Fire Safety Certificates

A Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) is an approval by your local Building Control Authority, of proposed fire safety design to be incorporated into the overall design of your building. A fire safety certificate is granted after the plans and specifications for a new building are assessed by a fire officer for compliance with Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations.

Fire safety certificates are issued by the Building Control Authority, however applications are processed and assessed in practice by Dublin Fire Brigade. 

It is a certification of your proposed fire safety design and shows that adequate escape facilities are present in a building and that the building is designed in a way that prevents and limits the spread of a fire.

When you receive a Fire Safety Certificate in relation to a proposed design it means that your building, if built in accordance with the design as proposed, complies with the fire requirements of the Building Regulations.

A fire safety certificate is not necessary for houses/dwellings. However, it is required for all other types of developments including apartments.

A 7 Day Notice allows you to commence works prior to the receipt of a Fire Safety Certificate. Further information on 7 Day Notice’s can be found in the Commencement Notice section on our website.

All applications for Fire Safety Certificates, Revised Fire Safety Certificate and Regularised Fire Safety Certificates should be submitted online on the Building Control Management System (BCMS).  These must include Plans, Calculations, specifications and associated reports for the works, along with the relevant fee 

A comprehensive list of frequently asked questions in relation to Fire Safety Certificates is provided on the BCMS website. 

Exemptions from Building Control Fees in relation to Fire safety certs. 

Article 22 of the Building Control Regulations 2021 details a fee shall not be payable to a building control authority where the authority is of the opinion that the works or the building which are or is the subject of a notice or application is being made, by or on behalf of a voluntary organisation.

The following report outlines the formal exemption fee policy to be implemented by the Building Control Authority in the discharge of its duties. The application for fee exemption can be validated as part of the validation process by the Building Control authority.

Appeals

There is provision to appeal to An Bord Pleanála against the decision of a building control authority in relation to a Fire Safety Certificate application. 

Copies of Fire Safety Certificates 

Requests for copies of historical Fire Safety Certificates can be made via email. Building Control Admin will then request the fee and the return of a declaration form signed by you. 
Please provide the relevant Planning register reference or fire cert reference number for retrieval. If you do not have these, searches can be made on our database at the customer care unit in Swords, the BCMS website or alternatively you might engage the services of a law searcher to assist in the retrieval of relevant references.

Address: Building Control Admin, Planning & Strategic Infrastructure Department, Fingal County Council, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, K67 X8Y2      
Tel: 01 890500 Email:  [email protected]