Guide from the team
A TR19 report is your evidence that the system was actually cleaned. Here is what a proper one contains, and the section every buyer should read first.
Published 8 September 2026
When the cleaning team leaves, the report is what remains. It is the evidence your fire risk assessor reads, the document your insurer may ask for, and the record that proves the money you spent bought a compliant system rather than a tidy canopy. Yet most buyers file the report without reading it, and almost nobody reads the one section that matters most.
Here is what a proper TR19 or TR19 Grease report should contain, and how to read one critically.
A credible report starts by defining the system it covers. That usually means a schematic or clear description of the ductwork, canopies, risers, fans and plant included in the clean, for a kitchen extract system, or the supply and extract runs and air handling units covered in a general ventilation clean.
This section tells you what the certificate actually certifies. “The kitchen extract system” is not a scope. “The canopy, first-floor horizontal run, vertical riser and roof-level fan, accessed via the panels listed” is a scope. If you cannot tell from the report which parts of your system were cleaned, treat that as a warning sign.
Every proper TR19 report includes photographs taken before and after the clean, at identified locations through the system. The pairs should show the same spot in both states: grease-lined or dust-lined metal beforehand, clean metal afterwards.
Read these with the schematic beside you. Photographs of the easy parts, the canopy interior and the first metre of duct, prove very little on their own. What you want to see is evidence from deep in the system: mid-run sections, the riser, the fan. If the photo set only covers what a person standing in the kitchen could reach, ask why.
For kitchen extract work, TR19 Grease is built around measurement, not opinion. The recognised trigger for cleaning is a mean grease deposit of 200 microns, measured by wet film thickness test, and a proper report records the readings taken through the system both before and after the clean. Pre-clean readings justify the work and the recommended interval; post-clean readings prove the result. We explain the test itself in how grease is measured in kitchen extract.
General TR19 ventilation reports record condition and cleanliness assessments in a similar spirit: the point is that the system’s state is documented in measurable terms rather than described as “dirty” or “clean”.
This is the part buyers skip and should not. An honest report lists every section of the system that could not be accessed, and why: no access panel within reach, ductwork buried behind a fixed ceiling, a run passing through another tenant’s demise, plant that could not be isolated on the night.
Read this section first, because it defines the gap between what you paid for and what you got. An unaccessed section is uncleaned ductwork, and in a kitchen extract system that means grease still in place, exactly where a fire would find it. A good contractor does not hide this: they state it plainly and recommend the remedial access work, usually fitting additional panels, so the next clean can reach the whole run. A report with no unaccessed areas listed on an old system with limited access is not reassuring. It is improbable.
The report should close the loop: findings, recommended remedial work (access panels, damaged insulation, filtration issues, anything spotted along the way, including observations relevant to fire damper locations), and a clear statement of when the next clean is due based on the system’s use. For kitchen extract, that interval follows the TR19 Grease usage bands, which we set out in how often kitchen extract ductwork should be cleaned.
Finally, the certificate itself: the summary document stating that the system, as scoped, was cleaned to the relevant TR19 standard on the date given. The certificate is what gets asked for, but it is only as good as the report behind it, which is why the two belong together in your fire safety records. Documented cleaning is a condition of cover in most UK commercial policies, though policies differ and you should check yours. Remember too that TR19 and TR19 Grease are industry guidance from BESA rather than law: the certificate is your evidence of meeting duties that come from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and workplace health and safety law, managed through your fire risk assessment.
One more check: who stands behind the certificate. As a BESCA Vent Hygiene Associate member (BESCA is BESA’s certification body), our operatives are TR19 trained and our work is independently audited, so a certificate from us is verified rather than self-declared.
If your last report is thin, or you have never seen one, book a free survey through our contact page or request a TR19 quote. And if you have an existing TR19 report from another contractor, send it over and we will read it and tell you honestly what it does and does not cover.
A proper report contains a schematic or clear scope of the system covered, before-and-after photographs at identified locations, grease deposit measurements taken by wet film thickness test, a list of any areas that could not be accessed and why, recommendations and next-due guidance, and the compliance certificate itself. The certificate summarises; the report is the evidence behind it.
Because an unaccessed section is an uncleaned section. In a kitchen extract system that means grease left in place inside the ductwork, which is precisely the fuel that carries a fire through a building. An honest report lists these sections and recommends access improvements, usually new panels, so future cleans can reach the full run. When reading any TR19 report, this is the section to check first.
The certificate is the headline document, but it is only as strong as the report behind it, and some insurers or their assessors will want to see both. Documented cleaning is a condition of cover in most UK commercial policies, and the wording differs between policies, so check what yours requires. Keep the certificate and full report together in your fire safety records.
A self-declared certificate rests entirely on the contractor’s own word. Under the BESCA Vent Hygiene scheme (BESCA is BESA’s certification body), member firms use TR19-trained operatives and have their work independently audited, so the certificates they issue are verified against the standard rather than simply asserted. Clean Ducts is a BESCA Vent Hygiene Associate member.
Send us your existing report or book a free survey. A named engineer replies within 24 hours.