Fire Safety Design after the Amendment Effective 1 January 2026: Changes to Renovations, Extensions and Changes of Use

The short answer: A fire safety design (PBŘ) forms part of the building documentation—Vyhláška č. 131/2024 Sb. lists it as item D.3 in Annex 1 and leaves its required content to Vyhláška č. 246/2001 Sb. This regulation was amended by Vyhláška č. 467/2025 Sb. with effect from 1 January 2026: Section 41 was completely rewritten, the drawings must be prepared to the extent specified by ČSN 01 3495 under Section 41(6), the written section must state the building category under Vyhláška č. 460/2021 Sb. pursuant to Section 41(3)(b), and Annex 7 was added for the design of designated equipment. Under Article II of the amendment, a design submitted before the effective date is assessed under the previous legislation—the submission date matters, not the date of construction. The design must be prepared by an authorised designer; once the building has been approved for use, the operator must inspect and document the items specified in the completed design.

A company is expanding its production hall with an extension. It submitted its application for a binding opinion in November last year, construction will begin in the spring, and part of the warehouse will be converted into production space at the same time. Someone in the design office says, “a new regulation has applied since January,” and the managing director asks whether the documentation must be revised. The answer lies in the amendment’s transitional provision. The more difficult question is the one nobody asks: what obligations will this document impose on the company over the next ten years of operation?

What is a fire safety design and who prepares it?

A fire safety design assesses a building from the perspective of fire safety: fire compartments, the fire resistance of structures, escape routes, separation distances, safety equipment and fire extinguishers. Vyhláška č. 131/2024 Sb., o dokumentaci staveb, lists it as item D.3 in Annex 1 and leaves its content and scope to the fire prevention regulation.

Who prepares it is governed by the building act: under Section 155 of Zákon č. 283/2021 Sb., the preparation of design documentation is a regulated construction activity that may be performed only by a natural person authorised under another legal regulation, while Section 156(1) of the same act requires design documentation to be prepared by a designer. Under Section 5(3)(j) of Zákon č. 360/1992 Sb., authorisation in the field of building fire safety is granted by Česká komora autorizovaných inženýrů a techniků činných ve výstavbě (the Czech Chamber of Chartered Engineers and Technicians Engaged in Construction). SOHE does not prepare fire safety designs—our work begins once the building is complete and the design becomes part of its day-to-day operation.

What Vyhláška č. 467/2025 Sb. changed

Vyhláška č. 467/2025 Sb., dated 6 November 2025, took effect on 1 January 2026 under Article III. Ministerstvo vnitra issued it pursuant to Section 101(a) of Zákon č. 133/1985 Sb., o požární ochraně, to implement, among other provisions, Sections 6c and 31a of the same act. The differences from the previous wording are as follows:

Building categories under Vyhláška č. 460/2021 Sb. are not themselves new; only their inclusion in the written section is new. Section 5 of the regulation establishes five classes of use and assigns buildings to categories 0 to III. Shutdown systems for electricity generation and energy storage facilities affect every company with rooftop photovoltaic panels and batteries—we discuss the operational implications in our article on rooftop PV fire safety.

The submission date matters, not the construction date

Article II of the amendment states: “A fire safety design submitted as part of building proceedings or with an application for a binding opinion from the competent fire protection authority, including any subsequent proceedings or procedures under the building act, before the effective date of this regulation shall be assessed under the previous legislation.”

The decisive factor is therefore the date of submission. The extension described above, for which the application was submitted to the authority in November 2025, will be assessed under the previous wording even if it is not approved for use until 2027. A design submitted on 2 January 2026 will be assessed under the new Section 41, even if it was prepared over the entire preceding year. In phased projects, each separate submission is subject to its own legal regime.

Annex 7: seven types of equipment that must then be operated

The amendment added Annex 7, “Další požadavky pro návrh vyhrazeného požárně bezpečnostního zařízení”—seven items, each with its own requirements:

1. fire detection and alarm systems and remote transmission equipment — with reference to Annex 1, Part 1, point 14 of Vyhláška č. 23/2008 Sb.;
2. equipment for detecting flammable gases and vapours — protected areas, alarm signals, location of the control panel, detected concentrations and power supply;
3. fixed, semi-fixed and local fire suppression systems — type of system and extinguishing agent, operating time and location of control elements;
4. automatic explosion protection equipment — active and passive explosion prevention elements;
5. smoke and heat exhaust systems — smoke control zones, operating time, controls and power supply;
6. fire dampers — fire resistance, controls and location;
7. firefighting and evacuation lifts — number, operating time, technical parameters and power supply.

This is not an arbitrary list: it corresponds to the types of designated fire safety equipment under Section 4(3) of the regulation, consolidated into seven items and, in item 3, expanded to include local fire suppression systems. These are precisely the systems for which operational documentation must be maintained and inspection deadlines monitored throughout their service life.

What this means for operators

For an operator, the completed fire safety design is a specification for the next ten years: it determines how the building will be equipped and therefore what will need to be inspected. Under Section 7(3) of the regulation, operational readiness must be demonstrated by records of installation, functional testing, operational readiness inspections, maintenance and repairs. For designated equipment, these are supplemented by records in the operational documentation, such as the operating log. Under Section 7(4), operational readiness inspections must be carried out at least once a year unless a shorter interval is specified by the manufacturer, approved design documentation or unauthorised documentation, detailed design documentation, or the fire risk assessment. Our article on the annual operational readiness inspection of fire closures, dampers and fire detection systems explains what is checked for each equipment group and what a usable inspection record should contain.

The second consequence concerns documentation. Renovations, extensions and changes of use all affect the content of fire protection documentation—and under Section 40(4) of the regulation, that documentation must be reviewed at least once a year, after every fire, or after any change affecting its content. A new production hall therefore typically means updating the fire safety rules, evacuation plan and training syllabus. Our article on fire protection documentation explains what the documentation consists of and who may prepare it—including how training records must be maintained from 2026 onwards.

The handover process has three steps: extract the list of specified equipment from the fire safety design, compare it with the actual equipment on site, and establish an inspection schedule for every item on the list. The third step is the one most often postponed.

Frequently asked questions

Can you prepare our fire safety design?

No. Under Section 155 of Zákon č. 283/2021 Sb., preparing design documentation is a regulated construction activity, and Section 156(1) requires it to be prepared by a designer. SOHE becomes involved only after the building is complete, providing fire protection documentation, preventive fire inspections and monitoring of inspection deadlines.

We are not altering the building; we are only converting a warehouse into production space. Does Section 41 apply to us?

Yes. Section 41(5) lists a change in the use of a building alongside detailed design documentation and alterations to a completed building, so the content requirements described in paragraph 5 apply.

What are Central stop and Total stop?

From 1 January 2026, Section 2(4)(g) of the regulation classifies them as types of fire safety equipment. For documentation under Section 41(5), Section 41(7)(a) requires their locations to be shown in the drawings together with the main electricity switch. The regulation does not describe them in greater detail.

We have rooftop photovoltaic panels with battery storage. What is changing?

The written section must now also describe and assess the shutdown system for electricity generation and electrical energy storage facilities—the requirement is identical in point 6 of letter (e) in both Section 41(4) and Section 41(5). We discuss inspections and checks of the battery itself in our article on battery storage for a company PV system.

Sources for this article

• Fire protection – a SOHE service.
• Fire protection documentation: when a company needs it and who prepares it – types of documentation, who may prepare it and how training records are maintained.
• Fire closures, dampers and fire detection systems: annual operational readiness inspections – what is checked on designated equipment and what the inspection record should contain.
• Rooftop PV fire safety – shutdown, isolation and firefighting operations involving rooftop photovoltaic systems.
• Vyhláška č. 246/2001 Sb. – o požární prevenci, as in force from 1 January 2026; Section 2(4)(g), Section 4(3), Section 7(3) and (4), Section 40(4), Section 41 and Annex 7.
• Vyhláška č. 467/2025 Sb. – amendment to the fire prevention regulation dated 6 November 2025; Article I, the transitional provision in Article II, and entry into force on 1 January 2026 under Article III.
• Vyhláška č. 460/2021 Sb. – categorisation of buildings from the perspective of fire safety and civil protection; classes of use and categories 0 to III under Section 5.
• Vyhláška č. 131/2024 Sb. – o dokumentaci staveb; Annex 1, item D.3 Požárně bezpečnostní řešení.
• Vyhláška č. 23/2008 Sb. – o technických podmínkách požární ochrany staveb; Annex 1, Part 1, point 14, as referenced by item 1 of Annex 7.
• Zákon č. 283/2021 Sb. – stavební zákon; regulated construction activities under Section 155 and design activities under Section 156(1).
• Zákon č. 360/1992 Sb. – o výkonu povolání autorizovaných architektů, inženýrů a techniků; the field of building fire safety under Section 5(3)(j).
• Zákon č. 133/1985 Sb. – o požární ochraně; authorisation to issue the regulation under Section 101(a), and Sections 6c and 31a.
• ČSN 01 3495 – Výkresy ve stavebnictví – Výkresy požární bezpečnosti staveb; ČSN 73 0834 – Požární bezpečnost staveb – Změny staveb.

The applicable law was verified against e-Sbírka on 28 August 2026: Vyhláška č. 246/2001 Sb. has been in force in its amended wording since 1 January 2026 following Vyhláška č. 467/2025 Sb.

This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The specific regime for each building—including the scope of the fire safety design, the related fire protection documentation and the equipment inspection intervals—must be determined according to the actual operation, the manufacturer’s documentation, the conditions of use and the risk assessment.

Have you completed a renovation, extension or change of use and now have a new fire safety design sitting in a binder? We can take care of the next stage: align your fire protection documentation with the actual conditions, prepare an operational readiness inspection schedule for designated equipment (fire detection systems, dampers, and smoke and heat exhaust systems) and fire extinguisher inspections, and add the subject to your employee training. Send us a no-obligation enquiry or email info@sohe.cz.