Emergency Lighting Completion Certificate

The emergency lighting completion certificate is the document that signs off new work. When an emergency lighting system is newly installed, extended or altered, the completion certificate — based on the model in Annex H of BS 5266‑1:2016 — certifies that the work has been designed, installed and verified in accordance with the relevant standards, and hands responsibility for the finished system over to the client.

It is the emergency lighting equivalent of the Electrical Installation Certificate an electrician issues for the fixed wiring. Just as you would never leave a new consumer unit without a BS 7671 certificate, you should never leave a new emergency lighting installation without its completion certificate. It is the client’s proof the system was designed and commissioned properly, and it is the starting point of the maintenance record that follows: the recommended first inspection date on the completion certificate sets the clock for the first periodic inspection and test.

Crucially, the completion certificate covers new work only. It is not a maintenance document and must not be used to certify an existing installation — that is what the periodic and site compliance certificates are for.

The completion certificate is triggered by new work. That covers three cases, and Part 2 of the certificate asks you to state which one applies:

• New installation — a building or area getting emergency lighting for the first time.
• Addition — extending an existing system, for example new luminaires for a new extension or a change of layout.
• Alteration — modifying part of an existing system, such as relocating luminaires after a partition change.

For additions and alterations, the certificate covers the extent of the new work, scoped by the description in Part 2 — you are not re‑certifying the whole building, only what you touched.

On a small job one competent person may be responsible for all three, and signs each declaration (or uses the small installation certificate which combines them). On a larger project a consultant may design, a contractor may install, and a commissioning engineer may verify — three parties, three signatures, three clear lines of responsibility. Each declaration can carry its own deviations, so if the installer had to depart from the design, that is recorded against installation, not laid at the designer’s door.

A completion certificate on its own is not the whole handover. Part 5 lists the documents that should go with it, and together they make up the pack the responsible person keeps for the life of the installation:

• Plans showing the luminaires, exit signs, escape routes and test facilities.
• Photometric design data — spacing tables, calculations or a computer print‑out proving the light levels.
• The emergency lighting log book, ready for the monthly and annual test records.
• Operating and maintenance instructions.
• The BS 7671 electrical certificate for the wiring (referenced by its number).
• Full rated‑duration commissioning test results.
• Confirmation the fire risk assessment has been reviewed with the responsible person.

Handing over a clean pack does two things: it discharges your obligation properly, and it sets the client up to maintain the system correctly from day one. A completion certificate with an empty documents section is a red flag to any inspector.

A contractor installs emergency lighting in a newly fitted two‑storey office: 18 self‑contained LED luminaires and six exit signs, all rated for three hours. The same firm designed and installed it, and their commissioning engineer verified it. Here is how the certificate is completed:

• Part 2: New installation. Extent: “complete new emergency lighting to a two‑storey office — escape routes, stairs and open‑plan areas, 18 self‑contained luminaires and 6 exit signs.” Luminaires: 18. Commissioning test date recorded.
• Part 3: Purpose — emergency escape lighting and open area lighting. Arrangement — self‑contained. Classification — one row: Type X, Mode 3 (combined maintained), Duration 180.
• Part 4: The designer signs the design declaration; “same as designer” is used for installation and verification since the same firm did all three; no deviations.
• Part 5: Plans, photometric data, log book, O&M instructions, EIC reference, and the 3‑hour commissioning results all ticked; EIC number entered.
• Part 6: First periodic inspection recommended within 12 months.

The result is a single clean PDF the client files with the handover pack — and the recommended date in Part 6 is what tells them (and you) when the first annual test is due.

• BS 5266‑1:2016 — the code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises. Annex H provides the completion certificate model; Annex I the small‑installation version.
• BS EN 1838:2013 — the light‑level standard the design must satisfy (1 lux escape routes, 0.5 lux open areas, and so on).
• BS 7671 — Requirements for Electrical Installations. The installation declaration references it, and the wiring gets its own BS 7671 certificate.
• BS EN 50172:2004 / BS 5266‑8:2004 — the ongoing testing and record‑keeping regime the completion certificate hands over to.
• BS EN 60598‑2‑22 — the emergency luminaire product standard and the source of the Annex F classification recorded in Part 3.

• Using it for existing work. The completion certificate is for new installations, additions and alterations only — not for routine testing or verifying an old system.
• A vague extent. Part 2 defines what the certificate covers, especially for additions and alterations. Be specific about the boundary of the new work.
• Empty documents section. A completion certificate with no handover pack ticked is incomplete. List what you supplied.
• Skipping the commissioning duration test. The verification declaration says the system runs its full rated duration — that means you actually ran it, and recorded the date.
• No photometric evidence. The design declaration implies the light levels are met. Keep the spacing tables, calculations or an illuminance report to back it.
• Forgetting the next‑inspection date. Part 6 starts the maintenance clock. Leave it blank and the first annual test has no due date.