Responsible persons
Every business must appoint a responsible person
Responsible persons are responsible for fire safety in business and non-domestic premises. They make sure the premises comply with fire safety law, carry out fire risk assessments and identify what precautions need to be taken to keep those premises safe.
Responsible persons can be an individual or an organisation. They may have others to assist them in carrying out duties. Learn more below.
What and who is a Responsible Person
A Responsible Person (RP) is the person or organisation that has control of the premises and is responsible for fire safety in your business or non-domestic building.
Non-domestic buildings are...’ all workplaces and commercial premises, all premises the public have access to, and the common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings’. These premises must have an RP.
You are responsible if you are
- ‘an employer
- the owner
- the landlord
- an occupier
- anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor’.
An RP may not necessarily be an individual. The RP may be an organisation - for example a limited company - who then appoints members of staff to carry out duties to ensure the fire safety of the building. These members of staff then become 'duty holders'.
If an employer controls the work premises
that employer is the Responsible Person. If the employer is:
- a 'living person' who directly employs people, then they are the RP
- a limited company who employs people, it is the company that is the RP and the company is treated as a 'legal person'
What does a Responsible Person do
A Responsible person:
- carries out a fire risk assessment for the premises
- reviews it regularly
- tells staff (or their representatives) about the risks that have been identified as a result of the assessment
- puts in place and maintains appropriate fire safety measures
- plans for emergencies
- makes sure staff are informed and instructed about fire satety
- provides fire safety training
Additional information RPs must be aware of and provide
As a result of the Building Safety Act 2022, Responsible Persons must also now complete their fire risk assessment in full and provide
- all the findings and the premises fire safety arrangements in all circumstances
- their contact information, and share it with other RPs if there is more than on RP for the premises (and residents where appropriate)
- work together with any other RPs in the premises
- details of fire safety assessors if engaged
- outgoing RPs must share information with incoming RPs
(Please be aware that there are additional requirements for RPs for high rise buildings and those containing two or more sets of domestic premises. Please see our Responsible persons and high rise' page for more information.)
For further information about the changes to RP duties as a result of the Building Safety Act, please go to 'The Building Safety Act and the FSO'.
Guidance for Responsible Persons
If you are seeking information on how to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment for your type of premises, go to our 'Choose your business type' page and select your premises. You will then be able to access the dedicated Guidance for your type of business.
The Government also publish information and helpful guides for Responsible Persons. These are designed to help RPs understand and carry out their duties. Take a look and select from the Guidance below for further information.
If you are seeking Guidance for high rise properties or those with two or more sets of domestic premises, please go to 'Responsible persons and high rise'.
Fire Safety in the Workplace
This simple online and printable guide provides an overview of who is responsible, fire risk assessments, fire safety and evacuation plans, equipment drills and training, and enforcement and penalties.
Persons with duties under fire safety legislation
This Guide for persons with duties under fire safety legislation helps to identify and explain the role of RPs as well as Duty Holders. It contains useful information about fire risk assessments, their review, and what must be considered in an assessment.
The law and Responsible Persons
The law governing fire safety for business and non-domestic premises is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, often called the Fire Safety Order or the FSO. It applies to all workplaces and the common parts of buildings (for example blocks of flats) with two or more sets of domestic premises. It is the law that requires all businesses to carry out a fire risk assessment.
The FSO sets out the duties of RPs including the duty to conduct and record a fire risk assessment. To assist RPs in doing this, the FSO ordered that Guidance is made available to assist RPs in carrying out their duties. You can find the Guidance for your type of business by going to our 'Choose your business type' page.
Other recent laws that affect RPs and their duties are the Fire Safety Act, 2021, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Building Safety Act 2022. You can find out more about these by going to our 'The law' section or - if you are an RP for a high rise building or one with two or more sets of domestic premises - go to our 'High rise and higher risk' section.