LOCAL RULES

Illinois fire extinguisher inspection report requirements

Your Illinois fire extinguisher inspection report has 8 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • Tags and tamper seals are green in 2026 and blue in 2027
  • A visual inspection every month
  • An annual maintenance check, with its date recorded
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Illinois licenses fire equipment distributors and their employees through the Office of the State Fire Marshal under the Fire Equipment Distributor and Employee Regulation Act of 2011 and 41 Ill. Adm. Code 251. The rules color code certification tags by year and require license numbers on every service document. Here is each rule with a link to the official text, and what an Illinois fire extinguisher service report should record.

Last reviewed October 15, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Fire extinguisher inspectionILLINOIS / SAMPLE

Sample notes, 100 words

Building: Riverside Plaza, 410 Market St
Date: 10/06/2026, monthly check
Inspected by: Dana Cole, facilities
Lobby by front doors: 10 lb ABC, serial A44120, gauge in green, pin and seal OK, tag current
Kitchen: class K 6 L, gauge OK, tag punched
...
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54%of your draft is ready from these notes

We sorted 16 items into 3 sections and flagged 1 to fix soon.

  • Fix soonInspection items (all units)

    Tamper seal missing

8 Illinois rules on your checklist, including tags and tamper seals are green in 2026 and blue in 2027.

Still to add

  • Illinois lawLicensed fire equipment distributor (name, street address, city, state and phone)
  • Illinois lawDistributor's license number
  • Illinois lawFire equipment employee's license number

Filled in for you

Building or facilityRiverside Plaza, 410 Market St
Address410 Market St
Inspection dateOct 6, 2026
Licensed fire equipment employeeDana Cole, facilities
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What Illinois requires

  • No person or business may service, inspect or maintain fire equipment without a fire equipment distributor license from the State Fire Marshal, with a separate license for each business location; portable extinguishers are serviced by a Class A distributor, which keeps at least one Class 1 employee and at least one million dollars of financial responsibility225 ILCS 217/10 (a) ยท 41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.210, 251.220 (b), (d), (e), 251.90 (b)
  • Every individual who services, inspects or maintains fire equipment holds a fire equipment employee license (Class 1 for portables, based on ICC or NAFED portable extinguisher certification), works for a distributor licensed in the matching class, and carries the State Fire Marshal identification card at all times while working, showing it to the authority having jurisdiction on request; only a licensed employee may tag fire equipment41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.230 (b), (e), (f) (3) (D), (f) (8); 251.40 (d)
  • Every service document given to the customer or the authority having jurisdiction includes the name and license number of the fire equipment distributor and of the fire equipment employee who did the work; a subcontractor uses its own license numbers41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.75; 251.80 (b)
  • A certification tag goes on each extinguisher when it is installed or modified or maintenance is performed, meaning it was thoroughly checked and met the rules. The front shows "Do Not Remove by Order of the State Fire Marshal", the employee's printed name (a stamp is allowed) and license number, the distributor's name, license number, street address, city, state and phone, and the punched type of maintenance, month and year, and type of extinguisher41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.40 (a); 251.50 (a), (d)
  • Certification tags are colored by the calendar year they go on: blue for 2023, 2027 and 2031; white for 2024, 2028 and 2032; yellow for 2025, 2029 and 2033; green for 2026, 2030 and 2034. Each tag carries one year printed at least 1/2 inch high on a tag at least 2 5/8 by 5 1/4 inches, and the new tamper seal installed at each maintenance matches the tag's color41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.50 (b), (c), (e); 251.60
  • Service labels go on the side of the cylinder in clear view with the distributor's and employee's names and license numbers, the type and date of service, and the hydrostatic tester's name and USDOT PHMSA Requalifier Identification Number; a stored pressure extinguisher that had an internal examination gets a verification-of-service collar around the neck41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.70
  • Portable extinguishers are installed, maintained, recharged, hydrostatically tested and inspected under NFPA 10 (2022 edition) and the other incorporated standards; every portable carries a durable pictorial classification decal on the front if the manufacturer's label lacks one; the Office recommends the building owner do a monthly visual inspection; a home rule unit may not regulate fire equipment service less strictly than the State41 Ill. Adm. Code 251.25, 251.90 (a), (f)

Distributor and employee licenses

Portable extinguisher work is done by a Class 1 fire equipment employee of a Class A licensed distributor, with a separate distributor license for each business location. The employee carries the State Fire Marshal identification card on every job and shows it to the authority having jurisdiction on request, and only a licensed employee may tag equipment.

License numbers on the report

Every service document you hand the customer or the authority having jurisdiction must name the distributor and the employee who did the work, with both license numbers. A subcontractor uses its own numbers.

Certification tags, colors and seals

A certification tag goes on at installation, modification or maintenance and means the unit was checked and met the rules. Its front shows the State Fire Marshal warning, the employee's name and license, the distributor's name, license, address and phone, and the punched maintenance type, month, year and extinguisher type.

The tag color follows the year: green in 2026, blue in 2027, white in 2028, yellow in 2029. The new tamper seal matches the tag color, and labels on the cylinder side record six-year and hydrostatic work with the tester's PHMSA number.

From the walkthrough to a finished Illinois report

Note each unit's serial number, type and the maintenance done, and anything that failed. ReportDraft puts the distributor's and your license numbers in the header, as the rule requires for service documents, and lists the tagged units by serial number. Work follows NFPA 10 (2022 edition).

Common mistakes

  • A service report without both the distributor's and the employee's license numbers.
  • Last year's tag color, or a tamper seal that does not match the tag.
  • More than one year printed on a certification tag.
  • Tagging done by an unlicensed helper.
  • No pictorial classification decal on a unit whose label lacks one.

Sources

Last reviewed October 15, 2026. Next review due January 15, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.