NFPA 10 fire extinguisher inspection, maintenance and testing: a guide for inspection companies

If you run an extinguisher service company, NFPA 10, the Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers, sets the calendar your business runs on. Monthly checks, annual maintenance, the 6-year internal examination and hydrostatic testing each come due on their own clock, and every one of them is a visit, a record and, usually, an invoice.

This guide walks through each interval, what it covers, how to record it, and what to watch for in the field. It is written for owners and lead techs, not building occupants.

Before you rely on any of it: your authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) enforces a specific edition of NFPA 10, usually through the state or local fire code, and many states add their own licensing, tag and label rules for extinguisher service. This guide is based on NFPA 10 as quoted by OSHA, state fire marshals and state regulations, listed at the end. It is general information, not legal advice. Check the edition and the state rules your AHJ enforces.

The intervals at a glance

• Inspection ("monthly check"). How often: monthly. Who does it: the owner, the occupant or their staff; often sold as a service. Recorded: date and initials, on a tag, a checklist or an electronic record.
• Maintenance. How often: at least once a year. Who does it: a certified person. Recorded: tag or label with the month and year and who did the work.
• Internal examination ("6-year"). How often: every 6 years on stored-pressure dry chemical extinguishers that need a 12-year hydrostatic test. Who does it: a certified person. Recorded: verification-of-service collar and maintenance label.
• Hydrostatic test. How often: every 5 or 12 years, depending on extinguisher type. Who does it: a qualified test facility. Recorded: hydrostatic test label on the cylinder.

Monthly inspection

NFPA 10 calls this the inspection: a quick visual check that the extinguisher is where it should be and ready to use. It is required when the extinguisher is first put in service and every month after that. Older editions said "approximately 30-day intervals"; newer editions tighten the wording, so check the exact language in the edition your AHJ enforces.

State rules that adopt NFPA 10's checklist list items like these:

• The extinguisher is in its designated place.
• Nothing blocks access to it or the view of it.
• The pressure gauge or indicator reads in the operable range.
• The safety seals and tamper indicators are not broken or missing.
• It is full, determined by weighing or hefting.
• There is no obvious physical damage, corrosion, leakage or clogged nozzle.
• The operating instructions on the nameplate are legible and face outward.

The monthly check does not have to be done by a certified technician. State fire marshals and OSHA's workplace rule put it on the owner, and facility staff can do it. Many service companies still sell monthly inspections, especially to restaurants, multi-tenant buildings and anyone with a large unit count. If you do, the record is yours to keep.

Some editions and states also allow electronic monitoring of extinguishers in place of the manual monthly check, using listed monitoring devices that keep an electronic log.

Annual maintenance

Maintenance is a thorough examination by a certified person, done at least once a year. It covers the mechanical parts, the extinguishing agent and the means of expelling it, following the manufacturer's service manual. Federal rules for vessels and offshore facilities note that a state or local license counts toward NFPA 10's certification requirement, and that is how most states handle it: you need the state's extinguisher service license.

Each extinguisher gets a maintenance tag or label showing the month and year of the work and the person or company that did it. Many states add their own requirements on top, such as a license number, tag colors or self-voiding labels. Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Florida and California all set their own tag and label formats.

Stored-pressure extinguishers do not need an internal examination at the annual visit. OSHA requires employers to record the annual maintenance date and keep that record for one year after the last entry or for the life of the shell, whichever is less.

The 6-year internal examination

Stored-pressure dry chemical extinguishers that need a 12-year hydrostatic test must be emptied and given the applicable maintenance every 6 years. Non-refillable disposable units are exempt. The count runs from the date of manufacture and restarts when the unit is recharged or hydrostatically tested.

After the work, the extinguisher gets a verification-of-service collar around the neck of the cylinder. Carbon dioxide extinguishers recharged without removing the valve assembly do not need the collar, and some states exempt cartridge-operated units as well.

For a service company this is a planning problem more than a technical one. Take over a new customer whose manufacture dates were never recorded and you will find 6-year work spread unevenly across the next several years. Logging the manufacture date and last 6-year date for every unit on day one is what lets you quote and schedule it ahead of time.

Hydrostatic testing

Hydrostatic testing pressure-tests the cylinder to find weaknesses before they fail in use, and an internal examination of the cylinder is made before each test. The interval depends on the extinguisher type:

• Stored-pressure water and antifreeze: 5 years
• AFFF foam: 5 years
• Loaded stream: 5 years
• Wet chemical (Class K): 5 years
• Carbon dioxide (CO2): 5 years
• Dry chemical with stainless steel shells: 5 years
• Dry chemical, stored pressure, with mild steel, brazed brass or aluminum shells: 12 years
• Dry chemical, cartridge or cylinder operated, with mild steel shells: 12 years
• Halon: 12 years
• Dry powder, cartridge or cylinder operated, with mild steel shells: 12 years

Nitrogen and carbon dioxide cylinders used as the expellant on wheeled units are tested every 5 years. A passed cylinder gets a hydrostatic test label; some states, such as California, require a self-destructing metallic label that shows the test pressure. A failed cylinder is condemned. Hydrostatic test records are kept until the next retest or until the unit is taken out of service.

Tags, labels and records

Three records travel with each extinguisher:

1. The inspection record: date and initials of whoever did the monthly check, on a tag, on a checklist kept on file, or in an electronic system. NFPA 10 asks for records showing at least the last 12 monthly inspections, so do not throw old tags away.
2. The maintenance tag or label: month and year of the annual maintenance and who did it, plus whatever your state adds.
3. The hydrostatic test label and, for 6-year work, the verification-of-service collar.

Retention rules vary. OSHA sets the minimum for workplaces; some states ask for more, and Minnesota's fire marshal says to keep records for the life of the extinguisher. Electronic records are allowed and are far easier to search when a fire marshal or an insurer asks for a unit's history.

What to watch for in the field

Fire marshals' offices list overdue annual service and out-of-date extinguishers among the violations they cite. Beyond those, these are the checklist items that turn into findings:

• Missing or blocked extinguishers, or units moved off their hook.
• Pressure outside the operable range on the gauge.
• Broken or missing tamper seals and pins.
• Physical damage: dents, corrosion, leaks, clogged nozzles, illegible nameplates.
• Overdue 6-year or hydrostatic service, or a maintenance tag more than a year old.
• Wrong type for the hazard, such as a dry chemical unit where a commercial kitchen needs Class K.
• Obsolete extinguishers. NFPA 10 and state rules require removing soda-acid units, any extinguisher that has to be turned upside down to operate, stored-pressure extinguishers made before 1955, and stored-pressure dry chemical extinguishers (other than wheeled units) made before October 1984. Editions differ on exactly when, so check yours.

Write each one up with a reason and a photo. Most are a repair or replacement you can quote on the spot.

How TraceLock handles this

TraceLock is inspection and service software for small fire protection companies. For extinguisher work, here is what it does today:

• Scan the unit. Techs scan the extinguisher's barcode or nameplate label, and the serial and model fill in. When a label is damaged, they type it in.
• Due dates from the extinguisher type. Each unit's record holds its type, size, manufacturer, model, serial, location, manufacture date, last hydrostatic test and last 6-year date. Pick the type (ABC dry chemical, CO2, wet chemical / Class K and the rest of the NFPA 10 set) and TraceLock works out the next annual, 6-year and hydrostatic dates. The report flags units that are overdue or due soon.
• Overdue means fail. An extinguisher whose hydrostatic test or 6-year examination is overdue cannot be passed; it files as a fail with the reason.
• Failures with reasons. A failed unit is recorded from a checklist (pressure low, tag missing, access blocked, hydro expired, 6-year maintenance overdue, damage present, incorrect type), with photos and notes.
• An NFPA 10 report per visit. The office sends it as a PDF by email or a no-login link, and can approve and lock it so it cannot be changed afterward.
• Works with no signal. Inspections save on the phone and upload when the tech is back in range.
• From finding to invoice. Deficiencies become a quote the customer accepts from a link, then an invoice, with card or ACH payment through Stripe once you connect your account.
• Bring your customer list. Customers, sites and equipment import from a spreadsheet (CSV).
• iPhone and Android. The iPhone app is on the App Store. The Android app is installed from a download on our site; it is not on Google Play yet.

What it does not do yet: print tags (Bluetooth printing to Zebra printers is in testing, so keep your tag supply), or email your customers when their extinguishers come due. Due dates are tracked for your office to schedule from.

TraceLock is $35 per user per month, or $28 on annual billing, with a 30-day free trial. Want to see how TraceLock would handle your own routes? Send us a message.

Related: NFPA 25 sprinkler inspection, testing and maintenance guide · NFPA 72 fire alarm testing guide · Fire inspection apps for Android

Sources

All read October 15, 2026.

1. OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.157, Portable fire extinguishers ((e)(2) monthly, (e)(3) annual and records, (e)(4) 6-year, (f) and Table L-1 hydrostatic intervals). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.157
2. OSHA, standard interpretation letter, November 29, 2006 (NFPA 10 monthly interval and electronic monitoring). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2006-11-29
3. OSHA, Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool, portable extinguishers (record retention). https://www.osha.gov/etools/evacuation-plans-procedures/emergency-standards/portable-extinguishers/required
4. Minnesota State Fire Marshal, hotel fire extinguishers (cites NFPA 10: monthly, annual, tags, 6-year collar, hydrostatic, records). https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/sfm/services/inspections/hotels-and-motels/hotel-fire-extinguishers
5. Minnesota Department of Health, fire extinguisher guide (cites NFPA 10 Table 8.3.1; wet chemical 5-year). https://www.health.mn.gov/facilities/regulation/engineering/lscfireext24.pdf
6. California Code of Regulations, Title 19, sections 574.1, 574.2, 574.5 (monthly inspection, checklist, records). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/19-CCR-574.2
7. California Code of Regulations, Title 19, section 577.2 (obsolete extinguishers). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/19-CCR-577.2
8. California Code of Regulations, Title 19, sections 592.1, 594.5, 596 (cylinder testing, hydrostatic labels, verification-of-service collar). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/19-CCR-596
9. Kansas State Fire Marshal, FAQ on obsolete extinguishers (cites NFPA 10 4.4.1). https://firemarshal.ks.gov/m/faq?cat=17
10. 30 CFR 57.4201, inspection and hydrostatic testing (Table C-1). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/57.4201
11. 46 CFR 71.25-20 (NFPA 10 certification for maintenance). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/46/71.25-20
12. 33 CFR 149.408 (state or local license meets NFPA 10 certification). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/149.408
13. Florida Administrative Code 69A-21.237 (6-year maintenance). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/florida/Fla-Admin-Code-Ann-R-69A-21-237
14. Louisiana Administrative Code 55:V-3031; Georgia Rule 120-3-23-.14; Texas 28 TAC 34.520 (state tag, label and collar rules). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/louisiana/La-Admin-Code-tit-55-SS-V-3031 · https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/georgia/Ga-Comp-R-Regs-R-120-3-23-.14 · https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/28-Tex-Admin-Code-SS-34-520
15. American Society for Health Care Engineering, "NFPA 10: Don't throw away your old tags," April 11, 2018 (12 monthly records). https://my.ashe.org/blogs/jonathan-flannery/2018/04/11/tip-37-nfpa-10-dont-throw-away-your-old-tags
16. SecurityInfoWatch, NFPA code change allowing electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers, June 29, 2006 (trade publication). https://www.securityinfowatch.com/alarms-monitoring/fire-life-safety/news/10592498/nfpa-code-change-will-allow-electronic-monitoring-of-fire-extinguishers
17. Fayetteville (NC) Fire Marshal's Office and Hillsboro (TX) Fire Marshal (common violations). https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/City-Departments/Fire-Department/Fire-Marshals-Office · https://hillsborotx.org/departments/public_safety/fire_marshall.php