LOCAL RULES: 28 TAC CH. 34

Texas fire extinguisher inspection report requirements

Your Texas fire extinguisher inspection report has 9 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • Tell the AHJ within 5 business days of removing a red tag
  • A visual inspection every month
  • An annual maintenance check, with its date recorded
Start free: draft your Texas report

ReportDraft Safety from $12 a month. 14-day free trial with your first report and up to 5 template downloads. Card required, nothing charged today, cancel anytime. Need just one? One fire extinguisher inspection report for $19, no subscription.

Texas licenses fire extinguisher firms and technicians through the State Fire Marshal's Office under Insurance Code Chapter 6001 and 28 TAC Chapter 34, Subchapter E. The rules spell out the service tag, the red tag and who must be told about an impaired unit. Here is each rule with a link to the official text, and what a Texas fire extinguisher service report should record.

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

Fire extinguisher inspectionTEXAS / 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
...
FREE PREVIEW OF THESE NOTES
46%of your draft is ready from these notes

We sorted 17 items into 2 sections and flagged 1 to fix soon.

  • Fix soonInspection items (all units)

    Tamper seal missing

9 Texas rules on your checklist, including impairments: written notice to the owner, the AHJ told within 24 hours, a copy within 3 business days, red tag.

Still to add

  • Texas lawRegistered firm (name, address and phone)
  • Texas lawLicensee's license number
  • Texas lawFirm's certificate-of-registration number

Filled in for you

Building or facilityRiverside Plaza, 410 Market St
Address410 Market St
Inspection dateOct 6, 2026
Licensee who did the workDana Cole, facilities
Start free and draft yours

14 days free, nothing to pay today. After your first report, your name, license and company details fill in by themselves. Or preview your own notes first, no sign-up.

What Texas requires

  • A firm may not install or service portable fire extinguishers without a certificate of registration from the department, and every service tag and red tag carries the firm's certificate-of-registration numberTexas Insurance Code 6001.151 · 28 TAC 34.520 (c) (3)
  • An individual other than an apprentice must hold a license to install or service portable fire extinguishers and must work for a registered firm; a Type B license covers servicing, certifying and low-pressure hydrostatic testing of portables, and Types PL, A and K also cover portablesTexas Insurance Code 6001.155 · 28 TAC 34.511 (a)
  • After any service the licensee completes a service tag in detail, showing all work done, signs it (a stamped signature is not allowed) and attaches it; the tag reads "DO NOT REMOVE BY ORDER OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL" and shows the firm's name, address and phone, its registration number, the licensee's name and license number, the month and year and type of work (punched), the service performed, the owner or occupant's name and address, and the extinguisher's type, size and location28 TAC 34.520 (a) to (c) · 28 TAC 34.517 (a) (2)
  • Service tags give the firm's name, address and telephone number28 TAC 34.520 (c) (2)
  • When impairments make an extinguisher unsafe or inoperable, the firm notifies the owner or the owner's representative in writing of all impairments, tells the local authority having jurisdiction within 24 hours by phone, fax or email, sends the authority a copy of the written notice within three business days, and attaches a completed red tag ("DO NOT REMOVE--EQUIPMENT IMPAIRED", the list of impairments, signed); no service tag goes on until the impairments are corrected and the unit re-inspected28 TAC 34.521 (a), (c)
  • A red tag may be removed only by an authorized employee of a registered firm who corrected the impairments and certified the service, the State Fire Marshal's Office or another governmental agency with regulatory authority, and the local authority having jurisdiction is notified within five business days of its removal28 TAC 34.521 (a), (d)
  • Service tags are 5-1/4 inches high by 2-5/8 inches wide and never red, may be printed for any five-year period, and adhesive label tags are allowed if they carry everything a tag must; red tags are the same size; a service tag may be removed only by a registered firm's authorized employee, the State Fire Marshal's Office or a regulating agency28 TAC 34.520 (d) to (h); 34.521 (b)
  • After the pull pin or locking device is operated during maintenance, the flag of the new tamper seal bears the year it was attached, imprinted or embossed; dates written with a marker are not allowed28 TAC 34.517 (j)
  • Portable extinguishers are installed, serviced and maintained under the manufacturer's instructions and the adopted standards, which include NFPA 10-2018, unless the local political subdivision has adopted its own standard28 TAC 34.507 (1) · 28 TAC 34.517 (a) (1)
  • Units serviced to Coast Guard rules for foreign shipping vessels, carbon dioxide units serviced to Department of Transportation rules, and cartridge-actuated units used only by the owning firm's employees may be serviced at the owner's written request without a testing laboratory listing; the back of the service tag is then marked "No Listing Mark" and any missing markings are added on a label28 TAC 34.517 (a) (3), (4)

Who may service extinguishers in Texas

The firm needs a certificate of registration from the department, and the person doing the work needs a license (a Type B license covers portables, and Types PL, A and K include them) and must work for a registered firm. Both numbers go on every tag.

The service tag

After any service, the licensee fills in a service tag in detail, signs it by hand and attaches it where it is easy to inspect. It reads DO NOT REMOVE BY ORDER OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL and shows the firm's name, address, phone and registration number, the licensee's name and license number, the month, year and type of work punched, the service performed, the owner or occupant's name and address, and the extinguisher's type, size and location.

Tags are 5-1/4 by 2-5/8 inches and never red. When the pull pin is operated, the new tamper seal's flag carries the year, imprinted or embossed, not written in marker.

Impaired units and red tags

If an impairment makes an extinguisher unsafe or inoperable, the firm tells the owner in writing about every impairment, tells the local authority having jurisdiction within 24 hours, and sends the authority a copy of the written notice within three business days. A signed red tag lists the impairments, and no service tag goes on until the unit is fixed or replaced and re-inspected. The authority is told again within five business days after the red tag comes off.

From the walkthrough to a finished Texas report

Note each unit's serial number, the type of work, what you did and which tag went on, plus every impairment you found. ReportDraft lists the units by serial number with the firm's registration and your license number in the header, and writes the impairments out so the owner's written notice is ready to send.

Common mistakes

  • A tag without the firm's certificate-of-registration number.
  • A stamped signature on a service or red tag.
  • Putting a service tag on a unit that still has impairments.
  • Not telling the local authority having jurisdiction within 24 hours about an impaired unit.
  • Writing the year on a tamper seal with a marker.

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.