Florida fire drill log
Assisted Living Facility: Fire-drill frequency is set by State Fire Marshal Chapter 69A-40 and depends first on legacy status under Rule 69A-40.027(5), not on sprinklers. Legacy unsprinklered: monthly, at least twelve in the previous year (69A-40.036(1)). Legacy sprinklered: at least six a year, one every two months, two at night (69A-40.036(2)). Non-legacy: the occupancy classification and NFPA standard designated by the local AHJ (69A-40.038) — Florida's rule states no universal number.
What Florida requires
Fire-drill frequency is set by State Fire Marshal Chapter 69A-40 and depends first on legacy status under Rule 69A-40.027(5), not on sprinklers. Legacy unsprinklered: monthly, at least twelve in the previous year (69A-40.036(1)). Legacy sprinklered: at least six a year, one every two months, two at night (69A-40.036(2)). Non-legacy: the occupancy classification and NFPA standard designated by the local AHJ (69A-40.038) — Florida's rule states no universal number.
Fla. Admin. Code 59A-36.019 (Emergency Management) and 59A-36.025 (Emergency Environmental Control), formerly 58A-5.026 and 58A-5.036; §429.41 Fla. Stat. · Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) / Dept. of Elder Affairs · Fla. Admin. Code R. 69A-40.027(5), 69A-40.036(1), 69A-40.036(2), 69A-40.038; §429.435(2)(d) Fla. Stat. for the legacy election · checked July 2026Who to notify: Florida requires the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan to be submitted to the county Office of Emergency Management for review and approval under Chapter 252, Florida Statutes — and an APPROVED CEMP is a condition of annual license renewal. A newly licensed facility, or one with significant changes, must submit within 30 business days under Fla. Admin. Code 59A-36.019 (formerly 58A-5.026(2)(b)). The county then has up to 60 business days to review and approve, so a plan filed late cannot be approved in time for renewal. (County Office of Emergency Management)Florida licenses other facility classes whose drill frequency we have not confirmed against a primary source — including Nursing Home, Hospital, Home Health Agency / Hospice / Nurse Registry. Those are deliberately absent from the tool rather than filled with a national default. Ask the Florida agency that licenses you for the class you hold, and read the rule above only against the license it names.
Filling it in so it survives a survey
Vary the time and the scenario between drills — many states require it in terms, and a log showing every drill at 10am on a Tuesday is the first thing an experienced surveyor picks out. Record what went wrong and the date it was fixed: a run of flawless drills reads as a log nobody actually ran, and the corrective action is the part that shows the drill was worth holding.
The plan behind the drills
A drill tests a plan. Everything Florida requires of that plan — filing, prescribed forms, retention — sits alongside this, and the emergency plan builder writes it from the same research, so the two cannot disagree.
Everything else we’ve researched about Florida
Same state, the problems either side of this one. Each carries its own statute and the date we last checked it.
General information, not legal advice, and not a compliance determination. CompliMaint issues nothing — Florida’s licensing agency and your authority having jurisdiction do. The rule above is cited and dated to when we last checked it; verify it before you rely on it.
Questions people ask
- How often are fire drills required in Florida?
- Assisted Living Facility: Fire-drill frequency is set by State Fire Marshal Chapter 69A-40 and depends first on legacy status under Rule 69A-40.027(5), not on sprinklers. Legacy unsprinklered: monthly, at least twelve in the previous year (69A-40.036(1)). Legacy sprinklered: at least six a year, one every two months, two at night (69A-40.036(2)). Non-legacy: the occupancy classification and NFPA standard designated by the local AHJ (69A-40.038) — Florida's rule states no universal number. Source: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) / Dept. of Elder Affairs. Last checked July 2026.
- Who do I notify about fire drills in Florida?
- Assisted Living Facility: Florida requires the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan to be submitted to the county Office of Emergency Management for review and approval under Chapter 252, Florida Statutes — and an APPROVED CEMP is a condition of annual license renewal. A newly licensed facility, or one with significant changes, must submit within 30 business days under Fla. Admin. Code 59A-36.019 (formerly 58A-5.026(2)(b)). The county then has up to 60 business days to review and approve, so a plan filed late cannot be approved in time for renewal. (County Office of Emergency Management)
- How long must Florida fire drill records be kept?