The EWS1 portal, also known as the Building Safety Portal, was created to make EWS1 forms easier to find and to reduce duplication and fraud in the market. It gives buyers, sellers, valuers, lenders, insurers, managing agents and building owners a central place to search for published forms.
EWS1 forms were introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire as a way of recording the outcome of an external wall system review for mortgage valuation purposes. The form does not replace a fire risk assessment and it is not a life safety certificate.
The Fire Industry Association (FIA) operates the portal in consultation with RICS and other stakeholders. RICS strongly recommends that completed EWS1 forms are uploaded to the portal to help avoid duplicate assessments and uncertainty about which form is current.
What Exactly Is The EWS1 Portal?
The EWS1 portal is an online search and submission system for EWS1 forms. Users can search for a building by postcode or building details and download a published form where one is available.
Approved signatories can also submit existing forms or complete forms online. Submissions are checked before publication, including checks on the signatory, professional status, form completeness and building details.
Why Was The EWS1 Portal Created?
The portal was created because EWS1 forms needed a clearer audit trail. Before a central portal was available, forms could be difficult to locate, multiple forms could exist for the same building, and invalid or fraudulent forms were harder to identify.
By bringing forms into one searchable system, the portal helps interested parties check whether a building already has a published EWS1 form and helps reduce unnecessary repeat assessments.
Who Can Use the EWS1 Portal?
Buyers, sellers, leaseholders, valuers, lenders, insurers, managing agents and building owners can search for published EWS1 forms. If no form is available, the next step is usually to contact the building owner, freeholder or managing agent.
Only approved signatories can submit forms. Registration requires evidence of relevant qualifications, professional memberships and competence before the applicant is allowed to upload or complete forms through the portal.
Does the Portal Prove a Building Is Fire Safe?
No. The portal makes published EWS1 forms easier to access, but the EWS1 form itself is a lender and valuer document. It records an external wall review outcome and should be read alongside the building's wider fire safety information.
Where more detailed fire risk information is needed, a PAS 9980 Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls may be more appropriate. Lenders and valuers may still have their own requirements for a sale, purchase or remortgage.
