Fire Safety of Furniture and Furnishings in the Home - A Guide to the UK Regulations

At a glance:

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989, 1993, 2010 & 2025) are UK law and are designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels.

There are five main elements contained within the Regulations:

1. Filling materials must meet specified ignition requirements
2. Upholstery composites must be cigarette resistant
3. Covers must be match resistant (with certain exceptions as outlined in Section 8.2 and Appendix A5 of the guide)
4. A permanent label must be fitted to every item of new furniture (with the exception of mattresses and bed-bases)
5. The first supplier of domestic upholstered furniture in the UK must maintain records for five years to prove compliance.

This guide outlines the Regulations, reflects current practice and industry changes, clarifies and addresses areas of current debate, anomalies, and ambiguities that often result in misinterpretation of the Regulations, and outlines the responsibilities of different organisations in the furniture supply chain, such as manufacturers, importers, and retailers.

Highlights:

• Summary of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989, 1993, 2010 & 2025)
• Product ranges covered by the Regulations
• Testing
• Labelling
• Record keeping
• Specific responsibilities relating to upholstery
• Specific responsibilities relating to re-upholsterers
• Specific responsibilities relating to other sectors (including charities, letting, holiday homes, landlords, etc.)
• Specific information and exceptions for product ranges (including sofa beds, scatter cushions, covers, etc.)