Fire NOC for a hospital: state lines, fire codes, audits and fees

Fire NOC for a hospital at a glance: 10 facts

Hospital fire NOC lines in 32 states and UTs: height, beds or every building

Getting a hospital's fire NOC in 8 steps

1. 1

   Record the building as C-1, not business

   A building where patients stay overnight is institutional, C-1 in NBC 2016 and C-I in NBCS 2026. Only a day-care clinic without beds is business. The class decides the line, the systems and the term.

2. 2

   Measure height, plot area, floors and beds

   Test the hospital against your state's row above: 9 m in Delhi, Haryana and Bihar, 30 beds or an ICU in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, plot area in Rajasthan's Table 3, every hospital in Assam and Uttar Pradesh.

3. 3

   Design to the hospital rules, not only the general table

   Plan horizontal evacuation into a neighbouring compartment, 2.4 m patient corridors and 2.0 m exits, ICUs and theatres behind 120-minute walls, and a sprinkler over oxygen and medical gas stores.

4. 4

   File the plan-stage application where your state has one

   Upload the fire drawings for the provisional or plan approval. In Telangana a high-rise hospital also engages a third-party reviewer of the fire and life safety design under rule 24.0.

5. 5

   Install, test and get the agency's certificate

   Extinguishers, hose reels, risers, sprinklers, detection and pumps as the code and the approval list; the licensed agency certifies them where the state requires it.

6. 6

   Pass the fire officer's inspection and display the NOC

   The officer checks exits, compartments, the oxygen store, the electrical panel and every system. Keep the NOC on display: the DGFS checklist asks for it.

7. 7

   Run the periodic duties

   Form B every January and July in Maharashtra, the audit upload every January and July in Telangana above 15 m, the yearly inspection and mock drill in Rajasthan, and drills at least twice a year under the 2024 advisory.

8. 8

   Diary the renewal by your state's term

   1 year in Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Sikkim and Arunachal; 5, 3 or 1 in Rajasthan; 2 or 1 in Chhattisgarh. The 2024 advisory asks for a yearly renewal as state rules allow.

Hospital, nursing home and sanatorium: the occupancy words fire officers use

The class an officer writes on the file decides the line and the table. These 8 terms come from the 2 national codes, NDMA and NABH.

GGroup C Institutional (NBC 2016, 3.1.4)

Buildings used for treating or caring for people with illness, disease or infirmity, for infants, convalescents or the aged, and for custody; they ordinarily provide sleeping accommodation. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

CC-1 Hospitals and sanatoria

A building or group under single management housing people with physical limitations from health or age who cannot save themselves: hospitals, infirmaries, sanatoria and nursing homes. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

CC-I (NBCS 2026)

The same subdivision in the 2026 standard, with its own Table 7C of firefighting installations and clause 6.3 on hospital exits. 2BIS, SP 7:2026

EE-2 outpatient clinic

NBC 2016 files outpatient clinics, laboratories and research establishments as business, Subdivision E-2, not institutional. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

PProgressive horizontal evacuation

Moving patients through a fire-resisting wall into the next compartment on the same floor, which NBCS 2026 calls of paramount consideration for hospitals. 2BIS, SP 7:2026

CComparative and ultimate safety

NDMA's 2 levels for hospitals: protection in place against heat and smoke, and complete removal of occupants to an assembly point outside. 10NDMA

SSmoke compartment (Telangana)

On every storey where patients sleep or are treated, or with 50 or more occupants: compartments of at most 500 m² in 2-hour construction. 20G.O.Ms.No.162

TThird-party inspection certificate (NABH)

A fire and life safety certificate from a NABCB-accredited Type A inspection body, valid at most 1 year, accepted for accreditation only. 6National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

NABH on hospital fire NOC: a third-party certificate counts for accreditation only

Hospitals often read NABH's 2022 advisory as a way round the fire NOC. Its own words close that door.

Without a NOC, NABH asks for proof of the application with acknowledged correspondence with the fire department at least once in 3 months, or that third-party certificate, valid for a maximum of 1 year, plus an undertaking from the head of the hospital. Its 10 accreditation requirements add a central fire alarm at a place staffed 24 hours, detectors on all floors, an exit plan per floor, emergency lighting and drill records. NABH's notice of 2 January 2026 made January its Fire Safety Month.

Fire systems a hospital needs by height: NBC 2016 and NBCS 2026

NABH's table, adapted from NBC 2016, and NBCS 2026 Table 7C set the 4 big systems for a hospital. R is required, NR not required.

Every row needs extinguishers and hose reels. NBCS 2026 Note 1 sprinklers any basement, oxygen or medical gas store, laundry, linen or waste room and transformer room to the CL-3 level whatever the hospital's size; above 60 m it asks for multi-level pumping with pumps of no more than 12 bar. NABH's key prints "NR= Required", a slip for not required. Delhi's nursing-home sheet adds a 75,000 to 1,50,000 litre underground tank, a 10,000 litre terrace tank and 1,620 l/min pumps below 15 m.

Hospital exits and evacuation under NBCS 2026: 12 checks

Clause 6.3 of NBCS 2026 writes hospital-only rules on top of the general exit tables. A fire officer or auditor can test each of these 12 on a walk-round.

The national layer for hospitals, from the Health Ministry to NABH: 8 instruments

Fire is a state subject, but 8 national instruments speak to hospitals. Only the Supreme Court's directions bind; the rest advise or set accreditation terms.

The 2024 hospital fire advisory as 7 dos and 4 don'ts

The Health Ministry and NDMA advisory of 23 March 2024 is the most detailed national text a hospital can follow today. Here it is as daily practice.

State rulebooks written for hospitals: 6 instruments

Most states treat a hospital as one more institutional building. These 6 instruments were written for hospitals or name them by size.

• Rajasthan, Table 3

  Every year above 15 m; 5 or 3 years below, or none

  A ground plus 1 building without beds on a plot up to 1,000 m² needs no NOC; with beds, or a plot up to 1,000 m² and up to 15 m, 5 years; up to 15 m on 1,000 to 3,000 m², 3 years; on a plot over 3,000 m² or above 15 m, every year. 17Rajasthan UDH

• Telangana, G.O.Ms.No.162 of 2023

  High-rise hospital rules amended

  Maximum hospital height raised from 60 m to 130 m; a 7 m drive-way with a 9 m turning radius up to 54 m, 11 m and 14 m above; refuge areas above 24 m and about every 15 m, at least 15 m²; fire drills every 3 months for 2 years, then every 6 months. 20G.O.Ms.No.162

• Andhra Pradesh, G.O.Ms.No.2 of 2011

  High-rise hospital buildings above 30 m

  The rules Telangana amended began here: open spaces of 11 m for 30 to 35 m rising to 16 m for 55 to 60 m, and a 60 m height cap. 21G.O.Ms.No.2 of 2011

• Maharashtra, ss.45 and 45A

  Hospitals above 30 m

  A fire officer or fire supervisor appointed by the owner, and a Fire and Life Safety Audit by a licensed auditor every 2 years, on top of Form B each January and July. 22Amendment Act 2023

• Delhi, DFS sheet

  Nursing homes under 15 m of ground plus 2 or more

  A 6 m access road, 2 staircases with a 2.0 m main stair, 2.4 m corridors and 45 m travel (fully sprinklered) for buildings after 1 July 2010; wet riser, sprinklers and detection all required. 23DFS

• Tamil Nadu, Annexure IX

  Hospital setbacks and drills

  A 6 m setback all round below 18.3 m and 7 m from 18.3 m to 30 m, fire lifts with alternate power, staff trained by the fire service and mock drills every 6 months. 24TNCDBR 2019

Does your hospital need a fire NOC? 12 cases by state

Match your hospital's state, height, plot and beds to one line. Where an instrument does not name hospitals, the line is Flamekite's reading of its institutional row.

1. If Any hospital or nursing home in Assam

   Yes, whatever its height or floor area: Schedule I files every hospital as high risk. Fire NOC Assam 2026 25Assam Act LIII of 2025

2. If Any hospital in Uttar Pradesh

   Yes: institutional buildings are special buildings at any height, and the certificate lasts 1 year under Rule 44. Fire NOC UP 26UP Rules 2024

3. If A ground plus 1 clinic without beds in Rajasthan on a plot up to 1,000 m²

   No fire NOC under Table 3, item 1. Add beds and it renews every 5 years. Fire NOC Rajasthan 17Rajasthan UDH

4. If A hospital in Delhi over 9 m or of 3 storeys

   Rule 27's institutional row. NABH's Delhi note reads a 9 to 15 m building as exempt only where the hospital uses the basement, ground and first floor and the floors above are not hospital. Fire NOC Delhi 7NABH notice 2026

5. If A hospital in Haryana or Chandigarh of 9 m or more

   A special building whatever its floor area; Chandigarh charges Rs 14 per m², at least Rs 6,615. Fire NOC Haryana 18Government of Haryana

6. If A 25-bed nursing home in Chhattisgarh with an ICU

   Yes: any critical care unit brings it in, whatever the beds; 2 years under 15 m. Fire NOC Chhattisgarh 19Home Department, Chhattisgarh

7. If A 20-bed clinic in Odisha below 12 m with no ICU

   Self-regulatory under Order 50908; over 30 beds or any critical care unit needs the certificate. Fire NOC Odisha 27Order 50908 of 2019

8. If A hospital in Telangana above 15 m

   Yes, as high risk, with an audit certificate every January and July; high-rise hospitals also follow the 2011 rules as amended in 2023. Fire Audit Telangana 28TG fire circular 2020

9. If A hospital in Karnataka between 15 m and 21 m

   The Act's line is 21 m, but Seva Sindhu still lists above 15 m: ask KSFES in writing before you build. Fire NOC Karnataka 29Government of Karnataka

10. If A hospital in Kerala over 1,000 m² or 15 m

    Fire approval under rule 5(4); 300 to 1,000 m² up to 15 m files an Appendix L self-declaration. Fire NOC Kerala 30KMBR amendment 2025

11. If A hospital in Maharashtra above 30 m

    Appoint a fire officer or supervisor (s.45) and book a section 45A audit every 2 years, besides Form B twice a year. Fire Audit Maharashtra 22Amendment Act 2023

12. If Your state's line leaves the hospital out

    Fire equipment is still owed, and NABH asks a hospital without a NOC to justify why it does not apply. Do I need a fire NOC? 6National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

Hospital fire NOC fees in the official schedules

These are the hospital lines that an Act, rule or order prints. A consultant's or agency's quote is a private price.

Penalties for running a hospital without a fire NOC

Fire Acts punish the owner; some states also pull the hospital's licence. These are the amounts and sanctions the instruments set.

Every state's fire NOC penalties are on the penalties page.

Where hospitals fail fire inspections, and the fix

Hospital fires in India repeat a few failures: overloaded wiring in critical care, oxygen, switched-off systems and lapsed papers. These 7 come from the advisories and the inquiries reported.

Hospital fire NOC worked cases: 8 buildings in 8 states

Flamekite's reading of the rules for 8 example hospitals; the buildings are illustrations, the figures are the instruments'.

1. Case 1

   A ground plus 3, 14 m hospital in Jaipur on a 2,000 m² plot

   60 beds, Nagar Nigam area, 3,000 m² built-up.

   What applies Table 3 item 3: up to 15 m on 1,000 to 3,000 m², so it renews every 3 years. Fee at Rs 2 per sq ft on about 32,292 sq ft is about Rs 64,584, by Flamekite's arithmetic. 17Rajasthan UDH

2. Case 2

   A 30-bed nursing home in Lucknow, 10 m

   Ground plus 2 on a 900 m² plot.

   What applies Covered as institutional at any height; at 10 m it misses the below-9 m exemption from the agency certificate, and the certificate lasts 1 year. 26UP Rules 2024

3. Case 3

   A 70 m hospital tower in Hyderabad

   Wards on 16 floors.

   What applies Under the 130 m cap of G.O.Ms.No.162; an 11 m drive-way with a 14 m turning radius above 54 m, refuge areas above 24 m and about every 15 m, a third-party design review, and audit uploads every January and July. 20G.O.Ms.No.162

4. Case 4

   A 32 m hospital in Pune

   Institutional, 9 floors.

   What applies Above 30 m, so section 45 asks for a fire officer or supervisor and section 45A a licensed audit every 2 years, besides Form B every January and July. 22Amendment Act 2023

5. Case 5

   A 60-bed hospital in Puducherry town

   Institutional, G+3.

   What applies Category A whatever its height: 2 agency audit certificates, inspections twice a year and a fresh NOC every year. 45Puducherry G.O. 61

6. Case 6

   A 12 m nursing home in Delhi built in 2015

   Ground plus 3, beds on every floor.

   What applies Over 9 m and 3 storeys, so Rule 27 applies; the DFS sheet asks for 2 staircases, 2.4 m corridors, sprinklers and a 75,000 to 1,50,000 litre underground tank. 23DFS

7. Case 7

   A 40-bed nursing home in Raipur, 8 m, with no ICU

   Ground plus 1.

   What applies Under 9 m, but more than 30 beds brings it in under the 2022 notification; a moderate-risk 2-year certificate. 19Home Department, Chhattisgarh

8. Case 8

   A 2,400 m² hospital planned to NBCS 2026, 20 m

   Ground plus 5 with an oxygen manifold room.

   What applies CL-4 under Table 7C: wet riser, yard hydrant, sprinklers, detection and voice evacuation; the oxygen room sprinklered to CL-3 at least. 2BIS, SP 7:2026

Hospital fire rules in numbers

• 2.4 m

  Minimum width of a corridor or ramp used to move patients (NBCS 2026) 2BIS, SP 7:2026

• 120 min

  Fire separation around ICUs, theatres, delivery and recovery rooms 2BIS, SP 7:2026

• 3.5 m²

  Space per bed-ridden patient a compartment must hold for its neighbours 2BIS, SP 7:2026

• 500 m²

  Largest smoke compartment on a Telangana hospital floor with patients 20G.O.Ms.No.162

• 130 m

  Telangana's maximum hospital height since 2023, up from 60 m 20G.O.Ms.No.162

• 30 beds

  Above this, a Chhattisgarh or Odisha hospital needs the certificate at any height 19Home Department, Chhattisgarh

• 13

  Instructions in the Health Ministry and NDMA advisory of 23 March 2024 5Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and NDMA

• 64

  Items for hospitals above 24 m to 45 m in the DGFS audit checklist 12DGFS hospital checklist

Hospital fire rules, dated: 2011 to 2026

Fifteen dated steps that shaped what a hospital owes today.

1. 3 January 2011

   Andhra Pradesh issues its Fire Prevention and Safety Measures in High-rise Hospital Buildings Rules for hospitals above 30 m. 21G.O.Ms.No.2 of 2011

2. February 2016

   NDMA's Hospital Safety guidelines ask for a yearly ICU and ward evacuation drill. 10NDMA

3. 28 September 2020

   The Health Ministry sends its Fire and Life Safety guidelines to all states and government hospitals. 8Lok Sabha answer

4. 9 December 2020

   The Supreme Court records that every state was told to form a fire safety audit committee after the Rajkot COVID hospital fire. 4Supreme Court order

5. 18 December 2020

   The Supreme Court directs monthly fire audits of COVID hospitals and immediate NOC applications. 3Supreme Court of India

6. 12 April 2021

   Maharashtra's fire directorate orders audits of vulnerable buildings, citing the Bhandara hospital fire. 13MFS order 417

7. 8 June 2021

   Maharashtra asks every municipal body for an action-taken report on the inspection of all hospitals and nursing homes, in the Home Ministry's proforma. 46MFS hospital letter

8. 20 September 2022

   NABH revises its minimum fire safety measures and the third-party certificate route. 6National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

9. 27 December 2022

   West Bengal sets up fire safety committees in every government hospital down to sub-divisional level. 47WB H&FW notification 215

10. 16 August 2023

    Telangana amends its high-rise hospital rules: 130 m cap, third-party design review, drills every 3 months for 2 years. 20G.O.Ms.No.162

11. 14 September 2023

    Rajasthan's order sets hospital terms of 5, 3 or 1 year by size in Table 3. 17Rajasthan UDH

12. 23 March 2024

    The Health Ministry and NDMA issue their 13-point advisory to prevent hospital fires. 5Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and NDMA

13. 22 July 2025

    Maharashtra cancels the 2021 audit orders 417 and 591 and moves audits to licensed section 45A auditors. 48MFS order 1148

14. 2 January 2026

    NABH declares January its Fire Safety Month and restates the Delhi applicability rules. 7NABH notice 2026

15. 4 to 10 May 2026

    The Health Ministry and DGFS hold a Fire Safety Week for healthcare facilities, as reported. 78All India Radionews report

Hospital fires in India, 2011 to 2026, as reported

From news reports, not yet an official source.

Hospital fire NOC myths, checked against the rules

• You may have read

  A NABH third-party fire certificate replaces the hospital's fire NOC.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  NABH accepts it in lieu of the NOC only for accreditation; the hospital must still obtain the NOC where it applies. 6National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

• You may have read

  A small hospital under 15 m never needs a fire NOC.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry and Goa cover every hospital, and Delhi, Haryana and Bihar start at 9 m. 26UP Rules 2024

• You may have read

  The Health Ministry's 2024 advisory makes every NOC a 1-year NOC.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  It asks for a yearly renewal "as per State Fire Safety Rules"; Rajasthan still gives smaller medical buildings 5 or 3 years. 5Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and NDMA

• You may have read

  The Supreme Court ordered monthly fire audits of every hospital.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  The directions of 18 December 2020 were for hospitals earmarked for COVID patients. 3Supreme Court of India

• You may have read

  The DGFS checklist is a binding national format.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  It says state fire services may continue their existing practice and use it as advisory input. 12DGFS hospital checklist

• You may have read

  Day-care clinics follow the hospital rules.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  NBC 2016 files outpatient clinics as business, E-2; only buildings where patients stay are C-1. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

Where a hospital applies for its fire NOC, state by state

These 9 official portals took hospital and institutional fire applications on 25 October 2026.

• Uttar Pradesh

  UP Fire Service: Apply for NOC

  Provisional, final and renewal certificates; no portal fee 49UP Fire FAQ

  upfireservice.gov.in/upfire/user/login ↗

• Chhattisgarh

  CG Fire NOC portal

  Online NOC in 7 steps, with the DGFS hospital checklist hosted on the site 50CG Fire NOC

  firenoc.cg.gov.in ↗

• Tamil Nadu

  Tamil Nadu Single Window Portal

  TNFRS NOC and fire licence; no fees collected 51TN Single Window

  tnswp.com/DIGIGOV/swp-tnswp.jsp ↗

• Gujarat

  GujFireSafety CoP

  Fire Safety Plan and Certificate approval through a Fire Safety Officer 52Gujarat FSCOP

  fscop.gujfiresafetycop.in ↗

• Kerala

  Kerala Fire NOC portal

  Site and Final Clearance for buildings over the rule 5(4) line 53Kerala NOC manual

  noc.fire.kerala.gov.in/applicant_controller/signup ↗

• Karnataka

  Seva Sindhu: high-rise NOC

  Karnataka's high-rise fire NOC application 37Seva Sindhu

  sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in/category/Application%20for%20No%20Objection%20Certificate%20(High%20rise%20Building)%20-%20Fire%20&%20Emergency.html ↗

• Delhi

  Delhi Fire Service

  Fire Safety Certificate, its renewal and the nursing-home requirements sheet 54DFS

  dfs.delhi.gov.in ↗

• Telangana

  Telangana Fire Services

  Building NOC login and the GOs page with G.O.Ms.No.162 55TGFD contact

  fire.telangana.gov.in ↗

• Rajasthan

  Rajasthan LSG online: fire service

  Fire NOC registration, renewal and certificate verification 56Local Self Government Department, Rajasthan

  lsgonline.rajasthan.gov.in/fire_service.aspx ↗

What Flamekite could not confirm about hospital fire rules

Six gaps remain after reading every official copy Flamekite could reach on 25 October 2026. Each is a place to ask the authority in writing.