What is TR19®?
TR19® Grease is the specification published by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) for the internal cleanliness of grease-bearing ventilation ductwork. It is the most widely cited UK standard for commercial kitchen extract hygiene and underpins how insurers, fire authorities and competent persons judge an extract system.
TR19® covers four practical areas: how often kitchen extract systems must be cleaned, how cleaning must be performed and measured, what access provision is required so ductwork can actually be inspected (referencing BS EN 12097), and what evidence must be produced after each clean.
How TR19® cleaning frequencies are set
Frequency under TR19® is driven by kitchen-use intensity — combined hours of operation and the type of cooking. The standard defines three bands:
- Heavy use (12–16 hours/day, grease-intensive cooking) — minimum every 3 months
- Moderate use (6–12 hours/day, mixed cooking) — minimum every 6 months
- Light use (2–6 hours/day, lower-grease menus) — minimum every 12 months
Insurance, fire safety and TR19®
Although TR19® is a private-sector standard rather than legislation, it is functionally compulsory for almost every UK commercial kitchen because of how insurers and fire authorities apply it.
Insurance: most commercial property and business interruption policies now contain explicit or implied conditions requiring TR19®-compliant cleaning at appropriate intervals. Where no current certificate exists, claims arising from extract-system fires are routinely declined or reduced.
Fire safety: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a duty on the responsible person to identify and control significant fire risks. Grease accumulation in extract ductwork is a recognised significant risk in any commercial cooking premises. Operating a kitchen without a current TR19® certificate makes that duty very hard to evidence.
What 'TR19 compliant' really requires
- A documented cleaning frequency appropriate to the kitchen's use band
- Sufficient access to all duct sections in line with BS EN 12097
- Cleaning performed by competent operatives with the right equipment and chemistry
- Pre and post-clean deposit measurements at agreed sample points
- Photographic evidence at every access opening
- A signed post-clean TR19® certificate logged in the compliance file
- A recommended next-clean date carried forward into the planned maintenance schedule
Frequently asked questions
Is TR19 a legal requirement in the UK?+
TR19® is a private-sector standard, not legislation. In practice it is treated as the de-facto standard by insurers and fire-risk assessors, so operating without TR19®-compliant cleaning typically breaches both insurance conditions and fire-safety obligations.
Who issues a TR19 certificate?+
A competent kitchen-extract cleaning contractor that performed the work and the verification measurements. Certificates should reference TR19® Grease and include sample-point data, photographs and a next-clean date.