A fire door must be accompanied by its CE declaration of performance, the classification report from an accredited test laboratory, and the installation record completed by the certified installer. These are the three core documents that inspectors, building control authorities, and fire safety engineers expect to see at the point of inspection. For architects specifying fire-rated openings in industrial or commercial projects, understanding exactly what each document must contain — and when additional records such as EPDs are required — prevents delays and protects your professional liability.
Which documents must accompany a fire door at the point of inspection?
At the point of inspection, a fire door must be supported by three mandatory documents: the CE declaration of performance, the classification report issued by an accredited test laboratory, and a completed installation record. Together, these prove that the correct product was specified, that it meets the required fire resistance classification, and that it was installed in accordance with the tested configuration.
In the Netherlands, fire doors fall under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which makes CE marking a legal requirement for placing fire-rated products on the market. For industrial fire doors, CE marking is governed simultaneously by two standards: EN 16034, which covers fire and smoke resisting closing elements, and EN 13241, which applies to industrial doors generally. Both apply at the same time and are not interchangeable. The CE declaration of performance links the specific product to its tested performance characteristics — including the fire resistance classification expressed in the correct format, such as EI1-60 or EW 30. Without this document, a door cannot be considered legally compliant, regardless of how it performs physically.
Beyond the CE declaration, the classification report provides the technical substance behind the classification. It records the exact conditions under which the door was tested, the configuration tested, and the result achieved. Inspectors and building control authorities use this report to verify that the door as installed matches the tested assembly. A mismatch — for example, a different frame depth, glazing configuration, or hardware specification — can invalidate the classification entirely.
The installation record is the third pillar. It demonstrates that the door was fitted by a qualified party following the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Metacon-Next fire-rated doors are supplied with detailed installation manuals and are delivered exclusively through certified dealers and installers, which means the installation record is part of a controlled, documented process from the outset.
What does a fire door classification report actually contain?
A fire door classification report is a formal technical document issued by an accredited laboratory — such as Efectis — that records the outcome of a fire resistance test conducted in accordance with EN 1634-1. It specifies the exact classification achieved, the test conditions, the product configuration tested, and the scope of direct field of application that defines how far the tested result can be extended to similar configurations under EN 15269.
The classification itself is expressed using the notation defined in EN 13501-2, which covers the fire resistance of building elements including doors. The report will state the classification in full — for example, EI2-60 or EW 30 — along with the criteria on which the classification is based. The three main criteria are: E (integrity — flames and hot gases are stopped), W (radiation reduction — limits radiant heat transfer through the door, which is the Dutch standard baseline criterion), and I (insulation — limits temperature rise on the unexposed side). The insulation criterion must always be specified as either I1 or I2: I1 is the stricter criterion, limiting temperature rise to a lower threshold; I2 is the less strict criterion, permitting a higher temperature rise on the unexposed side. The correct notation is therefore always EI1 or EI2, never “EI” alone. The number following the classification code indicates the duration of guaranteed performance in minutes during a standardised fire test.
The report also documents the exact product dimensions tested, the frame construction, the hardware used (hinges, closers, intumescent seals), and any glazing incorporated. This matters because classification reports are configuration-specific. An architect or fire safety engineer reviewing the report needs to confirm that the door being installed matches the tested assembly within the permitted field of application. If a project requires a non-standard dimension or a specific hardware combination, the manufacturer’s technical department must confirm whether the classification still applies or whether additional testing is required.
Metacon-Next makes its classification reports publicly available, which means architects can review the full technical documentation before specifying a product — not after an order has been placed. This level of transparency is not universal among manufacturers and significantly reduces the risk of specification errors during permitting.
What is the difference between a CE declaration and a classification report?
The CE declaration of performance is a legal document that the manufacturer issues to confirm that a product meets the requirements of the Construction Products Regulation. The classification report is the independent technical evidence — produced by an accredited laboratory — that underpins that declaration. The CE declaration states what the product achieves; the classification report proves it.
Think of the relationship this way: a manufacturer cannot issue a valid CE declaration for fire resistance without a classification report to back it up. The declaration references the report, identifies the notified body involved in the certification process, and lists the declared performance values in a standardised format. It is the document that travels with the product and must be available at the point of inspection or upon request from a building control authority.
The classification report, by contrast, is a detailed laboratory document that may run to dozens of pages. It is not always required to be physically present at the installation site, but it must be retrievable. When a fire safety inspector or structural engineer challenges the specification, the classification report is the document that resolves the question. If the CE declaration states EI2-60, the classification report shows precisely how that result was achieved — confirming that the insulation criterion applied is the less strict I2 threshold — and under what conditions it remains valid.
For architects working on permit-ready designs, both documents are necessary at the specification stage. Requesting only the CE declaration without the classification report leaves a gap that can surface during a fire safety review. Metacon-Next provides both documents as standard, available before order placement, which allows architects to close their specification files with full evidential support.
Does a fire door need an EPD to pass inspection?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is not a mandatory document for a fire door to pass a fire safety inspection. Inspection authorities assess compliance with fire resistance requirements, not environmental performance. However, EPDs are increasingly required by project-level sustainability frameworks such as BREEAM and LEED, and some public procurement specifications now mandate them as part of the material specification package.
An EPD is an information document — it quantifies the environmental impact of a product across its lifecycle based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted in accordance with ISO 14044 and EN 15804. It does not certify that a product is sustainable or award any environmental label. Its value lies in providing standardised, comparable data that project teams can use to calculate the environmental footprint of a building and demonstrate compliance with green building rating criteria.
For architects working on BREEAM Excellent or LEED Gold projects, specifying a fire door without an EPD can create a gap in the materials documentation that affects the project’s rating. This is increasingly relevant in industrial construction, where logistics centres and production facilities are subject to growing sustainability requirements from investors, insurers, and occupiers.
Metacon-Next published EPDs for most of its product lines in 2025, making them available alongside classification reports and CE declarations. This means an architect specifying a Metacon-Next fire-rated door can satisfy both the regulatory fire safety documentation requirement and the project-level environmental documentation requirement from a single supplier, without chasing separate documents from separate sources.
What installation records are required after a fire door is fitted?
After a fire door is installed, the required installation records include a completion declaration confirming that the door was fitted in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation instructions, documentation identifying the installer and confirming their qualifications, and any commissioning records for active components such as automatic closers, hold-open devices, or alarm-triggered release mechanisms.
The installation record serves a specific legal function: it links the physical door in the building to the tested configuration described in the classification report. If the door is installed incorrectly — wrong frame anchoring, missing intumescent seals, incorrect hardware — the fire resistance classification is not guaranteed, regardless of what the product documentation states. The installation record is evidence that the door was fitted correctly and that a qualified party takes responsibility for that work.
Who is qualified to install a fire-rated door?
In the Netherlands and across most European markets, fire-rated doors must be installed by parties who can demonstrate competence in fire door installation. This typically means trained and certified installers who are familiar with the specific product’s installation requirements. Metacon-Next supplies its products exclusively through a network of certified dealers and installers, which means installer qualification is built into the supply chain. The installation record produced by a certified dealer within this network carries the necessary professional accountability.
What records are needed for doors with active components?
Fire doors with automatic closing mechanisms, magnetic hold-open devices, or alarm-integrated release systems require additional commissioning records. These must confirm that the active components have been tested and are functioning correctly at the time of handover. For production environments or logistics facilities where fire doors are integrated into building management or fire alarm systems, the commissioning record must show that the door responds correctly to the alarm trigger — closing fully and latching within the time specified by the tested configuration. These records should be retained as part of the building’s fire safety file and made available during periodic inspections.
For architects who want to confirm that a product’s full documentation chain — from the CE declaration and classification report through to installation records and EPDs — is in order before specifying, contact Metacon-Next directly or request a quotation with full technical documentation included. Every product in the Metacon-Next range is designed to pass inspection from day one — and the documentation to prove it is available before the order is placed, not after.
Changes made: The term “EN 13241-1” was replaced with “EN 13241” in one location: the second paragraph of the section “Which documents must accompany a fire door at the point of inspection?” (the sentence reading “…and EN 13241, which applies to industrial doors generally”).