How often does emergency lighting have to be tested?

It depends on the equipment. Manual units are operated monthly for at least 30 seconds and annually for a minimum of 90 minutes. Self-testing units do not need those manual tests, but they need a visual inspection every 30 days. Computer-based systems report faults themselves and do not need the 30-day visual check. Generator-backed lighting follows NFPA 110 instead.

Because emergency lighting is designed to illuminate automatically for at least 90 minutes when power is lost. The monthly 30-second test only proves the battery holds more than a residual charge and the bulbs work. A unit can pass every monthly test for a year and still fail the annual one on a worn battery.

Do exit signs need testing too?

The illumination has to be confirmed by visual inspection at intervals not exceeding 30 days. Where the occupancy also requires emergency lighting, illuminated exit signs must be on emergency power, and the same three testing methods apply to that power.

What does OSHA require, separately from NFPA?

OSHA sets no interval. 29 CFR 1910.37(a)(4) requires that safeguards protecting employees in an emergency, naming exit lighting among them, be in proper working order at all times. The testing schedule is how you demonstrate that; the obligation itself is continuous.

How bright does an exit sign have to be?

OSHA requires each exit sign be illuminated to a surface value of at least five foot-candles by a reliable light source. Self-luminous and electroluminescent signs are permitted at a minimum luminance of 0.06 footlamberts.

Do I have to keep records?

Yes. NFPA is explicit that documentation is required to verify the work was done and that nothing was skipped. An untested light and a tested light with no record look the same to an inspector.

← NYC compliance

The emergency lighting test schedule depends on which units you have

Almost every guide gives one answer: a 30-second test monthly and a 90-minute test annually. That is the schedule for manually tested units. If your building has self-testing units, NFPA says those manual tests are not required, and a different obligation applies instead. Buying testing you do not need is as much a mistake as skipping testing you do.

OSHA sets no interval at all

29 CFR 1910.37(a)(4) requires that safeguards protecting employees during an emergency, exit lighting named among them, be in proper working order at all times. There is no grace period between tests. The schedule below is how you show you met a duty that never pauses.

Four regimes, not one

NFPA describes three techniques for verifying emergency lighting, plus a separate path where a generator carries the load. Work out which one you have before you agree to a testing contract.

Manual units

Monthly and annually

Operated monthly for at least 30 seconds using the manufacturer’s procedure, normally a test button that cuts main power, and annually for a minimum of 90 minutes to test the full capacity of the batteries.

Self-testing units

Inspected every 30 days

The unit tests itself and flags a fault with an indicator light. NFPA states these do not need to be manually tested monthly or annually. They do need a visual inspection every 30 days for damage and for lit indicators.

Computer-based systems

Monitored

No 30-day visual inspection, because faults found during the self tests are reported and logged by the computer.

Generator-backed lighting

Per NFPA 110

Where a generator and automatic transfer switch carry the lights rather than on-board batteries, the testing regime is NFPA 110 rather than the battery schedule above.

Why the annual test is the one that matters

Emergency lighting is designed to illuminate automatically for at least 90 minutes when power is lost. The monthly 30-second test confirms two narrow things: that the battery holds more than a residual charge, and that the bulbs work. It says nothing about capacity.

A unit with an aging battery passes the 30-second test every month and then dies at the fifteen-minute mark during the annual one. That is the failure the 90-minute test exists to find, and it is the test most often skipped because it takes an hour and a half per circuit.

Exit signs are a separate obligation

Egress signage illumination has to be confirmed by visual inspection at intervals not exceeding 30 days. Where the occupancy also requires emergency lighting, those illuminated signs must be on emergency power, and the same testing methods apply to that power supply.

OSHA adds a brightness floor: each exit sign illuminated to a surface value of at least five foot-candles by a reliable light source, with self-luminous and electroluminescent signs permitted at a minimum of 0.06 footlamberts. Lettering must be at least six inches high.

Common questions

How often does emergency lighting have to be tested?: It depends on the equipment. Manual units are operated monthly for at least 30 seconds and annually for a minimum of 90 minutes. Self-testing units do not need those manual tests, but they need a visual inspection every 30 days. Computer-based systems report faults themselves and do not need the 30-day visual check. Generator-backed lighting follows NFPA 110 instead.
Why 90 minutes?: Because emergency lighting is designed to illuminate automatically for at least 90 minutes when power is lost. The monthly 30-second test only proves the battery holds more than a residual charge and the bulbs work. A unit can pass every monthly test for a year and still fail the annual one on a worn battery.
Do exit signs need testing too?: The illumination has to be confirmed by visual inspection at intervals not exceeding 30 days. Where the occupancy also requires emergency lighting, illuminated exit signs must be on emergency power, and the same three testing methods apply to that power.
What does OSHA require, separately from NFPA?: OSHA sets no interval. 29 CFR 1910.37(a)(4) requires that safeguards protecting employees in an emergency, naming exit lighting among them, be in proper working order at all times. The testing schedule is how you demonstrate that; the obligation itself is continuous.
How bright does an exit sign have to be?: OSHA requires each exit sign be illuminated to a surface value of at least five foot-candles by a reliable light source. Self-luminous and electroluminescent signs are permitted at a minimum luminance of 0.06 footlamberts.
Do I have to keep records?: Yes. NFPA is explicit that documentation is required to verify the work was done and that nothing was skipped. An untested light and a tested light with no record look the same to an inspector.

We run the 90-minute test and write it down

Empire tests emergency lighting and exit signs across NYC on the schedule your equipment actually calls for, and leaves you the documentation. It sits on the same calendar as your extinguishers, sprinklers and hoods rather than on a separate one.

Emergency lighting testing

Sourced from OSHA 29 CFR 1910.37, quoted directly, and from NFPA Journal, written by an NFPA technical services engineer and published 1 July 2020, which is where the testing methods above come from. Verified 2026-09-02. NFPA 101 itself is the governing standard and is not reproduced here; your local code determines which edition applies to your building.