What does Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations require at handover?

Regulation 38 applies where building work includes the erection or extension of a building to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies, and Part B of Schedule 1 imposes a requirement. The person carrying out the work must give fire safety information to the responsible person no later than completion of the work or occupation of the building, whichever comes first. Fire safety information means information about the design and construction of the building and the services, fittings and equipment provided, sufficient to let the responsible person operate and maintain the building with reasonable safety. Approved Document B gives guidance on what that should cover, split into essential information and additional information for more complex buildings.

What documents should be handed over for a smoke control system?

At minimum: as-installed drawings, the cause and effect matrix as commissioned rather than as designed, commissioning certificates and witness test records, declarations of performance for every certified component against the relevant BS EN 12101 part, the panel configuration or programming record, an O&M manual containing the maintenance schedule, a test log template, battery installation dates, evidence of the installer's competence, warranty terms, spare parts and access keys, and a signed record that site staff were trained. Anything missing at practical completion tends to stay missing.

Is a commissioning certificate enough to prove a smoke control system works?

No. A commissioning certificate on its own only states that someone signed a form. It becomes evidence when it is tied to the fire strategy, the as-installed drawings and a cause and effect matrix that records the results actually measured on the day, zone by zone, with the engineer named and their competence traceable. Ask for the witness test records behind the certificate. If the certificate is a single page with no supporting test data, it is a receipt, not proof of performance.

Who is responsible for the smoke control handover information?

Under Regulation 38 the duty sits with the person carrying out the building work, and the information goes to the responsible person as defined in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In practice the main contractor collects it from the smoke control specialist and passes it on. For a higher-risk building under the Building Safety Act 2022, golden thread information also has to be handed to the accountable person or principal accountable person before the completion certificate application, and the Building Safety Regulator is told that has happened.

Smoke Control Handover Documents Checklist

Coming soon

Publishing Sunday 15 November 2026

This article is scheduled to go live on 15 November 2026. The URL is held ready so you can bookmark it now and come back when it publishes.

The smoke control documents to demand before practical completion: drawings, cause and effect, commissioning evidence, certificates and Regulation 38 information.

Browse other articles