Sources checked · Applies to England and Wales
Who's responsible
Under article 14 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies in England and Wales, emergency routes and exits that need illumination must have emergency lighting of adequate intensity if the normal lighting fails. The responsible person, usually the employer, owner or managing agent, must keep it maintained.
The standard
BS 5266-1 is the code of practice for emergency lighting. A new edition was published in November 2025, replacing the 2016 version (BSI). It's guidance rather than law, but it's what fire risk assessors and councils expect to see followed.
Routine tests
- Monthly: a short function test of every fitting and exit sign, simulating a mains failure. Often done by trained staff and recorded in the logbook.
- Annually: a test for each fitting's full rated duration (commonly three hours, sometimes one), to check the batteries still last. Afterwards the batteries need up to 24 hours to recharge, so plan the timing.
We've marked the test routine for professional review against the 2025 edition of BS 5266-1, which isn't freely available.
Emergency lighting isn't the fire alarm
They're separate systems with separate standards: emergency lighting (BS 5266) lights escape routes when the power fails, and fire detection and alarm systems (BS 5839) detect fire and warn people.