Fire doors with a certificate: what the document must contain
A fire door is only a fire door if a certificate proves it. Everything else — the steel, the seals, the badge on the leaf — is a claim until a document from a recognised body states the door's fire-resistance class and ties it to the product you are actually buying. For procurement teams and developers, learning to read that document is the difference between a clean inspection and an expensive surprise at handover.
Why the certificate, not the door, is what you are buying
Two doors can look identical and perform completely differently in a fire. The difference is in the construction — the core, the seals, the frame, the intumescent strips — and none of it is visible from the corridor. The only way a buyer can know a door holds flames and heat for a stated time is a certificate that records a tested result.
That is why, on a serious project, the certificate is the deliverable. The door is the thing you install; the certificate is the thing the fire inspector reads, the thing the developer files, and the thing that stands behind the handover. A supplier who treats the paperwork as an afterthought is telling you something.
What a genuine fire-door certificate should contain
A certificate you can rely on makes five things unambiguous. Use this as a checklist when a document lands on your desk.
What to look for | What it tells you | Red flag if missing |
|---|---|---|
Fire-resistance class (EI + minutes) | The tested performance — for example EI 60 means integrity and insulation for 60 minutes | A door "for fire safety" with no class stated |
Issuing and testing body | Who certified it and who ran the test | No named authority, or only the manufacturer's own word |
Document number and date | A traceable reference you can cross-check, plus when it was issued | An unnumbered or undated sheet |
Product and scope | The door type, construction and size range the result applies to | A generic certificate that names no specific product |
Validity | That the certificate is current, not expired | A document with no validity window |
If any one of these is missing, you do not yet have proof of a rating — you have a document that looks like proof. The class and the product description are the two that buyers most often skim past, and they are the two that matter most.
The class must match the product — and the size
A certificate states a class for a specified construction. An EI 60 result for a single-leaf door of one build does not automatically cover a double-leaf door, a glazed door, or a leaf outside the tested size range. This is the subtle trap: a real certificate, for a real door, that does not actually cover the door in front of you.
So two checks always go together:
- Does the class on the certificate match the class on your door schedule?
- Does the product and size range on the certificate cover the door you are ordering?
Custom sizes are normal and expected — but they must fall within the certified scope. When we quote a made-to-measure door, we confirm that the configuration and size stay inside the certificate that backs its class. That is a question you should ask of any supplier, and a good one will answer it without hesitation.
How to verify a certificate in practice
You do not need to be a fire engineer to sanity-check a document. Work through it in order:
- **Read the class.** Note the EI rating and the minutes.
- **Find the issuing and testing body.** A recognised authority is named, not implied.
- **Locate the document number and date.** Record them; cross-check the number with the issuing body where you can.
- **Match the product description** to your door — type, construction, leaf configuration.
- **Confirm your size** falls within the certified range.
- **Check validity** so the certificate is current for your delivery.
- **Keep the pack** for the inspection and the building's handover file.
If a step cannot be completed, that is the conversation to have before money changes hands.
The oldest trick: "it's fire-rated, don't worry"
The most common failure on site is not a forged certificate — it is no certificate. A supplier assures a buyer verbally that a door is "fire-rated," delivers a heavy steel door that looks the part, and the paperwork never materialises. At inspection, there is nothing to show. At that point the options are all bad: replace the doors, chase a supplier who has moved on, or try to retro-certify something that was never tested.
A verbal rating is not a rating. If the class is not on paper, tied to the product, from a named body, with a number and a validity, treat it as unproven. This is precisely why we put the document first.
How Unigon handles certification
Unigon DOORS supplies two families, both with certified fire resistance: entrance doors in EI 30 and EI 60, and fire doors in EI 45, EI 60, EI 90 and EI 120, in standard and custom sizes. We state only the classes our certificates support — we do not advertise a rating we cannot document, and we do not guess a class for an opening. Where a specific construction detail or figure is needed, it comes from the product's data sheet and is confirmed per project, not improvised.
All of our work is produced to comply with the technical regulation approved by Government of Georgia Decree No. 41; the required class for each opening comes from the building's fire-safety design prepared under that regulation, and the certificate is what proves the door you install meets it.
Request the certificate pack before you order
Send us your door schedule and we will match each opening to a certified class in the sizes your project needs, and provide the certificate pack so your team can verify every document before delivery and present it at inspection — across Tbilisi, Batumi, Kobuleti and Rustavi. Reach us on WhatsApp or phone at +995 596 81 88 00, or email sales@unigon.ge.
FAQ
Common questions
Can a supplier sell a fire door without a certificate?
They can sell you a steel door, but without a certificate there is nothing proving a fire-resistance class. For an inspection or a handover, the certificate is the evidence. Ask for it before you order, not at delivery.
What is the single most important thing on the certificate?
The fire-resistance class (for example EI 60) read together with the product it applies to. A class only means something when the document ties it to the specific door type, construction and size range you are buying.
How do I verify a certificate is genuine?
Check that it names an issuing and testing body, carries a document number and validity dates, and describes a product that matches your door. Cross-check the number with the issuing body where possible, and make sure the scope covers your configuration and size.
Does one certificate cover every door in the order?
Only if your doors fall within the construction and size range the certificate describes. Custom sizes and different leaf configurations must stay within the certified scope. We confirm this per project.
What classes does Unigon certify?
Entrance doors in EI 30 and EI 60, and fire doors in EI 45, EI 60, EI 90 and EI 120. We state only classes backed by certificates.
