Monthly emergency lighting test record

A twelve-month record for the routine monthly function test of emergency lighting, with a separate record of the annual full-duration test, a luminaire schedule and a defects and actions log.

What this record is for

To keep the monthly checks, the annual test, the luminaire references, the failures and the repairs in one place, so that a defect can be followed from the month it was found to the day it was put right.

It keeps two different activities apart, because they are done by different people. The monthly functional check is a walk round the escape routes with a test key, and the person doing it can record it here. The annual full-duration test is not that: it is arranged and carried out under your competent maintenance arrangements, in accordance with the system design and the manufacturer's instructions. This form records that it happened and what it achieved. It does not tell anyone how to do it, and it is not authority for an untrained person to run it.

The annual sheet asks for the duration actually achieved rather than "pass". A system that managed forty minutes of a three-hour duration has not passed, and a system whose achieved duration falls year on year is saying something worth hearing early.

Who it is for

Responsible persons under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the people who carry out the routine checks on their behalf: facilities managers, caretakers, building managers and maintenance staff in offices, schools, care settings, retail units and the common parts of residential blocks.

It is designed for someone walking the escape routes with a test key, not for a lighting engineer.

What it does not do

This is a general template. It records that a test happened. It does not tell you whether your emergency lighting design is adequate for your building, whether the coverage is right, or how long the system needs to run — those come from the system design and from your fire risk assessment.

It does not replace, and must not be presented as:

• a competent fire risk assessment;
• professional fire-engineering advice;
• a fire door survey;
• statutory inspection, testing, servicing or maintenance by a competent person;
• premises-specific legal advice.

One point carried on the form itself, not only here: a full-duration test leaves the batteries discharged, and the system will not provide its rated duration again until they have recharged. It therefore belongs at a time when the premises can tolerate reduced emergency lighting cover — not the start of a normal occupied day — and the building should not be left in normal occupation relying on a system that has just been fully discharged.

No servicing, testing or inspection interval is stated anywhere in this resource, and neither is any recharge period. The monthly rhythm it is laid out around is the premises' own arrangement, not an instruction from us.

Available formats

The PDF is the one to print. It is A4 portrait throughout, six pages, with the monthly grid on one sheet, the annual test blocks on another, then the luminaire schedule and the defects log.

The Word file is the same document, editable, for anyone who needs to adapt the premises details or the column headings before printing.

The spreadsheet carries the same content for those keeping digital records, on four sheets — monthly check, annual test, luminaires and defects — with the header rows frozen, drop-down lists on the yes/no columns, and the achieved duration held as text so that spreadsheet time arithmetic cannot quietly change what was written down.

Complete the luminaire schedule first. Everything else refers to it: without references, "luminaire 14 failed" means nothing to the next person.

Version, issue and review

Version 1.0, first published 1 August 2026. Reviewed 1 August 2026 by Batir Turakulov, Fire Engineer (MIFireE) and Chartered Health & Safety Professional (CMIOSH). Next review due 1 August 2027.

Review earlier than that if the lighting system, the building layout, its use or its occupancy changes. The version number is in the filename, because a document downloaded today has to be able to identify itself a year from now in somebody's folder.

Accessibility

The PDF is tagged, with a document title, en-GB language metadata, a real heading structure and table headers that repeat across page breaks. It is portrait throughout, so there is a single reading order from the first page to the last, and the annual test section is a set of labelled blocks with its own caption rather than a continuation of the monthly grid. Yes and no answers are identified by text, never by colour or shading alone. The Word file carries the same title, language and heading structure. The spreadsheet has named worksheets, a frozen header row that is also set as the print title, and no merged cells in any data range.

There is no printable HTML version of this resource, and that is deliberate. Nobody reads this document; they fill it in, month after month, and keep it. The artefact is a ruled grid that lives in a logbook or a folder, and an HTML equivalent would be a worse version of the thing people actually want. The explanatory content lives on this page instead.

Licence and permitted use

Free to use and adapt for your own premises. Not for resale or republication. © Lion Risk Management Solutions.

Disclaimer

This form is intended solely as a record of routine emergency lighting testing. It is not a fire risk assessment, does not certify compliance, and must not be relied upon to determine whether the emergency lighting installation is adequate for the premises. It cannot confirm system design, coverage, illuminance levels, rated duration, battery condition or installation quality. Completing it does not by itself discharge any legal duty. Where defects are identified or compliance is uncertain, advice should be obtained from a suitably competent person.