Certificate of Fitness for Fire Life and Safety Director (F89/T89)
Fire and Life Safety (FLS) Director is required in any commercial building requiring Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan or the buildings previously requiring Fire Safety Directors. In general, any building classified as a high-rise office building, hotel or buildings that have voluntarily installed fire alarm systems with two-way voice communication systems must have a Fire and Life Safety Director on premises during regular business hours.
The FLS Director and Deputy FLS Director must hold a valid Certificate of Fitness and is responsible to implement the FDNY plan (e.g. Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan or Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan), to conduct FLS staff training, fire and non-fire emergency drills and other duties indicated in the Fire Code and Fire Rule.
The F-89 Certificate of Fitness (after meeting additional requirements, specified in the Notice of Examination) replaces the F-59 FS/EAP Director Certificate of Fitness.
This Certificate of Fitness is valid only at a specific location and for the specific person to whom it is issued.
For the premises without Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan, F-85 Certificate of Fitness is on longer accepted. All F-85 C of F holders working in such premises must obtain T-89 Certificate of Fitness.
Starting on 03/01/2020, only F-89 and T-89 Certificate of Fitness are authorized to perform the Fire and Life Safety Director Duties. F-85 Certificate of Fitness will be no longer accepted.
This Certificate of Fitness can only be obtained by passing both a written and an onsite exam. All applicants should review the Notice of Exam.
To take the written exam, applicants must apply in person and bring the following documents:
- Proof that you have successfully completed a Fire Safety/EAP Director course from an FDNY certified school .
CERTIFIED SCHOOLS FOR EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN DIRECTOR (PDF) - Proof that you have successfully completed an Active Shooter and Medical Emergency Preparedness Course from an FDNY certified school .
CERTIFIED SCHOOLS FOR ACTIVE SHOOTER AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (PDF) - A completed CERTIFICATE OF FITNESS APPLICATION FORM(PDF)
- A completed and signed F-89 Employer Verification letter or T89 Employer Verification Letter if you work in a premises that does not have an accepted Comprehensive (Combined) Fire Safety/ Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
- Two forms of identification, at least one must be a government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or a passport.
To take the onsite exam, applicants must have:
- Passed the written computer exam and obtained a Certificate of Completion from FDNY.
- A scheduled onsite appointment.
After the Computer Exam:
- Applicants who pass the computer exam will receive a passing letter immediately after completing the exam.
- You will have one year to take the On-Site Exam. Only authorized personnel (designated by the building owner) can schedule an appointment by emailing high-rise@fdny.nyc.gov to request the On-Site Exam. To cancel an On-Site Exam appointment, send an email request to high-rise@fdny.nyc.gov at least 72 hours before your exam.
- Applicants who fail the computer exam will receive a failure report immediately after completing the exam. To retake the computer exam, applicants will need to schedule an appointment online and pay the application fee again. Applicants will be permitted to take the computer exam two times. After the second attempt, applicants will need to retake the Fire Safety/EAP Director course.
After the On-Site Exam:
- Applicants who pass the On-Site Exam will receive their Certificate of Fitness via mail.
- Applicants who fail the On-Site Exam will receive a failure notice via mail. To retake the On-Site Exam, authorized personnel will need to schedule an appointment . Applicants are allowed to take the On-Site Exam up to two times. After the second attempts applicants will need to retake the Fire Safety Director course and computer exam.
The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) will send a Renewal Notice 90 days before the expiration date. This letter includes the certificate number, the expiration date, and the amount of the renewal fee. It is the certificate holder’s responsibility to renew the certificate within 364 days of the expiration date. Certificates that are more than one year past their expiration date will not be renewed and a new application will need to be submitted. FDNY reserves the right to require applicants to take a re-examination upon submission of renewal applications. No certificate will be renewed without the required certification form or a retake of the examination.
To change your mailing address, submit the following in person or by mail to the NYC Fire Department (FDNY), Cashier’s Unit, 9 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201:
- A letter requesting the change of mailing address.
- A copy of your certificate with the old address.
- A personal check or money order in the amount of $5.00 made payable to the "Fire Department City of New York."
Applicants are required to schedule an appointment to take this exam.
Pay the $25 application fee by one of the following methods:
- Cash
- Credit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa)
- Debit card (MasterCard or Visa)
- Personal or company check (made payable to the New York City Fire Department)
- Money order (made payable to the New York City Fire Department)
A convenience fee of 2% will be applied to all credit card payments. The application fee is non-refundable. City employees may request a fee exemption if they submit a copy of their employee ID and a letter from their city agency on official letterhead to confirm that they are a current employee and that the Certificate of Fitness will be used as part of their work-related responsibilities.
Open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. Closed on public holidays.