# Hot work permit template

> Free hot work permit template with a fire watch record and cancellation sheet. Add your logo and download it as PDF, Word or Excel.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/permit-to-work-template?job=hot-works

Free, no account

## Choose a design

## What a hot work permit covers

Two sheets. The first is signed before anyone strikes a flame. The second records the fire watch and closes the job.

### Sheet 1, the issue

- The work, the method and why cold methods fail
- Hazards, from combustibles in 10 m to what sits below and behind
- Thirteen precautions, each with a tick and a name
- Extinguishers, fire blanket, gas detector and thermal camera
- Signatures to issue and accept

### Sheet 2, the finish

- Fire watch rows for breaks, the end, 1 hour and 2 hours
- Cancellation, with images kept and detectors restored
- Handback of the area
- Signatures to extend, cancel and hand back

The sheets follow [HSG168](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf), HSE’s guide to fire safety in construction.

## Before, during and after the hot work

### Before

Visit the area and record what you find. Clear loose combustibles from around the work, from gaps in walls, floors and ceilings, from below, and from the far side of any wall.

Cover what cannot move with non-combustible board. Put two suitable extinguishers within reach.

### During

Someone watches for fire throughout, and through every break. The watch takes in anywhere the work could break through to an area you cannot see.

### After

Watch the area without a gap for at least an hour after the work ends. Check it again two hours after the end.

That is why hot work should finish two hours before the working day does. Turn isolated alarms back on.

### Who signs what

- **Issued**: A person with clearly assigned authority, once the precautions are checked.
- **Accepted**: The person in direct control of the work.
- **Extended**: The new end time, after a check that the job is still safe to carry on.
- **Cancelled**: A person with authority to close the permit, after inspecting the area.
- **Handed back**: The area, returned to whoever it came from.

## Filled-in hot work permits

### [Roofing hot work permit example](https://complyonsite.com/tools/permit-to-work-examples?job=hot-work-roofing)

A propane torch on the roof of an occupied office.

### [Welding hot work permit example](https://complyonsite.com/tools/permit-to-work-examples?job=hot-work-welding)

MIG welding a steel beam in a basement, with the office above checked too.

## Hot work permit questions

### What is hot work?

Any process that generates flame, sparks or heat. [HSG168](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf) names oxy-fuel cutting and welding, grinding and cutting metal, torch-applied roofing, heat guns and soldering irons.

### What does a hot work permit allow?

The work written on it, at the place written on it, for the times written on it. It is never blanket approval for hot work anywhere on site. When that job ends or the time runs out, the permit ends too.

### Who issues a hot work permit?

Someone with clearly assigned authority, who knows enough about the work to spot the hazards and set the precautions. [HSG168](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf) asks for the person authorising and the person in direct control to be named.

### How long does a hot work permit last?

HSE sets no standard length. Write in a start and an end that fit this one job. Close the permit once the area has had its final inspection, so the fire watch comes first.

### How long does a hot work fire watch last?

At least an hour of continuous watching after the hot work ends, then at least one more check two hours after the end. Keep the watch going through breaks, and finish hot work two hours before the end of the day so the checks can be done.

For a dig, a confined space or an isolation, start from the [permit to work template](https://complyonsite.com/tools/permit-to-work-template).