Canadian Fire Alarm Code Updates: What Changed and When
Ontario's fire alarm code has changed more in the last twenty months than in the decade before it. The Building Code was revoked and replaced on 1 January 2025, Subsection 3.2.4 was renumbered to match NBC 2020 — a shift of 0, one or two articles depending on where it sits, not a flat two — and low frequency signals in sleeping rooms became a requirement for the first time. The Fire Code moved to the 2019 ULC editions on 1 January 2026. Four Building Code amendments since are not listed on Ontario's own updates page. This is the dated log, newest first, maintained as things change.
Maintained page. Last updated 16 August 2026.
Why this page exists
Canadian fire alarm code does not change in one place.
It changes on e-Laws. It changes in the Publications Ontario compendium store. It changes in a National Research Council document. It changes in a standards catalogue you have to pay to read. And since 1 January 2025 it changes in an Ontario amendment document that is not published online at all.
Nobody publishes a single list of it. This page is that list — dated entries, newest first, each one saying plainly what it changes for someone doing the work.
A verified observation about how incomplete the official record is. Ontario's own Building Code updates page lists three regulations: O. Reg. 203/24, O. Reg. 447/24 and O. Reg. 5/25. It does not document O. Reg. 247/25, O. Reg. 110/26, O. Reg. 119/26 or O. Reg. 242/26. Four amendments to the Building Code are missing from the province's own changelog for the Building Code.
That is the reason to keep a log yourself.
Editions currently in force in Ontario
Two codes, two tables, two answers. The Building Code designates standards at Table 1.3.1.2. The Fire Code designates them at Table 1.2.1.A. They are adopted independently, they use different designation formats, and they do not contain the same list.
| Standard | Building Code Table 1.3.1.2 | Fire Code Table 1.2.1.A | Newest published edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| S524 — Installation | S524:2019 | S524-2019 | CAN/ULC-524-2024 (23 Dec 2024) |
| S536 — Inspection and testing | not designated | S536-2019 | CAN/ULC-536-2024 (rev. 5 Aug 2024) |
| S537 — Verification | S537:2019 | S537-2019 | CAN/ULC-S537-2019-REV1 (5 Apr 2021) |
| S531 — Smoke alarms | S531:2019 | S531-2019 | not tracked in this entry |
| S540 — Residential warning systems | S540-13 | not designated | not tracked in this entry |
| S552 — Maintenance and Testing of Smoke-Alarms | not designated | S552-14 | not tracked in this entry |
| S553 — Installation of smoke alarms | S553-14 | S553-14 | not tracked in this entry |
| S561 — Fire signal receiving centres | S561-13 | S561-13 | not tracked in this entry |
| S1001 — Integrated systems testing | S1001-11 | S1001-11 | CAN/ULC-1001-2026A (23 Mar 2026) |
Three things to take from that table.
S536 appears in the Fire Code only. Inspection and testing is a Fire Code obligation. If you are looking for S536 in the Building Code you will not find it.
S1001 is fifteen years behind. Both Ontario codes designate the 2011 first edition. The second edition published in March 2026.
Where a cell says not tracked in this entry, we have not verified a publication date for the newest edition of that standard and will not guess one. For a fuller edition-by-edition picture see which ULC edition applies to your job.
A note on the S552 title. Fire Code Table 1.2.1.A prints it hyphenated — "Standard for the Maintenance and Testing of Smoke-Alarms" — while the operative article, 6.3.2.6.(2), writes "Smoke Alarms" without the hyphen and cites the standard with no edition suffix. The title in the table above is the Table 1.2.1.A form. Its scope is narrow: Article 6.3.2.6.(1) applies it to interconnected smoke alarm systems in residential and care occupancies, "except in individual dwelling units and in buildings regulated by Section 9.8." It does not cover carbon monoxide alarms — those sit under a different referenced document, CSA 6.19-01, "Residential Carbon Monoxide Alarming Devices."
The log
Newest first.
22 July 2026 — O. Reg. 242/26 filed, amending the Ontario Building Code
The entire operative text of the amendment, verbatim:
"Section 1 of Ontario Regulation 163/24 is amended by striking out 'April 21, 2026' and substituting 'July 17, 2026'."
That is it. (O. Reg. 242/26)
This is how Ontario now amends its Building Code. The regulation does not contain technical requirements. It changes a date — the date of the amendment document that the regulation adopts. The requirements themselves moved, but they moved inside a document that is not on e-Laws and not on Publications Ontario.
What this means for you: you cannot read this amendment. You can only read that an amendment happened. To find out what actually changed you have to obtain the current amendment document from the ministry. Do not assume "no visible text change" means "no requirement change".
17 July 2026 — current version of the Ontario Amendment Document
O. Reg. 163/24 adopts the National Building Code of Canada 2020 (First Printing) as amended by a document titled "Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020". As of 22 July 2026 the version adopted is the one dated 17 July 2026.
It is not published online. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing sends it on email request to Ontario.Amendment.Document@ontario.ca.
What this means for you: if your office copy of the amendment document is dated anything earlier than 17 July 2026, it is out of date. Email for the current one and put the version date on the cover of whatever you file.
23 March 2026 — CAN/ULC-1001-2026A published (2nd edition)
The integrated systems testing standard got its second edition. Note the designation: the "S" has been dropped — it is CAN/ULC-1001-2026A, not S1001.
Ontario's Fire Code still designates S1001-11 at Table 1.2.1.A. That is the 2011 first edition. Fifteen years between published and adopted.
What this means for you: you test to S1001-11 in Ontario, not to the 2026 edition, until a code says otherwise. If a spec or a consultant calls for "CAN/ULC-1001-2026A", that is a contractual requirement, not a code requirement — price it accordingly and get it in writing.
1 January 2026 — Ontario Fire Code consolidation period begins
O. Reg. 213/07 now reads "Consolidation period: January 1, 2026 – e-Laws currency date (August 12, 2026)", last amendment O. Reg. 303/25. (O. Reg. 213/07)
Two concrete effects.
(a) Referenced editions. Table 1.2.1.A now designates CAN/ULC-S536-2019, S524-2019, S537-2019 and S531-2019.
(b) The S1001 waiver stops covering new systems. Article 6.10.1.1.(4), verbatim:
"The one year integrated test required by CAN/ULC-S1001 ... is waived for a fire protection and life safety system installed before January 1, 2026."
Read that carefully, because it is widely misread. 1 January 2026 is not the date integrated testing started in Ontario. Article 6.10.1.1.(1) has applied to integrated systems installed on or after 1 January 2020 all along. What changed on 1 January 2026 is that the one-year retest waiver no longer covers systems installed from that date forward.
Also effective the same day, Division B Article 1.2.1.2:
"Unless otherwise specified in this Code, the documents referenced in this Code shall include all amendments, revisions and supplements effective to January 1, 2026."
What this means for you: systems installed on or after 1 January 2026 owe a one-year integrated test. Systems installed before that date do not. Installation date is the deciding fact — record it.
1 April 2025 — ULC Standards accreditation transferred to ULSE
The Standards Council of Canada, verbatim:
"Effective April 1st, 2025, ULC Standards transferred all their accreditation activities over to UL Standards & Engagement and Standards Council of Canada (SCC) merged ULC Standard's and UL Standards & Engagement Standards Development Organization Accreditation files."
(SCC — UL Standards & Engagement)
The accredited standards development organization is now ULSE Inc., SCC file 30707. ULSE's own accredited procedures document, verbatim:
"effective as of 2025, all UL/ULC Standards development activity will be performed by ULSE Inc."
(ULSE SCC-accredited procedures, PDF)
This is about standards development only. "Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, Inc" separately still holds SCC product certification accreditation, file 10002. Writing the standard and certifying the product are two different accreditations held by two different entities.
What this means for you: nothing changes about which edition you build to. It does change who publishes it and where you buy it, and it explains why the letterhead on new ULC standards looks different. It does not mean ULC listings on equipment went away.
16 January 2025 — most recent free Building Code Compendium update
The 2024 Building Code Compendium was updated "(Containing O. Reg. 5/25)". Both volumes are $0.00:
This is still the newest free consolidated Ontario Building Code text available — as of 16 August 2026, nineteen months later. Four amendment-document versions have been adopted since (O. Reg. 247/25, O. Reg. 110/26, O. Reg. 119/26, O. Reg. 242/26) and none of them produced an updated free compendium.
What this means for you: the free download is the best consolidated text you can get without paying, and it is nineteen months stale. Use it to read and understand the structure. Do not use it to settle an argument about a current requirement without checking the amendment document.
1 January 2025 — the Ontario Building Code changed structurally
This is the largest single change on this page.
O. Reg. 332/12 was REVOKED (O. Reg. 163/24, s. 3). It is no longer the Building Code. It is a historical document.
O. Reg. 163/24 became the Building Code. It is roughly one page long. It adopts the "National Building Code of Canada 2020 (First Printing), as amended by the document entitled 'Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020'". (O. Reg. 163/24)
From ontario.ca, verbatim:
"The full-length version of the Building Code will no longer be available on E-laws. Email us to request a copy of the Ontario Amendment Document."
Ontario's stated goal, verbatim:
"The 2024 Building Code streamlines processes for the sector by eliminating at least 1,730 technical variations between the provincial and national requirements."
(ontario.ca — 2024 Ontario Building Code)
The transition rule, including the part Ontario's summary leaves out
O. Reg. 163/24, s. 2: the old O. Reg. 332/12 continues to apply only to construction with a permit issued on or before 31 December 2024, or with substantially complete drawings by then and a permit application by 31 March 2025.
And then s. 2(2), verbatim:
"Subsection (1) does not apply unless the construction is commenced within six months after the permit is issued."
Ontario's own plain-language transition timeline omits that six-month condition. It is in the regulation. If a project sat on a 2024 permit and did not start within six months, the grandfathering does not hold and the project falls under the 2024 Building Code.
What this means for you: on any older permit, ask two questions — when was the permit issued, and when did construction actually commence. The second one decides which code applies, and most summaries never mention it.
Subsection 3.2.4 was renumbered to match NBC 2020
Article numbers in the fire alarm range moved, but not by a constant amount. Do not subtract two. Ontario renumbered Subsection 3.2.4 to line up with NBC 2020. O. Reg. 332/12 had 24 articles in the subsection; the current text has 23. Two were deleted and one was added, so the offset changes three times as you move down the list.
| O. Reg. 332/12 (revoked) | Current Ontario / NBC 2020 | Offset |
|---|---|---|
| 3.2.4.1. – 3.2.4.5., same titles | 3.2.4.1. – 3.2.4.5. | 0 — unchanged |
| 3.2.4.6. Reserved | deleted | — |
| 3.2.4.7. Silencing of Alarm Signals | 3.2.4.6. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.8. Signals to Fire Department | 3.2.4.7. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.9. Annunciator and Zone Indication | 3.2.4.8. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.10. Electrical Supervision | 3.2.4.9. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.11. Fire Detectors | 3.2.4.10. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.12. Smoke and Heat Detectors | 3.2.4.11. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.13. Prevention of Smoke Circulation | 3.2.4.12. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.14. Vacuum Cleaning System Shutdown | 3.2.4.13. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.15. Elevator Emergency Return | 3.2.4.14. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.16. Sprinklers in Lieu of Fire Detectors | deleted | — |
| 3.2.4.17. System Monitoring | 3.2.4.15. | −2 |
| 3.2.4.18. Manual Pull Stations | 3.2.4.16. Manual Stations | −2, retitled |
| 3.2.4.19. Alert and Alarm Signals | 3.2.4.17. | −2 |
| 3.2.4.20. Audibility of Alarm Systems | 3.2.4.18. | −2 |
| 3.2.4.21. Visual Signals | 3.2.4.19. Visible Signals | −2, retitled |
| 3.2.4.22. Smoke Alarms | 3.2.4.20. | −2 |
| — | 3.2.4.21. Residential Fire Warning Systems | new article |
| 3.2.4.23. Two-Way Voice Communication Systems | 3.2.4.22. | −1 |
| 3.2.4.24. One-Way Voice Communication Systems | 3.2.4.23. | −1 |
Why it is irregular. O. Reg. 332/12 carried a "Reserved" placeholder at 3.2.4.6 that is gone from the current text — that starts the −1 run. Sprinklers in Lieu of Fire Detectors, old 3.2.4.16, was deleted — that takes it to −2. Then a new article, 3.2.4.21 Residential Fire Warning Systems, pulls the two voice communication articles back to −1.
Two articles were retitled. Old 3.2.4.18 "Manual Pull Stations" is now 3.2.4.16 "Manual Stations". Old 3.2.4.21 "Visual Signals" is now 3.2.4.19 "Visible Signals".
The current Ontario numbering is identical to NBC 2020's. NBC's Subsection 3.2.4 carries the same 23 articles under the same numbers. Only two titles differ: NBC 3.2.4.11 is "Smoke Detectors" where Ontario reads "Smoke and Heat Detectors", and NBC 3.2.4.22 is "Voice Communication Systems for High Buildings" where Ontario reads "Two-Way Voice Communication Systems". Ontario renumbered to match the national text rather than shifting by a constant, which is exactly why the offsets against 332/12 are uneven.
What this means for you: check the map above, do not do the arithmetic. If a drawing, a spec, a deficiency report or a training handout cites 3.2.4.20 for audibility, it is quoting the revoked regulation — the live audibility article is 3.2.4.18. Old citations are not wrong so much as they are pointing at a document that no longer exists. Applying a flat −2 to a number that is not in the table will land you on the wrong article.
Substantive changes at 1 January 2025
Each of these was verified by comparing the free Compendium against the revoked regulation.
1. Referenced standard editions moved forward. Table 1.3.1.2 went from CAN/ULC-S524-14 and S537-13 to S524:2019 and S537:2019. This is the change most likely to affect a working tech, because it changes the document you install and verify to.
2. Manual stations — the rule got broader. Old 3.2.4.18.(1) required a manual station "near the principal entrance to the building, and near every required exit". Current 3.2.4.16.(1):
"a manual station shall be installed in every floor area near (a) every principal entrance to the building, and (b) every exit."
Three separate changes: every exit rather than every required exit; every principal entrance rather than the principal entrance; and a new "in every floor area" qualifier. This matches the NBC 2020 text — Ontario harmonized to the national wording.
That is more manual stations on some buildings than the old rule produced. Check it on any design carried over from a pre-2025 template.
3. Low frequency signal in sleeping rooms is NEW. Current 3.2.4.18.(6):
"Audible signal devices in sleeping rooms in a building of residential or care occupancy shall emit a low frequency signal."
The string "low frequency signal" appears nowhere in O. Reg. 332/12. This requirement did not exist in Ontario before 1 January 2025.
The Code sets no frequency value. The non-mandatory Appendix A gives "the range of 470 Hz to 570 Hz". 520 Hz appears nowhere in Ontario law — that figure comes from NFPA 72, which is an American standard and is not the authority for anything in Ontario. If someone tells you the Ontario Building Code requires 520 Hz, they are quoting the wrong country.
More on this at fire alarm audibility in Ontario.
4. The maximum sound pressure level appears to have been amended incorrectly. Old 3.2.4.20.(4)(a) read:
"not more than 100 dBA when measured at a distance of 3 m from the device"
Current 3.2.4.18.(4) reads:
"(a) shall be not more than 110 dBA when measured at a distance of 3 m from the device, or (b) is permitted to be more than 100 dBA provided the sound pressure level measured 2 000 mm above floor level is not more than 100 dBA."
Clause (a) was changed to 110. Clause (b) was left in place, relieving against a 100 dBA limit that clause (a) no longer states. As written, (b) grants relief from a number that is not there.
For comparison, NBC 2020 has neither clause — it reads simply "not more than 110 dBA in any normally occupied area".
We are reporting this, not resolving it. We are not going to tell you which reading is correct, because the text does not support a confident answer. This is exactly the kind of thing a later amendment document may already have corrected — and the amendment document is not published online, so we cannot check. If you are designing to the edge of that limit, get it in writing from your AHJ.
23 December 2024 — CAN/ULC-524-2024 published (8th edition)
The installation standard's 8th edition. The "S" was dropped from the designation.
Neither Ontario code adopts it. The Building Code and the Fire Code are both on the 2019 edition.
What this means for you: in Ontario you install to S524:2019. Buying the 2024 edition tells you where the standard is heading; it does not tell you what you are required to do today.
5 August 2024 (revision date) — CAN/ULC-536-2024 published (6th edition)
The inspection and testing standard's 6th edition. "S" dropped from the designation here too.
Ontario's Fire Code designates the 2019 edition.
What this means for you: annual inspections in Ontario are performed to S536-2019. Your inspection report should say which edition it was performed to — "in accordance with CAN/ULC-S536" with no edition is not a statement of anything.
5 April 2021 — CAN/ULC-S537-2019-REV1
The last revision to the verification standard (6th edition).
Note the designation: the "S" is retained here, unlike 524, 536 and 1001. The naming convention is genuinely inconsistent at the moment — some standards carry the S, some have dropped it, and both forms are current. It is not a typo when you see it written both ways.
What this means for you: write the full designation on verification certificates, exactly as the standard prints it. "CAN/ULC-S537-2019-REV1" is unambiguous. "S537" is not.
Standing caveats
Building Code quotes on this page come from the 16 January 2025 free Compendium. That is the newest free consolidated text. The operative amendment document is dated 17 July 2026 and is not published online. Where the amendment document has changed something we quote, we would not be able to see it. Treat every Building Code quote here as "as at 16 January 2025, subject to the amendment document".
Fire Code quotes come from e-Laws, O. Reg. 213/07, currency date 12 August 2026. The Fire Code is still published in full on e-Laws. The Building Code is not.
"Published" is not "adopted". Every entry above distinguishes the two deliberately. A standard becomes a requirement when a code names it, not when it prints.
Ontario unless an entry says otherwise. Other provinces adopt on their own schedules.
Related reading
- Which ULC edition applies to your job
- Ontario Building Code vs the National Building Code for fire alarms
- Canadian fire alarm codes and standards — the full map
- Building Code vs Fire Code in Ontario
- Fire alarm audibility in Ontario
Last updated: 16 August 2026
This page is maintained. New entries are added as regulations are filed, standards are published and editions are adopted — and every entry is dated, so you can see how old the information is before you rely on it.
Check back before you cite a date from memory. The record moves, and as the four undocumented Building Code amendments show, it does not always move where you can see it.
Frequently asked questions
My drawings cite Ontario Building Code 3.2.4.20 for audibility. Is that citation still valid?
No. O. Reg. 332/12 was revoked on 1 January 2025 and Subsection 3.2.4 was renumbered to match NBC 2020. Audibility moved from 3.2.4.20 to 3.2.4.18 and manual stations from 3.2.4.18 to 3.2.4.16. The shift is not uniform, though: it is 0, −1 or −2 depending on where the article sits, because two articles were deleted and one was added. Check the map rather than subtracting two. The old citation points at a regulation that no longer exists.
Which edition of the ULC standards applies to my job?
In Ontario, the 2019 editions. Building Code Table 1.3.1.2 designates S524:2019 and S537:2019. Fire Code Table 1.2.1.A designates S524-2019, S536-2019, S537-2019 and S531-2019. Both codes are still on S1001-11 for integrated testing. Confirm with the AHJ for the permit in question, because the two codes are adopted independently.
When did the Ontario Building Code change?
1 January 2025. O. Reg. 332/12 was revoked and O. Reg. 163/24 replaced it — a roughly one-page regulation adopting the National Building Code of Canada 2020 as amended by an Ontario amendment document. Older permits carry forward under s. 2 only, and only if construction commenced within six months of the permit being issued.
Has CAN/ULC-524-2024 been adopted in Ontario?
No. It published on 23 December 2024 as the 8th edition of the installation standard, with the S dropped from the designation. Neither the Ontario Building Code nor the Ontario Fire Code adopts it — both reference the 2019 edition.
Did integrated systems testing start in Ontario on 1 January 2026?
No, and this is commonly misread. Fire Code Article 6.10.1.1.(1) has applied to integrated systems installed on or after 1 January 2020. What changed on 1 January 2026 is that the one-year integrated test waiver at Article 6.10.1.1.(4) stops covering systems installed from that date forward. The installation date decides it.
Sources
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 242/26, Building Code amendment filed 22 July 2026
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 163/24 Building Code (in force 1 January 2025)
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 332/12 Building Code (REVOKED 1 January 2025; historical comparison only)
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 213/07 Fire Code (consolidation period 1 January 2026; currency date 12 August 2026; last amendment O. Reg. 303/25)
- ontario.ca — Building Code updates (lists O. Reg. 203/24, 447/24 and 5/25 only)
- ontario.ca — 2024 Ontario Building Code: structure and Amendment Document requests
- 2024 Building Code Compendium Vol. 1 — free, 16 January 2025 update (Containing O. Reg. 5/25)
- 2024 Building Code Compendium Vol. 2 — free, includes Appendix A notes
- SCC — UL Standards & Engagement SDO accreditation (ULSE Inc., file 30707)
- ULSE — SCC Accredited Procedures, 4 March 2025 (PDF)
Related guides
Who Can Legally Install, Verify and Test Fire Alarm Systems in Ontario?
Ontario law does name who may work on fire alarm systems — and most articles on this subject get it wrong. Under Division C, Subsection 1.2.1 of the Ontario Fire Code, anyone performing annual tests or inspections, or repairing, replacing or altering fire alarm system components, must have completed a program or course acceptable to the Fire Marshal. The regulation names no program itself; the Fire Marshal's published list currently holds two — the CFAA Fire Alarm Technician Training Program and the ECAO Certi-Fire program. Separately, the electrical installation work itself requires a 309A certificate, because electrician is a compulsory trade.
CAN/ULC-S524, S537, S536 and S1001: What Each Standard Actually Covers
Canada splits fire alarm work across four separate standards where the American system uses one. S524 governs installation. S537 governs verification — a one-time event that proves the install matches the design. S536 governs periodic inspection and testing, forever after. S1001 governs integrated testing, where the fire alarm has to talk to other building systems. Confusing verification with inspection is the most expensive mistake in Canadian fire alarm work, and it happens constantly.