In the UK, you need to test emergency lighting monthly with a short functional test and yearly with a full-duration test, usually three hours. Central battery systems also need a daily visual check of the indicator panel, and BS 5266-1:2025 adds photometric verification of light levels every five years. Log every result.

Two system types fall under the standard. Self-contained luminaires each carry their own battery and switch on independently during a power failure. Central battery systems draw power from a shared source and show their status on a single indicator panel. The daily check covers that panel's indicators.

What is the current British Standard for emergency lighting?

The current standard is BS 5266-1:2025, the British Standard code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises. BSI published it in October 2025 and it came into effect on 31 October 2025, replacing the 2016 edition. It is written to be used alongside BS EN 50172:2024 and BS EN 1838:2024, and it widens the scope beyond escape lighting to cover local area lighting and standby lighting. For maintenance teams, the main change is photometric verification when the system is installed and at intervals of no more than five years. The sections below cover what that check involves and how the routine tests work.

Is emergency lighting testing a legal requirement in the UK?

Yes, through fire safety law. Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) requires the responsible person to keep fire safety facilities and equipment under a suitable system of maintenance and in efficient working order. GOV.UK guidance is specific about emergency lighting: carry out regular checks that it is working and record any faults. BS 5266-1 is the recognised code of practice for emergency lighting, and following it supports your case that the duty is met.

The RRO covers England and Wales, where the duty sits with the responsible person for each non-domestic premises, such as the employer, owner, landlord, or occupier. Scotland applies the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, where the duty holder carries the maintenance duty. Northern Ireland applies the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, where the appropriate person does.

What happens if you miss or fail to record tests?

A luminaire can fail between visits without anyone noticing. A scheduled test catches it before an evacuation depends on it. In England and Wales, if your fire precautions aren't adequate, your local fire and rescue authority can act in these ways:

• Enforcement notices: where it finds a serious risk that isn't being managed, it can set out the improvements needed and by when.
• Prohibition notices: where the risk is judged so great, access to the premises can be prohibited or restricted with immediate effect.
• Prosecution: failing to follow fire safety regulations can lead to a fine or prison.

According to gov.uk, fire safety penalties in England and Wales reach up to £5,000 for minor offences. Major offences carry unlimited fines and up to two years in prison.

What is the UK emergency lighting testing schedule?

Routine testing follows BS EN 50172:2024, which BS 5266-1:2025 is written to be used alongside, and BS 5266-1:2025 adds the five-yearly photometric check. Record each one in the logbook:

Self-contained luminaires don't need the daily check.

How do you carry out the monthly functional test?

The monthly functional test confirms that every luminaire switches to battery power during a simulated mains failure. People often call it the flick test. A competent person can carry it out, meaning someone trained and instructed for the task, such as a facilities manager or site caretaker. You interrupt the mains supply with a dedicated test key switch, check each luminaire lights, and restore power after a short period.

Follow these steps each month:

1. Notify building occupants if your site procedures require it.
2. Simulate mains failure using the dedicated test key switch or circuit breaker.
3. Walk the building and confirm every luminaire and exit sign is illuminated.
4. Check that charge indicators are off during the test period.
5. Restore mains power and confirm charge indicators return to normal.
6. Record results, faults, and remedial actions in the test log before leaving the site.

The test is short, so the batteries keep most of their charge and the system stays available straight afterwards.

How do you carry out the annual full-duration test?

The annual full-duration test runs the system on battery for its full rated duration and confirms every luminaire stays lit to the end. Three hours is the norm. Batteries lose capacity with age, and this test finds the units that can no longer hold their charge. Afterwards, the system needs to recharge fully before you rely on it again.

Record the following after each annual test:

• Each luminaire's status at the end of the rated period: pass or fail.
• Any dimming or flickering observed before the period ended.
• Battery replacement needs identified during the test.
• Date, time, and name of the engineer who carried out the test.

A competent person carries out the annual test, usually a specialist emergency lighting or electrical engineer. BAFE SP203-4 is the third-party certification scheme for emergency lighting contractors, covering design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.

What is five-yearly photometric verification?

BS 5266-1:2025 recommends photometric verification when the system is installed and at intervals of no more than five years. A competent person measures light levels and records the results in the logbook.

Monthly and annual tests show that a luminaire lights up. Photometric verification shows that enough light reaches the escape route, which can change after a refit, new partitions, or racking moved across a corridor.

When should you schedule emergency lighting tests?

Schedule the full-duration test outside peak hours, before a low-risk period such as the end of the working day. The building then recharges while few people are inside. Stagger the work so the building is never left unprotected. Test alternate luminaires or one zone at a time, so the rest of the system stays charged while the tested units recover.

What happens if emergency lighting fails a test?

You record the failure, repair the luminaire, retest it, and close the fault in the logbook once it passes. Until the repair is complete, the affected area has reduced protection. Tell the responsible person straight away and put interim measures in place where escape routes are affected. Options include restricting access to the area or adding temporary lighting until the engineer returns.

What defects can emergency lighting testing uncover?

These are the defects a test can uncover:

• Failed batteries: units that light up but go dark before the rated duration ends.
• Unlit exit signs: signs with failed lamps or wiring faults that leave escape routes unmarked.
• Damaged fittings: cracked diffusers, missing covers, or luminaires knocked out of position.
• Charge indicator faults: indicators that stay off on mains power, pointing to a charging or supply fault.
• Coverage gaps: dark areas created when partitions, racking, or room layouts change after installation.

Do automatic test systems replace manual emergency lighting testing?

Automatic test systems carry out the monthly and annual tests for you, and a competent person still reviews the results and acts on failures. The system runs each test on a programmed schedule and logs the result for every luminaire. BS 5266-1:2025 now defines automatic test systems formally, and they suit large sites where manual walk-rounds take the most time. Someone still needs to check the reports, raise repairs, and keep the logbook up to date.

What should an emergency lighting test log contain?

Every test, fault, and remedial action belongs in the fire safety logbook. Fire and rescue authorities visit premises to check fire precautions, and a missing entry leaves no evidence the test happened. Each entry should include:

• Date and test type: daily, monthly, annual, or five-yearly photometric.
• Results per luminaire: pass, fail, or a description of the fault observed.
• Remedial action taken: what was done to fix each fault, and when.
• Name of the person who carried out the test.
• Sign-off confirming remedial work is complete before the record closes.

An unresolved fault stays open in the log until someone closes it. Paper forms and manual audit trails are slow to search and easy to get wrong, and across multiple sites the records can't be compared centrally. When an auditor asks about one luminaire, a paper system means searching years of handwritten entries. Digital records tied to individual assets remove that search.

How does Joblogic help teams manage emergency lighting compliance?

Joblogic helps multi-site teams keep test visits on schedule and results recorded against each asset, so evidence is easy to find when a customer or auditor asks. When those steps sit in separate single-purpose tools, results end up in different places and chasing an open fault takes longer. Fire safety firms running large, multi-site contracts tend to feel this first.

Joblogic connects these steps inside a planned preventive maintenance (PPM) workflow. Schedulers set the visit frequency, such as weekly or monthly, and the system generates the visit dates, with each visit ready to dispatch to an engineer from the schedule.

Joblogic's mobile app prompts engineers to complete the required checks when they scan an asset's QR code, and the results are added to that asset's service history. PPM tasks can be marked mandatory, so an engineer can't complete a job until each task is done or a reason is given for why it wasn't. Each asset keeps its own history, including repairs, so a fault found at one visit sits alongside the tests that came before it.

Joblogic Compliance (powered by Clik) is the dedicated compliance product for service managers, contract managers and compliance officers. It shows the compliance status of every job, engineer, asset and site in one searchable view, with automated alerts before certificates expire.

Is your testing programme ready for BS 5266-1:2025?

The 2025 edition adds a five-yearly photometric task to every building you maintain. Each one is another date to track across every site. Start by checking that your schedules include the photometric verification date for every building, and that each open fault has an owner. Then look at where your records live. When test scheduling, engineer allocation, forms, and records sit in one place, fire safety inspections become a review of evidence you already hold. How much of this you need to build depends on the size of your estate and how many systems you maintain.

Joblogic's team can show you how PPM scheduling and compliance records work together for emergency lighting. Book a demo to see it in action.

FAQs about emergency lighting testing

How often does emergency lighting need to be tested in the UK?

Emergency lighting needs a functional test every month and a full-duration test every year. Central battery systems also need a daily panel check, and BS 5266-1:2025 adds photometric verification every five years. Every result goes in the logbook.

What is the current British Standard for emergency lighting?

BS 5266-1:2025 is the current code of practice for emergency lighting in the UK. Published in October 2025, it replaced the 2016 edition and was written to be used alongside BS EN 50172:2024 and BS EN 1838:2024.

What happens if emergency lighting fails a test?

A failed luminaire needs logging, repairing, and retesting before the fault can close. While it's out of action, the responsible person should arrange interim cover, such as temporary lighting or restricted access to the affected escape route.

Who is the responsible person for emergency lighting testing?

The responsible person is whoever controls the premises, such as the employer, owner, landlord, or occupier. In England and Wales, the RRO gives them the duty to keep emergency lighting maintained, and gov.uk tells them to record any faults. In Scotland the duty sits with the duty holder, and in Northern Ireland with the appropriate person.

Can a facilities manager carry out the annual full-duration emergency lighting test?

A facilities manager can carry out the monthly functional test if they are trained and instructed for the task, which is what the standard means by a competent person. The annual full-duration test and battery replacements usually go to a specialist emergency lighting or electrical engineer, such as a BAFE SP203-4 registered firm.