Fire Certificate in Ghana: Requirements, Process & Renewal

Under LI 1724, fire certificates are required for premises to which the public has access or where people are employed — offices, shops, banks, schools, hospitals, hotels, churches, factories, warehouses and residential buildings above prescribed thresholds. GNFS has repeatedly stated publicly that both public and private premises must hold and display valid fire certificates, and enforcement campaigns intensify after major incidents.

The process runs in five broad steps:

1. Application to the Ghana National Fire Service covering the premises.
2. Fire engineering drawings — layout drawings showing escape routes, extinguisher and hydrant positions, detection and alarm coverage — prepared and submitted for review.
3. Remedial works — closing any gaps the drawings or pre-inspection reveal (extinguishers, signage, emergency lighting, alarms, exits).
4. GNFS inspection of the premises against the submitted drawings and LI 1724 requirements.
5. Issue of the certificate, which must then be displayed on the premises. Low-risk premises are typically processed in days; complex or high-risk buildings take longer.

S.G. Technologies manages this end to end: gap survey against LI 1724, fire engineering drawings, specification and installation of required systems, and inspection accompaniment.

GNFS fees are set by premises category and size under the applicable fee schedule, so there is no single price — budget separately for certificate fees and for any remedial works the inspection requires. The certificate is valid for 12 months; renewal involves re-inspection each year, which is why fire safety maintenance (extinguisher servicing, alarm testing, drill records) belongs on an annual cycle rather than a scramble before inspection.

Ghana's January 2025 fire wave — including the Kantamanto market fire that destroyed hundreds of shops — pushed fire certification and prevention up the national agenda, and GNFS reporting attributes the largest shares of fire outbreaks to electrical faults and cooking-related causes. Insurers increasingly ask for a valid fire certificate before writing or renewing cover, making the certificate a commercial document as much as a legal one.