Validation of a certified fire safety expert

The expert shall check and verify whether the building legislation's requirements for safety in the case of fire are fulfilled, if this is specified in the inspection plan.

A brief description of the profession / competence

In order to work as a fire consultant or to carry out design of building technical fire protection in general, certification is generally not required.

Certification may be provided for

• N Competence for inspection of buildings where the fire protection has been designed with the help of accepted solutions specified in, for example, manuals;
• K Competence for the inspection of buildings where the fire protection was designed using engineering assessments, methods and calculations.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for N Competence, the applicant must have general technical knowledge from completed education, minimum an engineering degree from the previous three- or four-year technical senior high school or other equivalent education. In addition, the applicant shall have fire-specific technical knowledge corresponding to training in preventive fire protection for firefighters or other equivalent training.

The training requirement can also be met through equivalent training in another country within the European Union or the European Economic Area.

To qualify for K Competence, the applicant must have general technical knowledge, minimum from the lowest engineering degree, 120 higher education credits, or other equivalent education. In addition, the applicant must have fire-specific technical knowledge corresponding to the fire-engineering courses included in a fire engineering education at a university of technology, 150 higher education credits.

The training requirement can also be met through equivalent training in another country within the European Union or the European Economic Area.

To qualify for N Competence, the applicant must have been in business for at least three years during the last five-year period as a projector and inspector or inspector of building technical fire protection.

To qualify for K Competence, the applicant must have been in business for at least three years during the past five-year period as a projector and inspector or inspector of building fire protection designed using engineering assessments, methods and calculations.

The applicant shall have knowledge of the Planning and Building Act (2010:900), the PBL, the Planning and Building Ordinance (2011:338), the PBF, and, where applicable, the regulations and general advice given under these regulations. Particular emphasis should be placed on the application of the rules of caution and accessibility and usability for persons with limited mobility or orientation capacity.

The applicant shall have in-depth knowledge of the regulations mentioned in the paragraph above with regards to fire protection as well as knowledge of other regulations for fire protection.

The expert should be suitable for the task.

How to get your qualifications or education from another EU or EEA country assessed and validated

Foreign education and professional experience will be assessed and validated by the Swedish Board of Housing, Building and Planning, Boverket, that will then issue a decision on recognition of professional qualifications.

After receiving Boverket's decision on recognition of professional qualifications, the applicant can turn to an appropriate certification body, which examines the other prerequisites for certification.

The application is sent to: registraturen@boverket.se