Fire License in Bangladesh: Fire Service Licence Process, Building Clearance and Penalties in 2026

Fire license Bangladesh: how the fire service regime works in 2026

A fire license Bangladesh regulators will accept is not one certificate but a chain of permissions issued by the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD). The Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act 2003 requires a licence before any building or place is used as a warehouse or workshop for flammable materials, requires fire clearance before the plans of a multi-storey or commercial building are approved, and gives the Director General power to declare an existing building unfit for use.[1] The Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Rules 2014 supply the forms, schedules and fees that make those duties work.[2]

This guide is about the fire service permissions themselves: who needs which licence, how the fire safety plan and building clearance work, what the licence costs and how it is renewed, what inspectors look for, the criminal penalties, and the enforcement climate after the fires of 2024 to 2026. The wider factory approvals sequence is covered in our guides to the DIFE factory licence and factory setup in Bangladesh, and is not repeated here.

Summary: The Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act 2003 creates three fire service controls: an annual, non-transferable section 4 licence to use premises as a warehouse or workshop for flammable materials; section 7 fire clearance before plans for buildings of seven or more storeys, or commercial buildings, are approved; and section 8 powers over existing buildings, up to declaring them unfit for use. Since 1 May 2026, licensing is online only.

Key point: Using a building or place as a warehouse or workshop without a fire licence is punishable under section 17 with imprisonment of not less than three years and a fine, and every item kept there is liable to confiscation. Directors and managers are personally deemed guilty unless they prove the breach happened without their knowledge or that they tried their best to prevent it.

At a glance

Swipe or scroll →

Table of Contents

What a fire license Bangladesh law requires, and who needs one

The Act turns on two defined uses. A warehouse is any building or place used for storing, stocking, pressing, sorting or buying and selling flammable materials. A workshop is any building or place used for processing them. Flammable materials are whatever the Government declares to be flammable for the purposes of the Act, and the declared list sits in the first schedule to the Rules 2014.[1] [2]

The trigger is therefore the material, not the label on the trade licence. A garment factory with chemical stores, a dyeing or washing plant, a plastics unit, a printing press, a fuel depot and a retail warehouse stocking aerosols or solvents can all fall within section 4, depending on what they hold. Section 4(1) says that any person who wishes to use a building or place as a warehouse or workshop must take a licence from the Director General under the Act or the Rules.[1]

Three separate controls under one statute

The Act creates three distinct controls, and a single site may need all of them. Section 4 regulates the use of premises for flammable materials. Section 7 regulates the design of multi-storey and commercial buildings. Section 8 regulates existing multi-storey and commercial buildings that predate the Act.[1]

A seven-storey office with no flammable stock needs section 7 clearance but no section 4 licence; a single-storey chemical godown needs the reverse; a multi-storey garment factory needs both.

Owner, occupier or operator: who must apply

The duty falls on the person who uses the building or place as a warehouse or workshop. In a leased factory that is normally the tenant operator, not the landlord, although the landlord carries the section 7 and section 8 obligations attached to the building itself. Under section 6 a licence cannot be transferred, and when ownership of the building or premises changes, the new owner may not use it, or allow it to be used, as a warehouse or workshop without a licence in their own name.[1] Share purchases, asset purchases and changes of tenant should all be treated as licence events.

Fire licence categories and risk classification

The statute knows only two licence types, the warehouse licence and the workshop licence, but the licence document classifies each site in more detail, and that classification drives the fee and the intensity of inspection.

The fire licence form used by FSCD records the classification of the building's use, its construction category and dimensions, the name and stock of each flammable material, and the type of business. It then assigns a scale of fire risk on a six-point ladder: Light-1, Light-2, Normal-1, Normal-2, Normal-3 and Extreme. Finally, it records the classification of fire risk by floor-area ratio across fire classes A, B, C, D and K.[2]

Why the classification matters

The classification is not a formality. The fee for a licence depends on the nature and volume of combustible material, so a site declared as Light-1 storage but found holding solvents on several floors can expect both a higher demand note and a compliance problem.[2] The material schedule submitted at application must match what the inspector finds, and the storage locations must match the locations shown on the fire fighting floor plan.

The application form for buildings asks for a description of each combustible material, its volume, its intended location by reference to the floor plan and a material safety data sheet for each item.[2] Treat it as a living document: when an input material changes, the fire file should change too.

A fire licence does not replace the separate explosives, petroleum and chemical permissions administered by the Department of Explosives. After the Rupnagar fire in October 2025, an inspector of that department said no licences had been issued for chemical warehouses in the Mirpur area at all.[11]

Fire safety plan approval for multi-storey and commercial buildings

For buildings, the decisive moment is the design stage. Section 7 provides that, notwithstanding anything in any other law, no plan for a multi-storey or commercial building may be approved or amended, so far as fire prevention and firefighting are concerned, without the Director General's clearance, which must be communicated to the approving authority of the clearance within the prescribed time.[1]

Two definitions decide whether section 7 applies. A multi-storey building is one of not less than seven storeys. A commercial building is any building used by a bank, an insurer or other financial institution, a shopping complex, or for business or government work.[1] The commercial limb has no height threshold.

The fire fighting floor plan

The document the fire service approves is usually called the fire fighting floor plan or fire safety plan. It must be prepared by an engineering firm enlisted with FSCD, and each page must be signed and sealed by the factory owner, the owner of the enlisted firm, the engineer or architect, and a fire professional. That professional must be a former first-class officer of the fire service with at least three years' service.[2]

The FSCD checklist for the plan is specific. It covers basement use, generator and substation rooms on the ground floor behind four-hour fire-rated walls, extinguishers, detectors and sprinklers by floor area, hydrants, pressurised fire stairs at least 1.5 metres wide, pump rooms and boiler rooms outside the main building.[2] A fire safety plan that omits any item will come back with a formal notice of mistakes and a deadline to resubmit.

From plan approval to effectiveness certificate

Approval of the plan comes as a no objection certificate (NOC) for construction, limited to the fire-fighting arrangements of the building. Its conditions require the owner to notify FSCD when construction starts, allow inspection of the building at any time while it is being built, and apply on completion for an effectiveness certificate supported by an architect's and engineer's certificate that the building and its fire systems follow the approved plan.[2]

The NOC conditions also warn that occupying or using the building without the clearance certificate exposes the owner to proceedings under section 20 of the Act, and that the building may be declared unsuitable for use under section 8(4). Any breach of the plan or false information treats the approval as cancelled.[2] The October 2025 fire in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone illustrates the gap. The fire service said the building had an NOC, but its owners had not completed the later stages to obtain a fire safety performance certificate, and goods had been stored on four floors without following guidelines.[12]

Existing buildings under section 8

Section 8 applies to multi-storey and commercial buildings that existed when the Act came into force. The fire service may inspect, advise on improvements and require additions or alterations, and under section 8(4) the Director General may declare a building unfit for use if the work is not done within the set time.[1] An appeal lies to the Government within thirty days, and its decision is final.

The fire license Bangladesh application process, step by step

For a typical new industrial building the fire service process runs in three stages: approval of the fire fighting floor plan before construction, an effectiveness certificate once the fire safety works are complete, and then the fire licence itself, which must be renewed every fiscal year.[2] A leased existing building skips the first stage but not the scrutiny.

Swipe or scroll →

Documents for the licence

The FSCD standard operating procedure for economic zones lists the core licence documents as the online application form, the land lease agreement, the trade licence, the certificate of incorporation with memorandum and articles, the approved fire fighting floor plan and the effectiveness certificate.[2] Outside the zones, expect title or tenancy documents and the approved building plan as well.

The licence application asks for the annual value of the warehouse or factory, the access-road width, the building's boundaries and whether a fire-fighting NOC exists for the building. The applicant must also show the building design and the fire fighting plan to the inspecting officer and give that officer a copy.[2] The legal name, address, floor areas and material schedule should be identical across every filing.

Online filing since May 2026

FSCD launched its e-fire licence system on 30 April 2026. From 1 May 2026, new fire licences, renewals and re-evaluations of licences moved online, and manual submission of all licence-related applications was discontinued. Inspection still happens on site, but the uploaded drawings and schedules now form a permanent record against which any later investigation will be measured.[3]

Statutory timelines and review

Section 4(4) requires the Director General to issue the licence within ninety days of receiving the application if satisfied under the Act and Rules. If not satisfied, the Director General must give the applicant a hearing and decide within 120 days.[1] Inside economic zones, the published service standard is shorter: thirty working days for plan approval if there is no objection, fifteen working days for the effectiveness certificate and fifteen days for the licence after a complete application.[2]

A person aggrieved by a decision of an officer acting under the Director General's authority may apply for review within thirty days of receiving the decision, which must be decided within thirty days. An appeal against the Director General's decision lies to the Government within thirty days on payment of the prescribed fee.[1]

Fire licence fees and payment

The Act makes payment a condition of both filing and grant. Under section 4(6), no application is accepted unless the prescribed fee has been deposited by treasury challan and a copy attached, and no licence is issued unless the licence fee has been deposited the same way.[1]

The fire license Bangladesh fee itself is not a flat sum. It is set under the Rules by reference to the nature and volume of combustible material, and in practice is fixed by a demand note issued after inspection. The economic zones procedure states a licence fee of up to BDT 8,000 depending on the nature and volume of combustible material, with the same amount payable on renewal, while plan approval and the effectiveness certificate are listed as free of charge.[2]

The fee debate in 2025

Fees outside the zones have been contentious. When a Home Ministry committee met in September 2025 to revise the Rules, BGMEA proposed that fire licence issuance and renewal fees be capped at BDT 15,000 to 20,000 and that other related fees be kept reasonable, with special attention to provisions that small and medium factories find hard to implement.[5] Until revised rules are gazetted, budget on the basis of the demand note, not on published averages. The demand note is the figure that must be paid before the licence issues.

Fire license Bangladesh renewal, validity and changes after grant

Section 4(12) provides that, unless the licensing authority comments otherwise, the licence may be renewed every year on payment of the prescribed fee.[1] The licence form operates on the fiscal year from 1 July to 30 June, and its first condition requires the renewal fee to be deposited as an advance licence fee before 30 June each year.[2] The renewal deadline is therefore fixed by the calendar, not by the date of first issue. A licence first granted in March still falls due before the following 30 June.

What renewal involves

Renewal is filed online with the original licence and proof of the renewal fee. An inspector is assigned, inspects the site and either renews the licence or issues a notice listing remedial work; once that work is done, the inspector re-inspects and renews.[2] Renewal is a real inspection event.

Because DIFE and other regulators ask for a current fire licence in their own files, a lapsed fire licence can block a factory licence renewal even where the DIFE fee is paid. Our guide to the factory license in Bangladesh explains how the DIFE file is assembled, and our note on trade licences in Bangladesh covers the local-government permission that sits underneath both.

Changes that need fresh approval

The licence describes a particular building, a particular use and a particular inventory of flammable materials. A change of ownership needs a new licence under section 6. A new floor, a mezzanine, a change of storage location or a new hazardous material may take the site outside its approved fire fighting floor plan and outside its declared risk class.[1] [2] Apply before the change is made.

Cancellation

Section 5 allows the fire service to cancel a licence in the prescribed manner, but only after giving the holder a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The same review and appeal route applies as for refusals.[1] Answer any show-cause in writing, with evidence of rectification, and keep a record that would support a writ petition if the process is unfair.

Inspections and the duties that continue after the licence

Section 12 empowers authorised fire service officers to enter any building or place to check compliance with the Act, the Rules and the licence conditions, and to inspect, survey, test, measure and collect information.[1] The licence conditions add that an authorised officer may inspect the warehouse or workshop on any working day, and that the licence must be produced on request.[2]

Continuing conditions on certified buildings

The conditions attached to an effectiveness certificate show what FSCD treats as ongoing compliance. They require a firefighting and management committee drawn from the occupants within a month, fire service training for at least twenty per cent of able-bodied occupants, and fire drills every three months for the first two years of use.[2]

They also require quarterly serviceability checks of all firefighting equipment recorded in a register, an annual inspection of the electrical installation by a diploma engineer, and the employment of a fire service-trained leader or equivalent retired officer to maintain the equipment.[2]

What inspectors look at in 2026

FSCD's published inspection results show what drives a poor fire license Bangladesh outcome. In 2025 the fire service inspected 10,533 buildings and rated 3,316 risky and 622 highly risky. Operating without the required approvals or fire or trade licences can by itself lead to a highly risky rating, and buildings with more floors than RAJUK approved are flagged and their extra floors scrutinised. The fire service said it does not assess structural integrity, as it has no engineering wing.[6]

Chemical warehouses performed worst. Of the 91 inspected, only 11 were satisfactory, 42 were risky and 38 highly risky.[6] Electrical faults remain the leading cause of fires, accounting for 9,392 of the 27,059 fires recorded in 2025, which is why electrical inspection records weigh heavily in any file.[14]

Authorities in the fire licensing chain

A fire license Bangladesh application touches several bodies, and knowing which one decides each point avoids wasted filings.

Inside an industrial area registered under the Invest Bangladesh Act 2026, the fire requirements continue to apply, but two provisions change the dynamics. Section 26 allows the Government, by gazette notification, to exempt industrial-area developers, operators and enterprises from all or part of listed laws, including the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act 2003, or to apply them with modifications. Section 28(4) lets the Authority set the timeframe for issuing or renewing clearances, certificates and licences on fire safety, among others, when it registers a private industrial project.[13] No exemption should be assumed until a notification is actually published. Our analysis of the Invest Bangladesh Act 2026 industrial-area framework explains the zone regime.

Penalties for operating without a fire licence

The fire license Bangladesh penalty provisions are among the most severe in Bangladesh's regulatory statutes, because they set minimum rather than maximum terms of imprisonment. The Bengali text of each penalty section uses the word for "not less than", and none of them fixes a fine amount, leaving the fine to the court.[1]

• Section 17, unlicensed use: using a building or place as a warehouse or workshop without a licence under section 4 carries imprisonment of not less than three years and an additional fine, and all goods in the building or place are liable to confiscation.[1]
• Section 18, breach of conditions: failure to comply with a licence condition carries imprisonment of not less than six months and an additional fine.[1]
• Section 19, obstruction: obstructing fire service officials or assisting organisations carries imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than seven years, with a fine.[1]
• Section 20, residual offences: any other breach of the Act or of an order or direction under it carries imprisonment of not less than one year and an additional fine.[1]
• Section 21, unlawful storage or processing: storing, processing, pressing or sorting flammable materials in breach of the Act or Rules carries imprisonment of not less than two years and an additional fine, and the materials are liable to confiscation by the Government.[1]

Personal liability of directors and managers

Under section 23, where the offender is a company, every director, manager, secretary or other officer or agent responsible for the relevant activity is deemed to have committed the offence unless they prove it happened without their knowledge or that they did their utmost to prevent it. For a firm, director includes a partner.[1] The defence is evidential: compliance calendars, renewal records, inspection registers and documented follow-up on notices are what prove it.

How prosecutions start

Section 24 provides that no court may take cognisance of an offence under the Act except on a written complaint by the Director General or a person authorised by the Director General, and that offences under the Act are cognisable.[1] After a fatal fire, criminal cases for causing death by negligence can also follow. After the Rupnagar fire, a victim's brother filed a negligence case against eight people, including the warehouse owner.[11]

Enforcement developments, 2024 to 2026

Enforcement of the fire license Bangladesh regime has followed a familiar cycle of deadly fire, inspection drives and gradual relapse, but the past three years have also brought structural change.

Bailey Road, February 2024

The fire at the Green Cozy Cottage building on Bailey Road on 29 February 2024 killed 46 people. The fire service said it had written three times about the building's risky condition without action. RAJUK said it had approved eight floors, with commercial permission only for offices on floors one to seven, yet eight restaurants had operated there for years.[8] Three months later a fire service director said that of 433,000 restaurants in the country, only 200 held fire service licences.[9]

Rules under revision, 2025

On 8 July 2025 the Home Ministry's Security Services Division formed an eighteen-member committee, chaired by an additional secretary, to review the Rules 2014 and draft a revised version within two months. Members include the fire service, BUET, RAJUK, BGMEA and BKMEA.[4] Industry submissions followed in September 2025.[5] Until a revised text is gazetted, the 2014 Rules remain in force.

The October 2025 fires

October 2025 brought a cluster of serious fires. On 14 October, a fire spreading from a chemical warehouse into a garment unit at Rupnagar, Mirpur, killed sixteen people. Neither the garment unit nor the warehouse held a fire safety licence, and the fire service said the warehouse had been operating illegally and had been served eviction notices several times.[10] Days later, the Chattogram EPZ fire exposed a building with an NOC but without its effectiveness certificate.[12]

Digital licensing and risk ratings, 2026

The 2026 changes are administrative but significant. The e-fire licence system took all licence applications online from 1 May 2026.[3] In October 2026 the fire service published its 2025 risk ratings by building category, and on 17 October 2026 a fire at a wooden resort in Inani, Cox's Bazar, killed ten people. The fire service said the resort had operated without a fire safety licence despite an inspector serving a formal notice on 11 June labelling the building a risk.[6] [7]

The lesson is consistent: a fire service notice is evidence, and once served it fixes the owner and operator with knowledge.

Fire license Bangladesh permissions compared

The table below sets the main fire service permissions side by side. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Environmental clearance from the Department of Environment is a separate, parallel requirement for many of the same sites; our guide to environmental compliance in Bangladesh covers what follows once that clearance is granted.

Common mistakes that delay or defeat a fire licence

• Building first, planning later: section 7 clearance must precede plan approval, and a building constructed without an approved fire safety plan is far more expensive to regularise.[1]
• Stopping at the NOC: occupying a building without the effectiveness certificate exposes the owner under section 20 and section 8(4).[2]
• Missing 30 June: the renewal fee is due in advance before 30 June, whatever the date of first issue.[2]
• Ignoring a notice: after Bailey Road and Inani, an unanswered fire service letter is the first document investigators read.[7] [8]

What to watch for the rest of 2026

Three developments will shape the fire license Bangladesh regime over the coming months. First, the gazetting of revised Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Rules, which may change the fee schedule, the risk classes and the documentation burden on smaller factories.[4] [5] Second, how far the e-fire licence system is integrated with building approval, DIFE and Invest Bangladesh platforms, and whether Invest Bangladesh uses section 28 to impose deadlines on fire clearances.[3] [13] Third, whether the fire service converts its risk ratings into prosecutions and closures rather than letters.[6]

TRW advises manufacturers, warehouse operators, landlords and investors on fire clearances, renewals and show-cause responses. Our industrial parks, economic zones and manufacturing facilities practice runs fire, DIFE and environmental approvals as a single programme, and our writ litigation team acts where a closure or cancellation is unlawful. Contact TRW to review your fire file.

Frequently asked questions

Which law governs the fire licence in Bangladesh?

The Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act 2003 (Act No. 7 of 2003), supported by the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Rules 2014. The Bangladesh National Building Code sets the technical fire safety standards that the fire service applies to buildings.[1] [2]

Does every business need a fire licence?

No. Section 4 requires a licence where a building or place is used as a warehouse or workshop for flammable materials declared under the Act. Many offices and shops need no section 4 licence, though their buildings may still need section 7 clearance.[1]

When does a building need fire service clearance?

Before the plans of any building of seven or more storeys, or any commercial building, are approved or amended. Section 7 applies notwithstanding any other law.[1]

How long does the fire service take to issue a licence?

The Act requires a decision within ninety days, or within 120 days after a hearing if the Director General is not satisfied. The economic zones service standard is fifteen days after a complete licence application.[1] [2]

How much does a fire licence cost?

The fee depends on the nature and volume of combustible material and is fixed by a demand note after inspection. Inside economic zones the published maximum is BDT 8,000, with the same amount on renewal.[2]

When must a fire licence be renewed?

Every year. The licence runs on the fiscal year, and the renewal fee must be deposited in advance before 30 June.[1] [2]

Can I apply for a fire licence on paper?

No longer. From 1 May 2026, new licences, renewals and re-evaluations are handled through the fire service's e-fire licence system and manual submissions have ended.[3]

Does a fire licence pass to the buyer of a factory?

No. Section 6 makes the licence non-transferable, and a new owner may not use the premises as a warehouse or workshop without its own licence.[1]

What is the penalty for operating without a fire licence?

Imprisonment of not less than three years and a fine under section 17, with confiscation of all goods kept in the building or place.[1]

Can I challenge a refusal or cancellation?

Yes. Apply to the Director General for review within thirty days of the decision, then appeal to the Government within thirty days of the review decision. Cancellation requires a prior hearing under section 5.[1]