How much does a Fire Door Inspection Service cost to buy?

A typical Fire Door Inspection Service sells for 2x to 3.5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $231K, expect to pay roughly $462K to $809K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Fire Door Inspection Service?

Startup costs range from $18K to $55K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Fire Door Inspection Service

The law says every fire door gets inspected annually. You do the inspecting.

Bottom line

Strong cash-flow candidate with manageable operations.

NFPA 80 mandates annual inspections of all fire-rated door assemblies in commercial buildings — hospitals, hotels, schools, warehouses, and offices. Fire door inspection companies send certified technicians to inspect, document, and repair fire doors on recurring annual contracts. It's compliance-driven, invisible to competitors, and deeply sticky.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

72Excellent

Avg revenue

$550K/yr

$220K–$1.2M range

Profit margin

42%

~$231K SDE

Multiple

2–3.5×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$462K–$809K

startup: $18K–$55K

How It Works

Technicians earn FDAI (Fire + Egress Door Assembly Inspector) certification through IFDIA. Each commercial building must have every fire door inspected and documented annually per NFPA 80. Operators sign annual service agreements with facility managers, visit each location once per year, inspect every door (typical commercial building: 50–300 doors), document deficiencies, and bill for repairs. Per-door inspection fees run $18–$40; repair work adds significant upsell. A single hospital contract can be worth $15,000–$60,000/year.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Fire Door Inspection Service has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

72Excellent

low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

+Attractive 42% estimated margin profile

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!No category operating model yet
!Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $231K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

2.46×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 2.8× SDE ($645K)

Category range: 2×–3.5× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($65K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)

Loan term — 10 years

Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition

Purchase price

$645K

2.8× of $231K SDE

Cash to close

$84K

$65K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$8K/mo

$94K/yr on $581K loan

Cash-on-cash

163%

cash back in ~8 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

2.46×+$11K/mo after debt

Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Pros

+Legally mandated annual recurrence — clients can't opt out
+Sticky multi-year contracts with facility managers
+Low competition: most operators are unaware this niche exists
+Repair and remediation upsell on every inspection visit
+Scales to multiple technicians without owner involvement

Cons

-FDAI certification required before operating
-Long B2B sales cycle to land initial facility contracts
-Seasonal peaks around lease renewals and annual compliance deadlines

Best For

Operators with a background in fire protection, construction, or facility management

Operating Costs

Primary costs: technician wages ($22–$38/hr), van and fuel, inspection software (e.g., Door Intel, DoorCheckPro), liability insurance, and annual FDAI recertification fees. Materials cost is low unless repair work is included.