Fire NOC in Maharashtra: provisional and final approval, Form A, Form B and the fire audit

What is a fire NOC in Maharashtra?

People say fire NOC; the Act says Fire Safety Approval. Section 3(1) of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2006, as substituted by the Amendment Act of 2023 (Mah. XXIV of 2023, gazette of 11 May 2023), requires the owner, or the occupier where the owner is not traceable, of any building classified in Schedule I to obtain a Provisional Fire Safety Approval, a Final Fire Safety Approval or a Renewal of Fire Safety Approval, as the case may be.

The approval comes from the Chief Fire Officer of the local authority or planning authority. Where there is no Chief Fire Officer, or the building is outside the limits of a local or planning authority, it comes from the Director of Maharashtra Fire and Emergency Services.

The approval is not just a permission slip. The same subsection says the owner or occupier shall provide the measures recommended in the approval, that these shall not be less than the minimum in Part 4 of the National Building Code of India and in Schedule I for that building, and that they shall be maintained in good repair and efficient condition at all times.

What are the stages of the fire NOC process?

The 2023 Explanation to section 3(1) defines each stage. Read it as a sequence tied to the building permission.

• Section 3(2): no authority that sanctions plans may issue a completion or part completion certificate unless satisfied that the owner has complied with Schedule I or with the notice served on the owner.
• Section 14(1) and rule 18(1): a person who intends to construct, or has started constructing, a building that needs the Authority's permission applies in Form P for assessment of the Fire and Emergency Services fee.
• Section 32(1), as amended in 2023: a person aggrieved by a Fire Safety Approval may appeal to the designated officer; under section 33 the appeal is brought within thirty days.

How do you apply, and which documents are asked for?

Applications to the Director of Maharashtra Fire and Emergency Services are made online through the e-approval link on mahafireservice.gov.in. That page states that a Provisional NOC is issued within 7 working days after receipt of the online payment UTR number.

For a provisional approval from the Director, the e-approval page lists, in summary: an application addressed to the Director; two sets of architectural drawings in the metric system (block plan, floor plans, sections and elevations); a brief note on the activities in the building, with process flow for industries; details of the fire prevention and protection measures provided or proposed; block plan details such as road widths, entrances and basements; for industrial buildings, an inventory of raw materials and finished goods and where they are stored; approvals from other agencies where relevant (for example explosives, pollution control or civil aviation); existing occupancy or planning approvals for an existing building; company registration and licences; an architect or engineer's certificate of code compliance; and the receipt for the Fire Protection Fund fee.

For the final approval the same page asks for the drawings approved by the urban local body or special planning authority, revised drawings if the building changed during construction, and the inspection certificate of a Licensed Agency or the Chief Fire Officer.

Municipal corporations and planning authorities with their own Chief Fire Officer run their own application process and portals, and their document lists can differ. Use the list from the authority that will issue your approval.

How are the drawings checked for a fire NOC?

The approving officer reads the building's occupancy and height off the drawings, finds the matching row of Schedule I, and checks that every installation in that row and every note the row cites is shown. The design of those installations, and the planning items such as exits, staircases, travel distance, refuge areas and fire service access, are checked against Part 4 of the National Building Code, which section 3(1) sets as the floor, and against the Indian Standards that Schedule I Note 21(a) points to.

Most avoidable delays come from three things: the building height is taken from the wrong level, a note that changes the row (for example Note 4 for basements over 200 sq m, or Note 1 for public address from 15 m) is missed, or the fire layer on the drawings does not match what the Schedule I row requires. Our guide to fire norms by building height sets out the Schedule I rows occupancy by occupancy.

This is where the Drawing Checker fits. It takes the submitted set as PDF, DWG or DXF, deduces occupancy, height and storeys from the sheets, checks the set against the binding state rules and the national code with each requirement cited, lists every gap so it can be fixed before submission, and drafts an indicative fire layer on the architect's own PDF. A licensed consultant reviews and signs the final submission. For a single rule question, Fire Code Expert gives a free, clause-cited answer from Maharashtra fire law with no sign-in.

What must owners and occupiers do after occupation?

Section 3(3) requires the owner or occupier to furnish to the Chief Fire Officer or nominated officer a certificate from a Licensed Agency on compliance of the measures, which rule 4(1) prescribes as Form A, and a certificate twice a year, in January and July, on their maintenance in good repair and efficient condition, which rule 4(2) prescribes as Form B. Since the Amendment Rules of 12 June 2025, Form B covers the preceding six months, and both forms are tied to the Act, the National Building Code and the Indian Standard Code.

Rule 4(5), inserted in 2025, lets the owner or occupier submit Form A, Form B, Form A-1 and Form B-1 in person, by registered post, by courier or online, to the Chief Fire Officer or the Director.

Buildings specified in section 45 must also fit an automated continuous monitoring system (ACMS) on their fire fighting systems under section 3(3A), certified by a Licensed Agency in Form A-1 and, every January and July, Form B-1 (rule 4(3) and 4(4), inserted 2025).

Section 3(4) forbids anyone from tampering with, altering, removing or damaging installed fire equipment. Under sections 5 and 6 the Director, Chief Fire Officer or nominated officer may inspect, after notice, and issue a notice directing the owner or occupier to make good any deficiency within a stated time.

What is a Licensed Agency and what can it sign?

A Licensed Agency is a person or association of persons licensed to undertake or execute fire prevention and life safety measures and related work under the Act (section 2(6)). Section 10(1) says no one other than a Licensed Agency shall carry out that work, though the Chief Fire Officer may, for recorded reasons, authorise another person where the owner cannot use a Licensed Agency. Section 10(2) forbids a Licensed Agency from giving a section 3(3) certificate without actual compliance or maintenance.

The 2023 amendment moved the power to license agencies under section 9 to the Director, and rule 14(1), as amended in 2025, makes the licence valid for two years. Rule 14(4), inserted in 2025, requires Form A, Form B, Form A-1 and Form B-1 to be signed by the person holding the qualification set out in rule 12. The Directorate publishes a list of licence agencies on mahafireservice.gov.in.

Which buildings need the two-yearly fire audit under section 45A?

Section 45A, inserted by the 2023 Amendment Act, makes a Fire and Life Safety Audit by a licensed Fire and Life Safety Auditor mandatory for every building listed in section 45(1). The audit was due within one year of the commencement of the 2023 Amendment Act and thereafter once in every two years. The auditor issues the certificate in Form V (rule 31, inserted 2025), and the owner or occupier furnishes it to the Director, Chief Fire Officer or nominated officer.

Rule 33 sets the auditor's duties, among them a 360 degree fire hazard assessment of the building, verifying construction against the fire regulations, testing all active fire and life safety measures, evaluating the fire control room, staff awareness and training, and recording the inspection with date and time stamped photographs or videos. Auditor licences are issued by the Director for two years (section 45A(5)).

How is the fire and emergency service fee worked out?

Schedule II, substituted in 2023, sets the fee as a percentage of the Annual Statement of Rates (ASR) per square metre, multiplied by the gross built up area, which includes basements, stilts, podiums, staircases, lift lobbies, balconies, service floors and refuge areas. Residential means Group A except A-5 and A-6; institutional means Groups B and C; commercial means A-5, A-6, D, E and F; industrial means G, H (excluding multi-level car parking) and J. No fee is levied for A-2 and A-4 buildings below 15 m or for buildings exempted by section 15.

Is a fire NOC needed below 15 m or 24 m?

The Act text in our rule store sets no height floor. Section 3(1) applies to any building classified in Schedule I, and Schedule I has rows for buildings below 15 m in every occupancy group. The 15 m figure in Schedule II is a fee exemption for A-2 and A-4 buildings, not an exemption from the Act, and 24 m is a band boundary inside Schedule I, not an approval threshold. Whether your planning authority routes a small building to the Chief Fire Officer for a separate NOC is a matter of local building regulations that we do not hold, so confirm it with the authority that sanctions the plan.