Is emergency lighting a legal requirement?

The Fire Safety Order requires escape routes to be provided with emergency lighting where necessary. Your fire risk assessment decides where that is. In practice it means any premises where people could be inside when the normal lighting fails and could not find the exit without it. That is most commercial premises.

How often should emergency lighting be tested?

BS 5266-1 recommends a short functional test every month, which you can do yourself. Then a full duration test once a year, usually three hours and normally done by an engineer. Both are recorded in the log book.

Can I test emergency lighting myself?

The monthly flick test, yes. Operate the test switch or key and check every fitting comes on. Restore the supply and record it. The annual three hour duration test is usually done by a contractor because the fittings must be run down and left to recharge. Ideally outside working hours.

What is the three hour rule?

Most emergency lighting is designed to last three hours after the power fails. The annual test runs every fitting for its full rated duration to prove the batteries still can. Fittings that fail early need new batteries or replacing.

How much does emergency lighting cost?

A self contained fitting installed is £100. The annual duration test is £150 for a small premises and £350 for 5 to 19 people. Battery replacement is £40 a fitting.

What changed in BS 5266-1:2025?

The 2025 edition came into force on 31 October 2025 and replaced the 2016 edition. It expanded the scope beyond escape lighting to include local area and standby lighting. It updated the design and testing guidance. Existing installations to the 2016 edition do not have to be replaced because the standard changed.

Do I need emergency lighting in a small shop?

If the exit is visible and reachable in daylight from anywhere inside and you never trade after dark, your assessment may conclude you do not. Most shops trade in winter evenings and have a stock room or a toilet. They do need at least a fitting over the exit and in the back areas.

Buyer guide

Required if…

Do I need emergency lighting?

If people could be in your premises when the lights fail and cannot see their way out, yes. Which areas need it. The monthly test you do yourself and the annual test an engineer does. What the 2025 standard changed. And the annual test contract you do not need to be locked into.

Written by David SmithFounder & Editor, Compliance Buyer

Legal position checked 10 September 2026Updated 10 September 2026

Applies to: England and Wales under the Fire Safety Order. Equivalent duties in Scotland and Northern Ireland. BS 5266-1:2025 is the UK standard.

Looking for the technical detail? Read the version for professionals → BS 5266-1:2025 and BS EN 1838 and BS EN 50172. Luminaire types. Design and testing regimes.

Do I need it? If anyone could be in your premises when the lights go out and might not be able to find the way out, yes. That covers most commercial premises. Your fire risk assessment makes the call.

What do I have to do once it is installed? A monthly test by you and an annual full duration test usually by an engineer. That is it.

Where are buyers oversold? The annual test sold on a multi year contract. Fittings replaced when only the batteries have failed. Full reinstalls because the standard was updated.

What the law actually requires

Required by lawEmergency routes and exits

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 14(2)(h): emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting. Article 17: it must be maintained in efficient working order. "Requiring illumination" is decided by the fire risk assessment. Scotland and Northern Ireland impose the same duty in their own fire law.

Good practiceBS 5266-1:2025 and BS EN 50172

BS 5266-1:2025 is the code of practice for emergency lighting of premises. It came into force on 31 October 2025 and replaced the 2016 edition. It covers what should be lit. Escape routes and exits. Changes of level and direction. Fire equipment and first aid points. Larger toilets and plant rooms. It covers the light levels and the duration and the testing regime. BS EN 50172 sets the testing and record keeping. Neither is law. Both are the benchmark a fire officer applies. An installation to the 2016 edition remains acceptable. The new edition does not create a duty to replace.

Insurers, landlords or clients ask for itInsurers and landlords

Insurers may require emergency lighting to BS 5266-1 with test records. Some ask for annual test certificates. Landlords hold the duty for common parts and typically pass the duty for the let area to the tenant in the lease.

What this means for your premises

Single room with the exit visible and daylight only trading: the assessment may conclude none is needed. Rare but real.

Ordinary premises such as offices and shops and restaurants. Fittings on the escape routes and over final exits. At changes of direction and in windowless rooms. Where fire equipment and first aid points are. Usually a handful of self contained fittings.

Larger or more complex premises or sleeping risk or public assembly: a designed system with more fittings. Sometimes a central battery system. An engineer led maintenance regime.

Your options

Installation

Self contained fittings have their own battery and are right for almost every small premises. Simple and cheap and each one is independent. Central battery systems are for large buildings. Ask for a design to BS 5266-1 with a drawing showing where each fitting goes and why. Any competent electrician can install them. A certificate of completion should follow.

Testing: the two layers

Layer 1: monthly by you. Operate the test switch or key. Confirm every fitting lights. Restore. Write it in the log book. Ten minutes for a small premises. Free. The standard requires it.

Layer 2: annual full duration test, usually by an engineer. Every fitting is run for its rated duration of normally three hours and then allowed to recharge. Fittings that do not last need batteries or replacing. Best done outside trading hours. Pay per visit or on a one year agreement.

Self testing fittings run their own monthly and annual tests and report faults. They cost more to buy and remove most of the ongoing labour. Worth it for larger premises or where nobody will reliably do the monthly test.

What it should cost

Self contained fittings installed: £100 each. Annual duration test for a small premises: £150. For an office or shop with 5 to 19 people: £350. Replacement battery: £40 a fitting. A full replacement fitting: £80 plus labour. Battery failure is normal after three to five years. It is a battery and not a fitting.

Figures are typical prices taken from published commercial price guides and checked October 2026. Same method on every page. Larger or more complex premises sit above them.

What you shouldn’t be sold

The monthly test as a paid visit. It is a switch and a log book entry. Yours.
A three or five year testing contract. One annual visit is the requirement. There is nothing to put on a term.
New fittings when only the battery has failed. Batteries are replaceable in most fittings and cost a fraction of the unit. Ask which has failed.
A full reinstallation "to meet BS 5266-1:2025". The 2025 edition does not make a compliant 2016 installation non compliant.
Fittings in places the assessment does not call for. Every fitting costs money to buy and test and maintain for the rest of its life. The design should follow the assessment.
Emergency lighting "bundled" into the alarm service. Fine if it is priced separately and cancellable separately. If it is not, you have bought a term you did not need.

Check what else your business needs

Emergency lighting sits alongside your fire alarm and extinguishers. All three are driven by the fire risk assessment. Run the Compliance Check to see the full picture.

Quick answers

Is emergency lighting a legal requirement?: The Fire Safety Order requires escape routes to be provided with emergency lighting where necessary. Your fire risk assessment decides where that is. In practice it means any premises where people could be inside when the normal lighting fails and could not find the exit without it. That is most commercial premises.
How often should emergency lighting be tested?: BS 5266-1 recommends a short functional test every month, which you can do yourself. Then a full duration test once a year, usually three hours and normally done by an engineer. Both are recorded in the log book.
Can I test emergency lighting myself?: The monthly flick test, yes. Operate the test switch or key and check every fitting comes on. Restore the supply and record it. The annual three hour duration test is usually done by a contractor because the fittings must be run down and left to recharge. Ideally outside working hours.
What is the three hour rule?: Most emergency lighting is designed to last three hours after the power fails. The annual test runs every fitting for its full rated duration to prove the batteries still can. Fittings that fail early need new batteries or replacing.
How much does emergency lighting cost?: A self contained fitting installed is £100. The annual duration test is £150 for a small premises and £350 for 5 to 19 people. Battery replacement is £40 a fitting.
What changed in BS 5266-1:2025?: The 2025 edition came into force on 31 October 2025 and replaced the 2016 edition. It expanded the scope beyond escape lighting to include local area and standby lighting. It updated the design and testing guidance. Existing installations to the 2016 edition do not have to be replaced because the standard changed.
Do I need emergency lighting in a small shop?: If the exit is visible and reachable in daylight from anywhere inside and you never trade after dark, your assessment may conclude you do not. Most shops trade in winter evenings and have a stock room or a toilet. They do need at least a fitting over the exit and in the back areas.

Find and check

Who can I use for this?

We do not recommend suppliers. Here is the official register and what to check before you book.

The register

NICEIC find a contractor Registered electrical contractors by postcode.
NAPIT find an installer Registered electrical contractors by postcode.
BAFE registered companies Fire companies that also service emergency lighting.

Check

A registered electrical contractor or a BAFE fire company.
That they test to BS 5266 and record it in a log book.
That they will quote batteries separately from fittings.

Ask

Is this the annual duration test or something else?
If a fitting fails, will you replace the battery or the fitting? Give me both prices.
Can the annual test be done on the same visit as the alarm service?

Insist on

The monthly flick test stays with you.
One annual visit priced per fitting.
No multi year contract.

How do I find and check an emergency lighting engineer near me?

General information about UK compliance, written for the person paying the bill. Not legal advice. If your situation is unusual, get a professional to look at it. See our editorial standards.