UKFR Regulations for Furniture in the UK: A Comprehensive Guide

Did you know that in the UK, there are 93 house fires per day? When fires start, the flammability of home furnishings can be the difference between life and death.

That’s why the UK has strict fire safety regulations. These regulations affect everybody in the furniture’s supply chain from those who supply the initial materials, through to the vendors of finished furniture and even landlords and estate agents. In this article, we’ll explain the UKFR, the obligations it creates, and the penalties for breaching it.

What is the UKFR?

The UK’s Fire and Furnishings (Fire Safety) regulations are a set of regulations designed to protect consumers from furnishings in their home posing a fire hazard. These regulations have several key components.

First, they impose restrictions on the types of material that can be used in furnishings.

Second, they mandate tests for flammability.

Thirdly, they enforce transparency. Vendors are obliged to include labels with fire safety information, ensuring transparency for both consumers and enforcement officers. In addition, all organizations affected by the UKFR are expected to keep records of their supplier(s). This ensures traceability throughout the supply chain.

Finally, the UKFR imposes penalties on those who breach the regulations.

The UKFR is extremely important as flammable furnishings can cause fires to spread, resulting in injuries, property damage and deaths. In 2000, just 12 years after its introduction, it was estimated that UKFR regulations had already saved 1860 lives.

What Products are Covered under the UKFR?

As a general rule, furniture that is upholstered is subject to UKFR regulations. But there are some exceptions. Below is a list of products and where they stand in relation to the UKFR.

The following products are subject to UKFR regulations

• Sofas and armchairs
• Cushions and pillows (filling only)
• Beds and mattresses
• Mattress toppers
• Outdoor furniture that is upholstered
• Outdoor furniture that can be brought inside
• Most other upholstered furniture

The following products are excluded from UKFR Regulations

• Duvets
• Pillowcases
• Curtains
• Carpets
• Sleeping bags
• Outdoor furniture that is not upholstered
• Outdoor furniture that is too large to bring indoors
• Furniture that is produced for export
• Furniture that was produced before 1950

This list is not exhaustive. If you have questions about your obligations under the UKFR, you may wish to consult with the Office for Product Safety Standards.

What are the Requirements under the UKFR?

All upholstered furniture must comply with labelling, anti-ignition and traceability requirements in order to be sold in the UK.

Labelling requirements

A permanent label must be affixed to all new items of furniture (except mattresses and bed bases). This label indicates that the items comply with British Fire Safety Regulations. The label must be durable and securely attached.

There are two types of permanent label, and they can be used interchangeably.

The first is a short label with the following information

• Fire safety caution
• The furniture’s batch or identification number
• Whether or not the item contains a fire-resistant interliner
• Summary of the measures taken to ensure compliance with UKFR regulations

The second is the ‘full label’ displaying the following information

• Fire safety caution
• Name and postcode of the first supplier in the UK
• The furniture’s batch or identification number
• Date of manufacture or import
• Description of filling materials
• Description of covering materials
• Whether or not the item contains a fire-resistant interliner
• Summary of the measures taken to ensure compliance with UKFR regulations

The purpose of the permanent label is to allow enforcement officers to confirm that furniture complies with regulations.

When an item carries only the short permanent label, retailers are still expected to have the information on the name and address of the supplier, date of manufacture or import, description of filling materials, and description of covering materials used. They might have this item as part of an invoice for example.

A display label must also be affixed to all new furniture at the point of sale (except mattresses, bed bases, cushions and pillows, seat pads, and covers sold separately from the furniture). This label must be in a prominent location, where customers can see it easily. This label should show whether the item has passed the mandated ignition resistance tests.

For furniture sold in bundles, such as sets of dining chairs, each individual item needs to be labelled.

Testing requirements

Many furnishings contain materials that could potentially be flammable. As such, these items have to undergo tests, demonstrating that they do not catch fire easily. To be suitable for home use, materials must pass a series of fire safety tests.

Smouldering Cigarette Test

Nearly half of accidental fire deaths are caused by smoking, according to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue. Cigarettes pose a double danger, as people who smoke indoors often do so because of mobility issues, meaning that they are less likely to escape the resulting fire.

That’s why furniture sold in the UK needs to pass the smouldering cigarette test.

For this test, a test rig is constructed from the furniture’s materials, and a lit cigarette is dragged across its entire length. If no smouldering takes place, the material passes the first test.

Match Equivalent Test

This is very similar to the smouldering cigarette test. Testers will take a match, or an equivalent gas flame, and drag it along the testing rig for a full 20 seconds. If no smouldering takes place, the material passes the second test.

CRIB 5 Test

This time the testing rig is replaced with a wooden crib that is five tiers high. Both the test material and lint are attached to the bottom of the crib, and an inflammable liquid called propanediol is added to aid absorption. The crib is then ignited with a match or equivalent gas flame. If there is no smouldering, and the flames extinguish themselves within ten minutes, the material passes the test.

Not all items of furniture need to pass all of these tests. This depends on the type of furniture, and the type of materials used in its filling and covering. You should consult directly with the legislation to confirm which tests your furniture will need to pass in order to meet legal requirements.

Traceability Requirements

Under the UKFR, it is essential that products can be traced all the way back up the supply chain. This means that if safety issues are discovered, the dangerous products can be traced back to the source and recalled. It is equally critical to verify that the manufacture is legitimate, ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards.

Manufacturers, importers, vendors and retailers are all expected to have the following information

• Results of any tests carried out on the furniture’s materials
• Records linking test results to specific items of furniture
• Statements from suppliers
• The correlation of records to labels, batch numbers or marks attached to the furniture

Manufacturers and importers must keep this information for a period of 5 years from the date that they first received the furniture.

Manufacturers must also keep records ensuring that the materials used in their furniture are traceable. However, it is important to note that when furniture is imported to the UK, the responsibility for ensuring it is compliant with UKFR regulations falls with the importer, not the international supplier. That’s because the business or individual that imports the furniture is considered the ‘first supplier’ to the UK.

What Happens if I Don’t Follow the Regulations?

These regulations exist to prevent injuries, property damage, and deaths. As such, failure to follow the regulations can have serious consequences.

Business consequences

If a product or products are found to breach fire safety regulations, this will result in a product recall. This costs the business money, as they are forced to refund all of the sold products. It also damages the business’ reputation. Nobody wants to purchase furnishings from a store whose products are frequently (or just very publicly) recalled for being dangerous. If the worst should happen, and unsafe products are implicated in fire fatalities, the hit to your reputation can be massive.

Fines and Imprisonment

Individuals or organizations can be faced with fines for non-compliance. These fines typically scale with the severity of the infraction and the risk it poses. A magistrates court can apply fines of up to £5000, while a crown court can impose an unlimited fine.

It is important to remember that when an organization is sanctioned for breaching regulations, managers and higher-ups within the organization can be individually punished. For example, in 2023, Suzanne Dickinson, director of Trade Price Sofas ltd. was fined almost £20,000 for breaching UKFR regulations. The charges included failure to attach accurate labels to products, and selling products which did not pass flammability tests.

In severe cases, individuals can also face imprisonment of up to two years.

Impact of Brexit on UKFR Regulations

There are no regulations on fire safety in furniture that apply across the EU. Instead there are two sets of fire safety standard.

First, there are ‘EN standards’ defined by the European Commission for Standardisation. Compliance with these standards is voluntary, however in order to facilitate trade, all EU countries choose to follow these standards. After Brexit, the UK negotiated to continue being a member of the European Commission for Standardisation. This means that our products, including furniture, comply with EN standards.

Secondly, there are national standards. These are the rules that individual countries within the EU choose to implement. UK furniture is not guaranteed to meet other countries national standards, so take a look at regulations there before attempting to export your goods.

Latest Updates to UKFR regulations

On 22^nd January 2025, the UK government published a policy paper outlining its intentions to reform the existing UKFR regulations.

Let’s take a look at some of the key changes.

Testing Requirements

The government wants to move away from current testing methods in favour of final item and representative sample testing. They are still working on a way to implement this for bespoke and made-to-order items without creating huge burdens for those businesses.

Reduction in CFR usage

There are growing concerns that the use of CFRs (chemical flame retardants) pose a risk to health and the environment. As such, a key ambition for the new regulations will be reducing the unnecessary use of CFRs.

For this reason, most children’s products will be removed from the scope of the regulations, including play mats, car seats, children’s mattresses, and prams.

The government is also considering the introduction of a Flame Retardant Technology Hierarchy (FRTH). What this means in practice is that manufacturers would be expected to provide evidence that they had considered using inherently flame retardant materials before resorting to the use of chemical flame retardants.

Labelling Requirements

The government plans to remove the obligation to include a ‘display label’ on furniture. Labelling will be simplified to a single new permanent label, which contains all the information that enforcement officers might need.

The government is also considering adding information about chemicals in the product supply chain to labelling requirements.

Finally, the length of time that suppliers must hold on to technical information and information on product traceability will be extended to 10 years.

Redefining Responsibilities

The government is looking to move away from component-based regulations, and simplify the burden on businesses. The government wants businesses to have clear obligations and to reduce confusion.

We do not know exactly how this will manifest in regulations.

Enforcement

Once changes to the regulations are made official, there will be a 12 month enforcement window, so that businesses have time to understand the regulations and make the necessary changes.

Conclusion

The UK’s Fire and Furnishings (Fire Safety) regulations are extremely important, and save lives every year. The regulations include responsibilities for flammability testing, proper labelling, and traceability of furnishings all the way up the supply chain. Failure to follow these regulations can result in lost sales, fines, and even imprisonment.

If you need help ensuring that your imported goods follow fire safety regulations, consider working with Easy Imex. We are a sourcing company with 16 years of experience, that has facilitated over $180,000,000 in exports. We are familiar with the UK’s regulatory landscape, and can help you import your goods hassle-free.