Exit Signs and Emergency Lights: The Fire Code Expects a Test Every Month, Not Just at Inspection

When the fire inspector walks your building, the exit signs and emergency lights get checked. So does the paperwork that proves someone tested them every month since the last visit. It is easy to think of egress lighting as a once a year item. The New Jersey fire code treats it as a monthly one, and an owner who only thinks about it the week before the inspection is the one most likely to get a written order to correct.

Egress lighting is the lighting that gets people out of a building when the power fails: the battery-backed emergency lights in corridors and stairwells, and the illuminated exit signs over the doors. Here is what the code actually asks for, and how we take it off a property manager's list.

What the New Jersey fire code requires

New Jersey's State Fire Prevention Code is the 2018 International Fire Code with state amendments. Fire officials have cited violations under it since October 15, 2024, and it governs the safe maintenance of all buildings and premises subject to the code (N.J.A.C. 5:70-3.1). Section 1031.10 of that code covers emergency lighting and exit signs (NJ Fire Prevention Code 2018, Section 1031.10):

Every month: emergency lighting equipment has to be tested for at least 30 seconds. The test can be done by hand or by fixtures that test themselves. If the fixtures test themselves, someone still has to look at every one of them each month for a trouble light or damage.
Every year: battery-powered equipment has to run on battery for 60 or 90 minutes, whichever the original approval for that building called for.
A written record: for each test, the location of the fixture, whether it passed or failed, the date, and the person who did the test.
Repairs right away: every fixture has to be kept secure, unobstructed, working and aimed to light the path. Where one is loose, blocked, misaimed or not working, the code says it "shall be immediately repaired."

The same section requires exit signs to be kept visible and illuminated whenever the building is occupied (Section 1013.1).

The national standard says the same thing

NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code, is the standard federal surveyors apply in hospitals, as in the inspection report linked here. It calls for a monthly test of at least 30 seconds, spaced three to five weeks apart, an annual test of at least 1.5 hours for battery-powered systems, and written records kept by the owner for the inspector (NFPA 101 Section 7.9.3, as quoted in a published inspection report). The NFPA describes the purpose of each test plainly: the monthly test confirms the battery holds more than a residual charge and the lamps work, and the annual test proves the batteries can carry the full 90 minutes (NFPA Journal).

Why once a year is not enough

A battery unit can light up for a 30 second button press and still go dark partway through a real outage. That is what the annual test is designed to catch. But the annual test only tells you about one day. The monthly test and the monthly record are what show the system worked the other eleven months, and they are the part that gets skipped when nobody in the building owns it.

Three gaps to look for in your own building:

No one owns the monthly test. The super thinks the management company does it. The management company thinks the tenant does it. The log has a gap from March to September.
The record exists but is not usable. A note that says "lights OK" does not list each fixture location, pass or fail, the date and who did it, which is what the code asks for.
Failures get written down but not fixed. A log full of "failed" entries from six months ago is evidence against you, not for you.

What a missed item can cost

Under the Uniform Fire Code, a penalty normally follows a written order to correct and a reasonable period to comply. A violation of the State Fire Prevention Code carries a maximum penalty of $500 per violation per day. Each day it stays uncorrected after the deadline counts as a separate violation, and a violation that repeats within two years can be penalized immediately, without a new correction period (N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12).

Local fire bureaus put this in writing too. Rutherford's Bureau of Fire Safety, for example, uses a certification form that asks for the number of exit signs, emergency lights and combination fixtures tested, the location and type of every failed unit, and what was repaired. The form goes back to the bureau by the abatement date or gets shown at reinspection (Rutherford Bureau of Fire Safety form).

The fine is not the real risk, though. The real risk is a dark stairwell on the night the power goes out and a building full of people has to find the door.

How our egress lighting service works

We built this service for commercial properties, mixed-use buildings, property managers and multi-tenant residential buildings: owners who are responsible for the system and the record, but who do not want to manage either one.

Monthly maintenance visits. We test the emergency lights and exit signs every month and keep the monthly maintenance ledger the code requires, fixture by fixture, so the history is complete when the inspector asks for it.
Repairs as we find them. Failed batteries, lamps and fixtures get repaired so the system stays working all year, not just in the week before inspection.
The annual battery test and certification. A licensed electrician runs the full duration test, documents every result, and certifies the system.
Other work while we are there. Because we are already on site every month, burned-out general lighting, a dead receptacle or a tripping circuit can usually be handled the same visit, promptly and at a more competitive price than a separate service call.

The point is to be ready for the annual fire inspection before it is scheduled, and to deal with the items an inspector would write up before there is a fine, or worse, an emergency.

Why this fits the way we already work

Life safety is where we started. Eight years of work inside occupied hospitals, where emergency and life safety circuits have to be maintained, labeled and documented correctly while the building stays open (our markets).
Documentation is part of the job. When we work in distribution equipment, the circuit directory gets corrected and the panel documented before the cover goes back on (our project work). The egress ledger gets the same care.
Accountable people. Zimick Electric is an IBEW Local 164 signatory contractor under New Jersey Electrical Contractor License 34EB01813400, and the person who prices your job answers the phone (about us).

If you manage a building in Bergen, Hudson, Essex or Passaic County and your egress log has gaps, tell us about the building or call (201) 350-6215. We will look at what you have, what the code expects, and what it takes to close the gap before the next inspection.

Sourcing note: New Jersey requirements come from N.J.A.C. 5:70-3.1, Section 1031.10 of the New Jersey Fire Prevention Code 2018 and N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12. NFPA 101 language comes from the published inspection report that quotes it and the NFPA Journal. All were read October 12, 2026. Your local fire official may have additional requirements or forms. Check with your local bureau of fire prevention for your building.