7 fire risk assessment companies for commercial premises in 2026

Speak to companies so they can fully understand what you need. Then shortlist by fit: SOCOTEC for large and multi-site estates, The Fire Risk Assessment Company for a small specialist practice in England and Wales, Peninsula for an assessment inside a wider HR and health and safety service, Bison Assist for small premises that need several assessments in one visit, and Opus Safety where fire sits alongside the rest of your health and safety.

Whoever you appoint, the legal duty to assess stays with you.

How to choose a competent fire risk assessor

In England, fire risk assessment is still an unregulated profession. The government consulted on mandatory certification of fire risk assessors in England between 26 March and 18 June 2026, and its consultation document says the role has no mandatory training, qualifications or certification. When we checked on 6 October 2026, the outcome had yet to be published. Section 156(4) of the Building Safety Act 2022 would add a competence test for anyone who helps a responsible person in England and Wales with the assessment, but when we checked the statute on 6 October 2026, that subsection had yet to be brought into force.

What the law asks of you

In England and Wales, article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed, and to review it regularly. Since 1 October 2023, when section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended article 9(6) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, every responsible person must record the assessment and each review, whatever the number of employees. Article 1(4) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 extends it to England and Wales only.

In Scotland, sections 53 and 54 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 put the assessment duty on employers and on anyone with control of relevant premises. Regulation 8 of the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 requires a written record where you employ five or more people, where the premises need a licence or registration, or where an alterations notice requires one.

In Northern Ireland, articles 25 and 26 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 set the same two duties, and regulation 8 of the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 uses the same three triggers for a written record.

How this list was put together

Apart from Opus Safety, every company below appeared in Google's UK results for "fire risk assessment companies" on 6 October 2026, offers fire risk assessments for commercial premises and works in more than one region. We left out directories, single-town firms and one national provider whose pages we could not read that day. Each description comes from the company's own website, read the same day. The numbering is for finding an entry and carries no ranking.

Opus Safety is on the list, and we wrote it, so read it with that conflict in mind. We have placed ourselves last and said where another company is the better choice.

We did not commission assessments from any of these companies, and we have left out their prices, review scores, client numbers and claims about individual assessors' qualifications. Where a company states a certification, we report it as stated, so confirm it with the certification body before you sign.

1. SOCOTEC, for large and multi-site estates

SOCOTEC UK's Fire Division offers fire risk assessments alongside fire engineering, compartmentation surveys, fire door surveys, fire damper testing and fire safety training. It states that it holds third-party certification to BAFE SP205 and lists the PAS 79 methodology for its assessments. It says it works for multi-site clients and on premises of all sizes, and that it is independent of any fire equipment manufacturer. Its recommendations can run to compartmentation and alarm upgrades.

Consider them if you manage a large or dispersed estate, or expect the assessment to raise questions that need a fire engineer to answer.

2. The Fire Risk Assessment Company, for a small specialist practice

A family-run fire safety consultancy founded in 2007, with bases in Sussex and Somerset and a stated coverage of England and Wales. It describes itself as BAFE SP205 third-party accredited. It says two assessors carry out all of its work, with no subcontractors or junior staff.

Alongside fire risk assessments it writes fire strategies for Part B of the Building Regulations, carries out fire door surveys and prepares safety case reports under the Building Safety Act. It describes its assessments as professional judgements of risk, without numerical scores or pass and fail ratings.

Choose them if you want the continuity of a small practice, with the same two assessors on every job.

3. Peninsula, for an assessment inside a wider HR and health and safety service

Peninsula sells employment law, HR and health and safety support to employers, and fire risk assessment is one of its health and safety services. It states that its fire risk assessments are BAFE-certified and are carried out to PAS 79 or BS 9792 depending on the type of premises.

The assessment can be held in BrightSafe, Peninsula's online health and safety platform, where you can share it with staff and receive a reminder when a review is due.

They suit you if you already buy HR or health and safety support from Peninsula, or want one supplier for employment law and fire safety together.

4. UK Fire Risk Assessments, for an assessor who sells no equipment

UK Fire Risk Assessments states full UK coverage and lists offices, retail units, warehouses, factories and industrial buildings among the premises it assesses, alongside residential blocks, care homes, schools and licensed premises. It offers fire door surveys and inspections too, and its reports follow PAS 79 and BS 9792:2025.

The company states that it neither sells nor upsells fire equipment and recommends only what your premises need, which keeps the recommendation apart from any sale.

Pick them if that separation matters to you, or you want your fire door surveys from the same company.

5. Bison Assist, for several assessments in one visit

Bison Assist, based in Allerton Bywater, carries out fire risk assessments nationwide alongside health and safety, legionella and disability access assessments, and offers to combine several of them in one visit. Its pages name dental practices, GP surgeries, offices, retail units, care homes and educational establishments among the premises it assesses. It lists PAS 79-1:2020 and BS 9792:2025 among the standards its assessments follow.

A good fit if you run a surgery, a practice or a small office and want your assessments booked together.

6. Aspect, for London and Home Counties sites that also need the work done

Aspect is a property maintenance company whose fire safety consultants work across Greater London and the Home Counties. Besides fire risk assessments it offers fire strategy design, evacuation planning, fire stopping and compartmentation, and fire door installation and repair. It is certified under FIRAS, the third-party certification scheme for passive fire protection installers, and registered with the Building Engineering Services Association, and it has account handlers for multi-site commercial customers.

Consider them if your sites sit in that area and you want the assessment and the remedial work from one supplier. If you prefer the assessor to be independent of whoever carries out the remedial work, ask how the two are kept apart.

7. Opus Safety, for sites where fire sits alongside the rest of your health and safety

Our commercial fire risk assessments start with a site survey, in which your consultant identifies every fire hazard and evaluates every control. All our consultants are suitably trained fire risk assessors. The assessment is made under the fire safety law for your premises, which is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, and follows PAS 79. For a site in Scotland it is the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and in Northern Ireland the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. You receive the fire risk assessment with photographic evidence, a prioritised action plan ranking immediate, short-term and long-term work, an evacuation plan for your layout and operations, fire safety responsibilities documented by role, and a maintenance programme covering alarms, lighting and extinguisher testing schedules. A walkthrough with your consultant closes it off.

We assess fire risk in builders merchants, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing and engineering, offices, garden centres, metal stockholding and childcare settings. In England and Wales, where a dangerous substance is present, article 9(2) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 adds further matters to the assessment, and we also carry out DSEAR risk assessments. You can book the assessment as a one-off service, or as part of the Opus Safety Partnership.

Consider us if your fire risk assessment is one item on a longer health and safety list for the same sites. Look elsewhere if you need fire engineering or a fire strategy for building work: SOCOTEC, The Fire Risk Assessment Company and Aspect all list it.

How to decide between them

Four questions separate companies that look alike on paper.

Question	What it tells you
Will the person who visits write the report?	A small practice may send a director, a national firm an employed assessor or an associate
Does the company sell or install what it recommends?	Whether the recommendation and the sale come from the same place
Will the assessment cover the processes and substances on your site?	Hot work, dust, flammable liquids and battery charging each need covering where they exist
For several sites, will each one be assessed to the same method?	Whether you can compare sites and track actions across the estate

Frequently asked questions

How much should a fire risk assessment cost? The price follows the size and layout of the premises, what happens there, how many sites are involved and the level of assessor the building needs. Ask two or three companies to quote on the same scope.

Can I do my own fire risk assessment for my business? Yes, if you have the knowledge and the time to do it properly. Government guidance for England and Wales says that if you lack the expertise or time, you need to appoint a competent person to help, for example a professional risk assessor. Our guide to fire risk assessment basics covers what the assessment involves.

Which organisations must do a fire risk assessment? In England and Wales, every responsible person for business and other non-domestic premises. Article 3 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes that the employer for a workplace under their control, and otherwise the person in control of the premises or the owner. Scotland and Northern Ireland use the two duties set out above.

Does a fire risk assessor need to be certified? In England, the government's March 2026 consultation says the role has no mandatory training, qualifications or certification. In Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service says you are free to arrange any assistance you consider appropriate.

Who is responsible if the fire risk assessor gets it wrong? You remain the dutyholder. Confirm the assessor's professional indemnity and public liability insurance and ensure they have the necessary experience of your business type before you engage them.

Talk to us

If your fire risk assessment is part of wider health and safety support for your sites, tell us about your premises and we will tell you whether we are the right fit.