NFPA 72 2019 · 2022 · free · no account
Fire alarm deficiency report
List what you found and could not fix, mark each one a deficiency, impairment or observation, note when the owner was told in writing, and hand over a signed PDF. It all happens in this browser.
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Three words, three rules
Deficiency
A condition that interferes with the service or reliability the part, system or equipment was meant to give. It has to be corrected. If it is not corrected by the end of the visit, the owner is told in writing within 24 hours.
3.3.67 · 14.2.2.2.2–.3 (2019) — 3.3.74 · 14.2.2.3.1–.2 (2022)
Impairment
An abnormal condition, planned or emergency, where a system, component or function is inoperable. Out-of-service events count. Section 10.21 applies: the owner is notified, and a system out of service for more than 8 hours is reported to the authority having jurisdiction.
3.3.138 (2019) — 3.3.145 (2022) · 10.21 (both)
Observation
New in the 2022 edition: a suggested correction, improvement or enhancement that is neither an impairment nor a deficiency. It may be passed on to the owner, who does not have to act on it unless it becomes one.
3.3.193 · 14.2.2.4 (2022 only)
Definitions and clause numbers from the base text of NFPA’s draft reports for the 2022 and 2025 editions, which reproduce the 2019 and 2022 wording. Read on October 6, 2026. Summarized in our words.
Questions
How fast does the owner have to be told about a deficiency?
If a deficiency is not corrected by the end of the inspection, testing or maintenance visit, the owner or owner’s representative is informed in writing within 24 hours. The rule is 14.2.2.2.3 in the 2019 edition and 14.2.2.3.2 in 2022, with the same wording.
Is a deficiency the same as an impairment?
No. A deficiency hurts the service or reliability the equipment was meant to give; an impairment means something is inoperable. An impairment brings in Section 10.21 — owner notice, and a report to the authority having jurisdiction when the system is out of service for more than 8 hours. Use the impairment notice to keep that record.
Are «critical» and «non-critical» deficiencies NFPA 72 terms?
We did not find them in NFPA 72. They are the categories of NFPA 25, the standard for water-based systems such as sprinklers. NFPA 72 uses deficiency, impairment and, from 2022, observation.
What about recalled equipment?
If equipment found on the visit is part of a recall program, the owner or owner’s representative is notified in writing (14.2.2.2.4 in 2019, 14.2.2.3.3 in 2022). The form has a line for it.
Related forms
Something inoperable? Keep the full record on the impairment notice. The visit itself goes on the inspection and testing form, which has its own list of what was not corrected.