There is no regulation that names a closer product. What exists is a requirement that certain doors are closed when a fire occurs, expressed through building guidance at installation and through the maintenance duty afterwards. That distinction matters because it explains why a locked riser door with no closer is compliant and an unlocked office door with a broken one is not.
Where the requirement originates
Building guidance identifies the doors that must be self closing, which are broadly those protecting escape routes and those in compartment walls where the door will be used. The intent is that the door is shut at the moment of a fire without depending on anybody. A door that is kept locked shut satisfies the same intent by a different means and does not need a closer.
The maintenance duty
Once the building is occupied, the fire safety order requires the fire safety measures to be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair. A closer that has failed, been disconnected or been wound down until the door does not latch is a breach of that duty from the moment it happens, and it is the most enforceable defect in the building.
Residential buildings and the check regime
In England, buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises above the height threshold have specific check duties for doors in common parts and for flat entrance doors, with stated frequencies. Those checks include whether the door closes and latches. That is a check regime rather than a product regulation, and the underlying requirement is still the maintenance duty.
Where a closer is not required
On a door that is not a fire door. On a fire door kept locked shut, such as a riser, intake cupboard or store. And on doors held open by a device that releases on alarm, where the device itself performs the closing function and is maintained as part of the system.
Questions people ask about fire door closers regulations
Is there a law requiring a closer on every fire door?
No. The requirement is that the door is closed when a fire occurs. A closer is the ordinary means, and locking the door shut is the alternative for doors nobody passes through.
Who enforces a broken closer?
The fire and rescue authority as part of the fire safety order, and in scope residential buildings it will show up in the check record too.
Does a hold open device satisfy the requirement?
Yes, where it is the correct type, wired or linked to the alarm and maintained. It has to release the door on activation and on power loss.