Here is the short answer: emergency lighting needs a short function test every month and a full-duration test — normally three hours — once a year, and both must be written down. The annual test is the one people skip, and it is the only one that proves the battery still works.
A monthly test tells you the lamp lights. It tells you nothing about whether the battery will still be lighting it 179 minutes later, on the night it matters, in a stairwell full of smoke. That is what the annual duration test is for, and it is why a building with a perfect monthly record can still fail an inspection badly.
We have supplied emergency lighting and its test gear from Villa Road since 1975. Here is the schedule, what happens at each stage, and what goes in the book.
1. Who is actually responsible
In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 puts the duty on the "responsible person" — in practice the employer, the building owner, or whoever has control of the premises. That duty does not transfer to a contractor. You can pay somebody to carry out the testing; you cannot pay somebody to be responsible for it.
The testing regime itself sits in BS 5266-1 and BS EN 50172 (published in the UK as BS 5266-8). Between them they set the schedule below.
If you need the wider legal picture rather than the test procedure, our guide to emergency lighting regulations in the UK covers the duties, the standards and where they apply. This article is the practical half — what you physically do, and when.
2. The monthly function test
Short, simple, and the one you can do yourself.
- Simulate a mains failure to the normal lighting circuit — using the test facility, not by pulling a breaker.
- Walk the route. Confirm every emergency luminaire and exit sign illuminates. Every one, not a sample.
- Restore the supply.
- Confirm each fitting's charging indicator comes back on.
- Record it: date, who did it, any fitting that failed, and what was done about it.
Keep it brief. A long monthly test partially discharges every battery in the building, and if it is done on the first of every month you have twelve partial discharges a year buying you nothing.
Trade tip: do not test by switching off a breaker at the board. It works, but it also drops everything else on that circuit — including anything with a clock, a controller or a compressor — and in an occupied building it generates a support call every single month. A dedicated key switch isolates only the emergency lighting supply, which is exactly what the standard intends.
3. The test facility: a key switch, not a breaker
The right way to trigger a test is a key-operated switch on the emergency lighting supply. Key-operated because it must not be possible for a passer-by to disable the emergency lighting by leaning on a rocker.
The GDM007MW is a 20AX 2-way single-pole emergency test key module in matt white, ABS and steel, IP20, 230V 50Hz — marked for emergency lighting test so nobody has to guess what it does. Being a module, it drops into a grid plate alongside whatever else lives on that wall.
And the thing that goes wrong with key switches is entirely predictable.
The GDKEY is a spare emergency lighting test key in stainless steel, IP20, supplied in packs of ten. Ten sounds excessive until you have managed a building for a year. The key lives on a facilities keyring, goes home in somebody's pocket, and the monthly test quietly stops happening — which is how a compliance record develops a nine-month hole nobody notices until an inspection.
4. The annual full-duration test
This is the one that counts, and the one that gets skipped because it takes all day.
- Isolate the normal supply and leave the emergency lighting running for its full rated duration — three hours for most UK installations, one hour on some systems. Check what your fittings are rated for; do not assume.
- At the end of the period, walk the route again. Every luminaire must still be providing adequate illumination. A fitting that lit up at the start and died at 90 minutes has failed, and it failed in the most dangerous way possible — invisibly to a monthly test.
- Restore the supply and confirm charging.
- Record it in full.
Trade tip: after a full-duration test, the batteries need up to 24 hours to recharge fully — and during that window the building's emergency lighting cover is reduced. Schedule the annual test at the start of a quiet period, never on the afternoon before a busy day or a public event. Testing on a Friday afternoon before a weekend event is a genuinely bad idea that reads as diligence right up until it isn't.
5. What a failure actually looks like — and what to do
Three failure patterns, three different answers:
- Does not light at all. Usually lamp or driver. On an older fitting, weigh a repair against replacement — the battery is likely near the end of its life too.
- Lights, then fails early. Battery. This is the classic annual-test failure and the reason the annual test exists.
- Lights the full duration but dimly. Battery degradation in progress. Not a pass. Plan the replacement now rather than discovering it next year.
Where a serviceable fitting has a tired battery and gear, a gear tray is often the economical answer.
The BPLEDEM is a 14W LED emergency gear tray, 230V, cool white, 1480 lumen output with a 3-hour backup. Replacing the gear inside a sound fitting is generally quicker and cheaper than replacing the whole luminaire and making good.
6. Exit signs: the legend has to be right, not just lit
A passing test on an exit sign proves the light works. It does not prove the sign points the correct way — and a sign pointing at a fire door that was blocked up in a refit two years ago is worse than no sign at all, because people follow it.
The EMEXITLR is a running man legend kit of two with left and right facing arrows, in durable polycarbonate for indoor use, IP20 — its live specification lists it as compatible with EMEXIT, EMLREC, EMLSUS and EMXST fittings. Add "does the arrow still point at a usable exit?" to your annual walk. It costs nothing and it catches the failure no electrical test can. Browse fire exit signs and the wider emergency lighting range.
7. The log book
The record is not paperwork around the job — under BS 5266-1 it is part of the job, and it is the first thing an inspecting officer asks for. It should hold: the date the system was commissioned, dates and results of every monthly and annual test, every defect found and the date it was remedied, and details of any alterations to the installation.
Paper in a wallet by the panel, or a spreadsheet — the standard cares that a record exists and is available, not that it is elegant. What it will not accept is a verbal assurance that the tests happen.
Emergency Light Testing, Summarised
| Test | Frequency | Duration | What it proves | WME pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Function test | Monthly | Short | The fitting illuminates | GDM007MW key module |
| Full-duration test | Annually | Full rated (usually 3h) | The battery lasts | GDKEY spare keys |
| Battery/gear renewal | On failure | — | Restores duration | BPLEDEM gear tray |
| Signage check | Annually | — | The arrow still points somewhere real | EMEXITLR legends |
| Record keeping | Every test | — | That any of the above happened | Log book by the panel |
Where DIY stops
Operating a test key switch and walking a route with a clipboard is a competent building manager's job and always has been. Installing the test facility, replacing gear trays, altering emergency lighting circuits and certifying the installation are an electrician's — and a system's design, siting and commissioning must be signed off against BS 5266-1 by somebody competent to do it. If your building has never had a commissioning certificate, that is the thing to sort out before the next monthly test.
Expert Help in the West Midlands
Villa Road, Birmingham, since 1975. We supply the key switches, the spare keys and the gear trays, and we will tell you what your fittings are rated for if you bring us a photo of the label. If you are setting up a testing regime from scratch and are not sure what your building actually has installed, come and talk to us before you buy anything.
Browse emergency lighting, bulkhead emergency lights, or fire exit signs. For the legal framework, read emergency lighting regulations UK. Get in touch for a schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should emergency lighting be tested?
A short function test every month and a full-duration test annually — normally three hours for UK installations. Both must be recorded in the log book.
How long does an annual emergency lighting test take?
The full rated duration of the fittings, usually three hours, plus the walk-round at the end. Allow up to 24 hours afterwards for batteries to fully recharge, during which emergency cover is reduced.
Who is responsible for emergency lighting testing?
The responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — normally the employer, owner or occupier. You can contract out the work, but not the responsibility.