The golden thread is a legally required, digital record of building safety information that must be created and maintained from the very first stages of design right through to long-term occupation. It stems from the Building Safety Act 2022 and applies to higher-risk buildings in England. The purpose is to ensure that whoever is responsible for a building at any given point has access to accurate, current information about how it was designed, what was installed in it and how it should be managed. At its core, it is about preventing fire spread, managing structural risk and keeping people safe.
This guide on the new law on fire doors will walk you through what fire ratings mean, why they are so essential for your property and how to choose the right fire rated doors for your project.
Where Did the Golden Thread Come From?
The Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 claimed the lives of 72 people. In the aftermath, the UK government commissioned Dame Judith Hackitt to conduct an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. Her report, Building a Safer Future, was published in 2018.
The findings were uncomfortable. There was no reliable record of what had been built at Grenfell, what materials had been used or what fire safety measures were in place. Decisions had been made without adequate information, accountability was unclear and those managing the building had no way of verifying whether it was safe or how to keep it that way.
Hackitt’s response was to call for a culture change in the construction industry. One of her central recommendations was the introduction of a golden thread of information for all higher-risk buildings, a single, continuously updated digital record that would follow a building from design through to demolition and give those responsible the data they needed to manage it safely.
That recommendation became law through the Building Safety Act 2022. The detailed requirements were then set out in a suite of secondary legislation, including the Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2024.
What Is a Higher-Risk Building?
Not every building in the UK is subject to the golden thread requirements. The legislation applies specifically to higher-risk buildings, defined as buildings that are at least 18 metres high or have at least 7 storeys, and contain two or more residential units or are a hospital or care home.
Any higher-risk building with residential units must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) before people are permitted to live there. The registration process and the golden thread requirements sit alongside one another. You cannot register a completed building without demonstrating that the golden thread has been handed over to the person responsible for managing it.
While the golden thread is only a strict legal requirement for higher-risk buildings, the principles behind it are broadly considered good practice for all construction. Better information management benefits any building, not just those that fall into the statutory definition.
What Must the Golden Thread of Information Include?
The exact contents of a golden thread will vary from building to building. No two buildings are the same, and the requirements will reflect that. That said, Schedule 1 of the Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 sets out the categories of information that must be kept.
These include the fire safety features of the building, covering all fire protection systems, fire doors, escape routes and evacuation procedures; the design of the building including all drawings, plans and specifications submitted at each stage; the materials used in construction along with evidence that they have been correctly tested and certified; structural information; maintenance records and inspection reports; the safety case report; records of any mandatory occurrence reports; resident engagement information; and all relevant certificates including the completion certificate and building assessment certificate.
One of the clearest ways to think about it is this: if something could have an impact on the safety of the building or the people in it, it belongs in the golden thread. Everything that goes in must be traceable, accurate and kept up to date.
Who Is Responsible for the Golden Thread?
Responsibility for the golden thread is not fixed to one person or organisation. It moves through the building’s life, shifting between the design and construction teams and then to whoever takes on accountability during occupation. What does not change is the expectation that someone is always responsible and that the thread is never allowed to break.
During Design and Construction
During the design and construction phase, the duty to keep and manage the golden thread sits with the dutyholders. These are the client, the principal designer and the principal contractor, each with their own distinct responsibilities.
The client sets up the record-keeping system and gives access to the relevant parties. They define how the golden thread will be managed and make sure the processes are in place for it to function properly throughout the project.
The principal designer manages the golden thread as it relates to design work. Every design decision, specification and change must be captured and shared appropriately.
The principal contractor takes over during the build. They are responsible for recording evidence of what is actually being constructed, including material certificates, installation records and a log of any controlled changes to the approved design. If a product is substituted on site, that change must be documented.
During Occupation
Once a building is occupied, responsibility passes to the accountable person (AP) or, where there are multiple, the principal accountable person (PAP). They are responsible for keeping the golden thread current, accessible and accurate for as long as they hold the role.
Accountable persons cannot delegate this legal obligation, though they can appoint competent specialists to carry out tasks on their behalf. When an accountable person leaves their role, the golden thread must be transferred to their successor. That continuity is the whole point.
How the Golden Thread Works Across a Building's Lifecycle
Design Phase
Before any construction begins, the golden thread must already be in place. At this stage it holds the design intent: drawings and plans, the fire strategy, structural information and evidence that the proposed design will comply with building regulations. This information is submitted to the Building Safety Regulator as part of the building control approval application at Gateway 2. No construction can start until that approval is granted.Construction Phase
During the build, the golden thread must be updated to reflect what is actually being built. The principal contractor captures evidence throughout: material certifications, photographic records and a log of all controlled changes to the approved design. If what ends up on site differs from what was approved, the golden thread needs to reflect why and how.Handover and Completion
When construction is finished, the client applies for a completion certificate from the Building Safety Regulator at Gateway 3. The golden thread must be formally handed over to the accountable person at this point. The accountable person must confirm they have received it, that it is usable and that it gives them what they need to manage the building safely. Only after this handover can a higher-risk residential building be registered and occupied.Occupation Phase
During occupation, the golden thread feeds directly into the safety case report, which the principal accountable person is legally required to prepare and maintain. The safety case report describes the building, identifies risks and sets out the measures in place to manage them. If the golden thread is not accurate, the safety case report is likely to be flawed too. The BSR reviews safety case reports as part of building assessment certificate applications and will investigate further if something does not add up.How Must the Golden Thread Be Stored and Managed?
The regulations do not prescribe a specific platform or software for storing the golden thread. What they do set out are clear requirements that any system must meet.
- The information must be kept in an electronic format.
- It must be accurate. It must be kept up to date.
- It must be secure from unauthorised access.
- It must be understandable to those who need to read it.
- It must be accessible to those with a legitimate need.
- It must be transferable without data being lost or corrupted.
- And any change must be recorded with a note of who made it and when.
The golden thread is not a product you can buy off the shelf. No single software solution constitutes a golden thread by itself. It is a practice, supported by the right people, the right processes and a genuine commitment to keeping information alive and useful rather than gathering dust in a folder somewhere.
The Golden Thread and Passive Fire Protection
Passive fire protection is what the golden thread is, in large part, designed to capture and preserve. Unlike active systems such as sprinklers or fire alarms, passive fire protection works through the fabric of the building. Fire-rated windows, fire-rated glass and glass partitions are built to contain fire and smoke within defined areas, giving occupants time to evacuate and allowing the fire service to intervene.
For that containment strategy to function, every element of it must be specified correctly, installed to the tested system and documented properly. That last part is what the golden thread demands. A fire-rated window that has been installed but not documented does not, from a compliance perspective, reliably exist. A future building manager, accountable person or emergency responder has no way of confirming that it meets the required standard, that it was installed into the correct opening or that it was fabricated using tested materials and the right system profile.
The golden thread requires full traceability for every passive fire protection product in a higher-risk building. That means the product itself, the manufacturer, the system it was manufactured to, the test standard and classification, and physical evidence of the installation. Understanding why fire ratings matter is the foundation for understanding what the golden thread is asking you to prove.
Important note: We have had to price jobs numerous times where the windows have to be replaced because it can’t be proved that they are fire rated. This would suggest that the documentation was insufficient or non-existent in order for the decision being made to replace the windows.
The Golden Thread and Fire Doors
Fire-rated aluminium doors are one of the most documented and scrutinised elements of any higher-risk building’s passive fire protection strategy. They form part of the compartmentation structure, separating areas of a building so that fire and smoke are slowed and contained. A fire door that is incorrectly specified, poorly installed or undocumented does not just fail as a product. It creates a gap in the building’s overall fire strategy.
Understanding the new fire door regulations that came into force in recent years is important. The golden thread requires every fire door in a higher-risk building to be fully traceable. This includes the fire classification, the system profile the door was manufactured to, the test certificates supporting that classification, photographic evidence of the fabrication and installation, and ongoing records of inspection and maintenance.
At Aluminium Fire Systems, the fire-rated aluminium doors we supply are manufactured using Aluprof’s MB-78EI profile system, which is certified for EI30 to EI90 fire classifications. The E vs EI distinction is worth understanding here.
- An E-only rating means the door resists the passage of flames and hot gases to the non-fire side.
- An EI rating means it does that and also limits the transfer of heat.
Where people may be close to the door on the protected side during an evacuation, EI is typically the correct specification. AFS supplies EI-rated products.
For external fire-rated doors, UKCA documentation is also required. This is the UK conformity assessment marking that demonstrates a product has been tested and assessed to the relevant UK standards. AFS provides UKCA documentation with all external fire-rated door orders.
Important note: Always check that the products you are buying are compliant and in line with fire regulations. We have seen recommendations be made for the aesthetics where fire safety has not been considered. If you’re unsure or need help, we are happy to have a discussion and outline what can and can’t be done and what is compliant for your project.
What Is Golden Thread Fire Delay?
The term fire delay itself describes something fundamental to how passive fire protection works. Every fire-rated product is designed to delay the spread of fire for a defined period. That delay is measured and classified through testing. A product classified as EI60 has demonstrated, under test conditions, that it will maintain both integrity and insulation for a minimum of 60 minutes. That window is not arbitrary. It is the time during which people can evacuate, emergency services can respond and the fire can be contained.
For every product contributing to that fire delay function in a higher-risk building, the golden thread needs to hold the evidence. The classification, the test certificates, the system profile, the installation records. Without that documentation, the fire delay performance of the building cannot be verified. And if it cannot be verified, it cannot be relied upon in a safety case report or building assessment certificate application.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Golden Thread in Fire Safety
Is the golden thread a legal requirement?
Yes. The golden thread is a legal requirement for higher-risk buildings in England under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the secondary legislation that followed it. Anyone who is a client, principal designer or principal contractor working on a higher-risk building project, or an accountable person responsible for an occupied higher-risk building, has a legal duty to create, maintain and share the relevant golden thread information. Failure to comply carries serious consequences, including potential criminal sanctions.
What is the golden thread principle?
The golden thread principle is that the right people should always have the right information at the right time. It is the idea that safety-critical information about a building should never be lost, overlooked or left with someone who cannot act on it. Every time responsibility for a building changes hands, the information goes with it. The principle sits behind the legal requirements but also reflects a broader culture shift the industry has been pushed toward since Grenfell.
What does golden thread mean?
In building safety, the golden thread means the complete, continuously updated digital record of a building. It connects every stage of a building’s life, from the first design drawings through to day-to-day occupation and beyond. The thread itself is the unbroken chain of information. Break it and you lose the ability to demonstrate compliance, manage risk or assure residents that their building is being looked after properly.
How does Aluminium Fire Systems support the golden thread on a project?
Every project AFS completes is delivered with a customised compliance pack at the point of delivery to site. That pack includes the technical specification, order confirmation, position drawings, compliance agreement, test certificates, fabrication photographs and material invoices, providing everything needed to evidence that the fire-rated products have been correctly specified, manufactured to the tested system and fully certified for inclusion in the golden thread.
Why Choose Aluminium Fire Systems for Fire-Rated Products?
Aluminium Fire Systems specialises in fire-rated aluminium windows, doors and glass partitions. This is not a small part of a wider operation that happens to offer fire-rated products alongside standard ones. Fire-rated is all we do, and everyone in the business, from the team quoting your project through to the team manufacturing it, has hands-on experience in this area. Our aim is to take as much stress as possible out of finding the right fire-rated products for your build.
We work in close partnership with Aluprof, who bring over 70 years of experience as a profile system supplier, to deliver products that are technically correct and fully supported with documentation.
Every project we deliver includes a customised compliance pack. This is put together specifically for the job and handed over when the products are delivered to site. It contains the technical specification for the order, the signed order confirmation, position drawings showing exactly what was supplied and where, a compliance agreement confirming the products will be installed correctly, a technical guide with the relevant test certificates and classification evidence, fabrication photographs taken throughout our manufacturing process, and material invoices providing full traceability of every component used.
That documentation is built to slot directly into the golden thread of the project. Architects, principal designers, contractors and accountable persons receive everything they need to evidence that the fire-rated elements of their building have been correctly specified, manufactured to the right system and fully certified.
Before an order is placed, our team will work through the specification with you. Getting the correct products accurately quoted at the start of a project is where compliance really begins, and that is something we take seriously.
Buying direct from the manufacturer means you are not paying unnecessary margin. Our project management and lead times are designed around the realities of construction schedules. We supply nationally across commercial and residential projects of all sizes.
Get in touch with our team to discuss your project.
About The Author
Chris Wall is Commercial Development Manager at Aluminium Fire Systems, a specialist manufacturer and supplier of fire-rated aluminium windows, doors and glass partitions. He runs the commercial team and has spent around five years working in the fire-rated specification industry.