Fire Door Labels: How to Read Them & Fix a Painted Label

A fire-rated door looks like any other door until you find its label. That small tag on the edge of the door and on the frame is the proof that the opening was tested and built to hold back fire for a specific amount of time. Inspectors and fire marshals look for it first. If the label is missing, damaged or painted over, the door can fail inspection, even if it’s a perfectly good fire door.

Here’s how to find and read a fire door label, and what your options are when it can’t be read.

Why the Fire Door Label Matters

Fire doors are part of a building’s fire protection system. They slow the spread of fire and smoke so people have time to get out and firefighters have time to respond. Under NFPA 80, the standard for fire doors and other opening protectives, fire door assemblies must carry labels from an approved testing agency, and those labels must stay visible and legible. Fire door assemblies also have to be inspected at least once a year, with written records.

During that annual inspection, the label is one of the first items checked. No readable label usually means no proof of a rating, and that’s a deficiency the building owner has to correct.

Where to Find the Label

Fire door label riveted to the hinge edge of a steel fire door, with a matching label on the frame

Labels are usually found in these places:

On the door: on the hinge edge, often between the top and middle hinge. On wood doors, it’s typically on the hinge edge (stile) of the door.
On the frame: on the hinge jamb or the head (top) of the frame, usually near a corner. You’ll often need to open the door to see it.
On some hardware: fire-rated closers, latches, exit devices and other hardware carry their own markings on the device itself.

Labels can be a metal plate riveted or screwed in place, an adhesive foil or plastic label, or a stamp or emboss in the metal. Each part of the assembly (the door and the frame) has its own label. One doesn’t replace the other.

How to Read a Fire Door Label

Most labels carry the same core information.

Testing agency. The name or logo of the independent lab that tested and lists the product, such as UL or Intertek (Warnock Hersey, often shown as “WH”).

Fire protection rating. How long the door is rated to resist fire: 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes (1 hour), 90 minutes (1.5 hours) or 180 minutes (3 hours). The required rating depends on the wall the door is in. For example, stairwells and shafts often need 90-minute doors, while many corridor doors need 20 minutes.

Temperature rise rating. Some labels show a maximum temperature rise, such as 250°F, 450°F or 650°F, after 30 minutes. This tells you how hot the side of the door away from the fire can get. Lower is better, and stairwell doors often require one.

Manufacturer and serial number. These identify who made the door and when, so the listing can be traced back if questions come up.

Other markings. You may see a letter “S,” which means the door is also rated for smoke and draft control, or a note about hose stream testing.

If the door label and the frame label show different ratings, the opening is generally rated at the lower of the two.

What If the Label Is Painted Over?

This is one of the most common fire door problems. It usually happens during a building repaint, when a painter rolls right over the door edge and frame without masking the label.

Fire door label on the edge of a steel door, completely covered with paint and unreadable

Step 1: Check whether the label can still be read

Sometimes a thin coat of paint still lets you read the embossed letters on a metal label, or you can see the details at an angle with a flashlight. If every piece of information is still legible, the inspector may accept it. If not, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Ask about carefully removing the paint

On some metal and embossed labels, paint can be removed carefully without damaging the label. Adhesive foil and plastic labels are much more fragile and are easily destroyed by scraping or solvents. Before anyone tries, check with your fire door inspector or the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), because a damaged label creates a bigger problem than a painted one.

Never remove a label, move a label from one door to another, or put on a replacement sticker that didn’t come through the listing agency. That’s treated as a code violation, not a fix.

Step 3: Field labeling

If the label can’t be recovered, the door doesn’t automatically need to be replaced. In many cases, the opening can be field labeled. A qualified inspector working with the listing agency examines the door and frame on site, confirms how it was built and that it meets the rating, and attaches a new “field labeled” or “field inspected” label. The AHJ has the final say, so it’s best to confirm the plan with them first.

Step 4: Replace the door if it can’t be verified

If the door can’t be identified, has been modified (for example, with unapproved holes, hardware or glass), or is damaged, replacing it with a new labeled fire door assembly is usually the fastest way to pass inspection.

How to Prevent Label Problems

Mask every fire door label before painting doors or frames, and tell painters which doors are rated
Never drill, cut or add hardware to a fire door without checking that it’s allowed under the door’s listing
Use only fire-rated hardware on fire doors
Keep a simple list of your fire doors, with their location, rating and label photos
Schedule the annual fire door inspection and keep the written report

Need Help with a Fire Door Label or Inspection?

A1 Doors Services helps building owners and facility managers keep fire doors compliant. We can inspect your fire door assemblies, find label and hardware problems, repair what can be repaired, and replace doors that can’t be. Learn more about our fire door inspection and repair service and our commercial door services.

Call (855) 676-0881 or contact us to schedule an inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a painted-over label mean my fire door fails inspection?

It can. NFPA 80 requires fire door labels to be visible and legible. If the inspector can’t read the rating and testing agency, the door is usually listed as a deficiency. Depending on the label, the fix may be careful paint removal, field labeling, or a new door.

Can I order a replacement fire door label?

Not as a simple sticker. A new label can only be applied through the testing agency’s field labeling process, after a qualified inspector confirms on site that the door and frame meet the rating. Moving a label from another door or using an unofficial label is not allowed.

What do the 20, 45, 60, 90 and 180 numbers on the label mean?

They’re the fire protection rating in minutes, meaning how long the door assembly held back fire in testing. The rating your door needs depends on the fire rating of the wall it’s installed in and how that part of the building is used.

Fire Door Labels: How to Read Them and What If the Label Is Painted Over