Does every office fit-out need SCDF approval?
No. Works that do not involve fire safety works need nothing from SCDF, and small works listed in the Schedule to the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations can be lodged instead of approved, in a building that already holds a TFP or FSC. But most real fit-outs move partitions, ceilings, sprinklers, detectors or exit signs, and those are fire safety works. A Qualified Person should classify the works before the design is fixed.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in SCDF Fire Safety for Fit-Outs in Singapore: Approvals, Inspections and Common Failures. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
Under Singapore's Fire Safety Act, fit-out works that touch fire safety — partitions affecting exits, sprinklers, fire doors, ventilation, change of use — need SCDF plan approval through a Qualified Person before work starts. Small works in buildings with a TFP or FSC can be lodged for S$90 within strict limits. After approved works, a Registered Inspector must certify them before SCDF issues a TFP or FSC.
More questions on this topic
- What is the difference between an FSC, a TFP and a Fire Certificate?
- Who is the Registered Inspector and who appoints them?
- How many sprinklers can I move without full SCDF approval?
- Can I put up a partition without telling SCDF?
- What happens if SCDF finds problems at inspection?
- Is a change of use an SCDF matter?
- Does the building's Fire Safety Manager need to approve my works?