Delhi fire safety certificate under the DFS (Amendment) Rules 2025

What changed in Delhi with the DFS (Amendment) Rules 2025?

The Delhi Fire Service (Amendment) Rules 2025 amend the Delhi Fire Service Rules 2010, which are made under the Delhi Fire Service Act 2007. Our rule store holds the amendment as published in the Delhi Gazette Extraordinary, Part IV, No. 143, dated 26 May 2026.

The biggest change is who issues the fire safety certificate. Earlier, Delhi Fire Service officers inspected and issued it. Under the substituted rule 35, the owner or occupier engages a Fire Safety Auditor from the list on the Delhi Fire Service portal. The auditor inspects the building, issues the certificate in Form H, and the certificate is treated as issued under the delegated authority of the Director, subject to verification under the Act.

The amendment has a split commencement under its rule 1. Most provisions came into force on publication in the Gazette. The amendments to rules 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38, the First Schedule (the forms) and the new Seventh Schedule come into force 90 days after publication. Counted from 26 May 2026, that falls on 24 August 2026. Applications pending on the commencement date are processed under the provisions in force on the date of application.

Which buildings need a fire safety certificate in Delhi?

Rule 27, as substituted by the amendment, lists the classes of occupancy that are treated as likely to cause a risk of fire for section 25(1) of the Act. Rule 35(3) applies the certificate route to these buildings and to any other building that requires clearance from Delhi Fire Service. Height counts the building above ground level, and the storey counts include mezzanine and stilt floors.

The standard the auditor certifies against is rule 33. The amendment replaces the reference in rule 33 to the National Building Code of India 2005 with a reference to the National Building Code of India, and Delhi's Unified Building Bye-Laws 2016 also point to the National Building Code through rule 33.

How is the Delhi fire safety certificate issued now?

Rule 35 sets out a sequence that the owner or occupier and the auditor follow. It applies once the amended rule 35 is in force; earlier applications stay on the old provisions.

• Engage an auditor: the owner or occupier selects a Fire Safety Auditor from the list on the Delhi Fire Service portal (rule 35(1)). The auditor must hold the level that covers the building (Seventh Schedule).
• Inspection: the auditor carries out a thorough inspection of the premises, covering all fire prevention and fire safety measures (rule 35(3)).
• Documents to the owner: the auditor issues the Fire Safety Certificate in Form H and the declaration in Form I, and gives a detailed inspection report in Form J (rule 35(3)).
• Online submission: the auditor, owner or occupier submits Form H, Form I, Form J and a fee of Rs 1,000 to the Director online. The fee is paid by bank draft or pay order to the DDO (Headquarters), Delhi Fire Service, or through the online payment gateway (rule 35(4)).
• Records and random checks: the Director keeps the records, and fire officers randomly inspect certificates issued by auditors, at least 5 percent of each quarter's certificates (rule 35(5)).
• Action on defects: if inspection finds a deficiency, or an auditor's report is falsified, the Director may start proceedings against the owner or occupier, the auditor, or both, after giving them a hearing (rule 35(6)).

Two provisos to rule 35(3) matter to owners. The auditor's certificate does not take away the owner's or occupier's primary responsibility for maintaining fire safety measures. Delhi Fire Service is not liable for loss or damage arising from an auditor's certificate, except where mala fide or gross negligence is attributable to its officers.

What are Forms H, I, J and K?

The amendment substitutes these forms in the First Schedule. Each certification carries a Unique Identification Number made up of the auditor's level, registration number, calendar year and a running number, and the same UID must appear on all forms the auditor endorses for that premises on that occasion.

Form H includes a condition that the certificate is not to be treated as regularising any unauthorised construction or alteration.

How long is the certificate valid and how is it renewed?

Under rule 36(1), a certificate issued under rule 35 stays valid unless Delhi Fire Service suspends or cancels it, on the condition that Form K is submitted every year. Rule 36(2) requires the online Form K declaration before one year runs out from the date of the certificate or of the last Form K. Rule 38(2) requires the annual Form K with a fee of Rs 1,000 to the DDO (Headquarters), Delhi Fire Service.

Rule 36(3) covers existing certificates. A certificate issued before these rules that is still valid under the principal rules is deemed to be a certificate under the new rules, and its validity is then governed by rule 36(1).

There is also a rotation rule in the Seventh Schedule. An auditor may not undertake the next two consecutive certifications for the same premises, for example a Form H followed by the next two Form K declarations. Form H itself notes that the owner should arrange timely Form K submission through another Fire Safety Auditor. The Director may also cap the number of certifications per auditor per year.

Who can become a Fire Safety Auditor in Delhi?

Rule 35(2) requires the qualifications, experience and other criteria in the Seventh Schedule. Table-1 of that schedule creates three levels. Each level has several qualification routes, with experience in fire prevention and fire safety ranging from 1 to 10 years depending on the route. The summary below gives the scope of each level and the routes, and only the experience figures that read clearly from the gazette table. Check Table-1 itself for the experience attached to each route before applying.

How does auditor registration, indemnity and penalty work?

An eligible auditor applies online on Form U to be registered and empanelled on the Delhi Fire Service portal. Registration is valid for three years unless the auditor is blacklisted and removed, and must be renewed before it expires. Training is conducted at the Fire Safety Management Academy, Rohini, at the auditor's cost.

On each submission under rule 35(4) or rule 38(2), the auditor is paid Rs 500 by the Director. The auditor's own charges to the client are set by the auditor within minimum and maximum limits in the schedule, based on height, covered area, occupancy and system complexity, and the Director may issue guidelines on this. We have not reproduced the charge bands here.

If a fire officer reports non-compliance or falsification in Forms H, I, J, K or U, the Director first calls for an explanation. If it is unsatisfactory, a penalty notice follows with 15 days to pay, failing which the auditor is deregistered. A second default can lead to blacklisting without further notice. Under rule 35(8), an engaged auditor is deemed a public servant under section 2(28)(k)(i) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 for these rules.

What is the conflict-of-interest rule for auditors?

Rule 35(7) is short and strict: no Fire Safety Auditor may audit a building for which the auditor or the auditor's firm has provided design, consultancy, installation or maintenance services. A fire contractor that maintains a building's systems cannot also certify that building, and a consultant who designed the fire scheme cannot sign its Form H.

Does the amendment require ACMS in Delhi?

Yes. Rule 37 requires an Automated Continuous Monitoring System for fire prevention and fire safety measures, or part of them, in the occupancies in rule 27(2) to (12), as specified in the Seventh Schedule. It must meet the technical standards and cyber security protocols that the Director notifies.

The schedule describes an IoT based system covering both active and passive measures, rolled out in two phases. In Phase I, the system gives indications to the owner or occupier and to the engaged Fire Safety Auditor, and Phase I starts as soon as the rules come into force. In Phase II, to come later, critical alarms also go to Delhi Fire Service.

• Monitored points include hydrant, standby, jockey and booster pump run status and power, diesel tank level, hydrant and sprinkler riser pressure, fire tank and overhead tank levels, detection and panel status, panel battery, manual call points, PA status, staircase and lift lobby pressurisation fans, and basement supply and exhaust fans.
• Procedural requirements include machine to machine communication over MQTTS, data from the gateway every 1 minute, an SMS alarm if no data arrives for more than 15 minutes, gateway UPS backup of up to 7 hours, storage of at least 10,000 event logs, at least 99 percent uptime, and provision for a future API to fire services.

What other changes affect owners?

Rule 34 now lets the Fire Prevention Wing direct the auditor, owner, occupier or architect, through the local authority, to modify building plans to comply, and plans can be rejected if they do not. The fire prevention and fire safety measures for a plan are to be issued within three weeks of submission or resubmission.

Rule 43 now sets compounding powers for offences under section 54 of the Act: a Deputy Chief Fire Officer up to Rs 10,000, a Chief Fire Officer up to Rs 50,000, and the Director above that. The Director may also notify a date after which all payments go only through the online gateway.

How can auditors and owners check a rule quickly?

Fire Code Expert (siyahabitats.com/fire-code-expert/) answers questions on Delhi fire law free, with the rule cited, or says plainly that the rules do not cover the point.

For empanelled auditors, Fire Audit Pro (siyahabitats.com/fire-audit-pro/) builds a building-specific checklist from the code, captures findings and photos on site without signal, and produces the report from the same data. Software assists; the licensed auditor reviews the building and signs Forms H, I, J and K.