 2004 edition that most existing log books still cite. • BS EN 1838:2024 changed how escape routes are measured: the whole width of the route, rather than the centre line. None of that means a working system has to be torn out. It does mean testing, records and new work should follow the current documents — so if your paperwork cites only the 2016 and 2004 standards, it is out of date, and whoever maintains the system should say what that means for your building. What can you check yourself before calling anyone? All of this is looking, not touching, and takes about fifteen minutes: • Walk your escape routes. Is every exit sign lit and readable from a distance, and the route under it clear? • Look for the charge indicator on each fitting — usually a small green LED. Note any that are off or flashing. • Note damage. Fittings hanging loose, missing diffusers, water staining, anything painted over. • Ask what has changed. New partitions, racking or a new door all change where light is needed, and the system was designed around the old layout. • Find the log book. Is there one, what are the dates of the last monthly and annual entries, and who signed them? • Stop there. Opening a fitting, changing a battery or lamp, operating test circuitry or anything at the distribution board is work for a qualified electrician or competent emergency lighting engineer. What is urgent and what can wait? • Deal with now. An escape route with no working emergency lighting; an area that stays dark on test; an unlit sign above a final exit door; a system that failed its duration test and has not been put right. • Deal with soon. Fittings showing a dead charge indicator; an overdue annual duration test; a missing log book; a layout change that has left part of a route outside the original design. • Plan it in. The five-yearly photometric verification, moving to an automatic test system, and replacing fittings that are old rather than failed. A failure on an escape route belongs in your fire risk assessment as well as the electrical paperwork. Who is responsible in a rented unit — the landlord or the tenant? The Fire Safety Order puts the duty on whoever has control of the premises, which is why the answer usually turns on the lease rather than the law. In a multi-occupied building — a parade of units off Long Eaton High Street is a fair example — the landlord commonly holds the common parts and the emergency lighting in them, while each occupier holds their own demise. Where a building has more than one responsible person, they must co-operate. Read your lease, and take advice if it is not clear. Frequently asked questions Who can carry out an emergency lighting test? A competent person: someone with the knowledge, training and experience for the system in front of them. The monthly function test is often done in-house using the system's own test facility. The annual duration test, certification and any remedial work are for a qualified electrician or specialist engineer. Does the building have to close for the annual duration test? No, but it needs planning. The system runs flat on battery for its full rated period and then needs time to recharge, so the building is at reduced protection until it does. Most premises book it outside trading hours. Do I need an emergency lighting certificate? There is no single certificate mandated by name. What matters is the record: a log book showing the monthly and annual tests, who carried them out, what was found and what was put right. A test certificate or report from your contractor is the usual way that evidence is produced. Does a small shop or office need emergency lighting? Usually yes. The test is whether people would need artificial light to find their way out if the normal lighting failed, which covers most premises with internal rooms, stairs or no natural light. Your fire risk assessment should settle it for your building. What happens if emergency lighting has never been tested? You will not know whether it works, which is the practical problem, and you have no records to show, which is the regulatory one. The usual starting point is an inspection and duration test to establish the current condition, then a log book kept properly from that date on. Getting a straight answer on your premises Somo Electrical is a NAPIT-registered electrical contractor, registration number 33320, working on commercial premises across Nottingham and the surrounding area, including Long Eaton . We carry out electrical testing and inspections and hold maintenance contracts . Our guide to commercial EICR intervals covers the fixed wiring separately. If you are not sure what your building has or when it was last tested, call 07733 666004 or use our online quote form . Inspecting, testing and maintaining an emergency lighting system is work for a qualified, registered electrician or a competent emergency lighting engineer. Nothing above is an instruction to open a luminaire, change a battery or work on any circuit. Sources checked 28 August 2026: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and GOV.UK guidance on fire safety in the workplace; BS 5266-1:2025, in effect 31 October 2025, superseding BS 5266-1:2016 (BSI, NICEIC); BS EN 50172:2024 / BS 5266-8:2024 and BS EN 1838:2024 (BSI publication records). Not legal advice, and not a substitute for your fire risk assessment.