FDNY Certificate of Fitness · Code S-13/S-14
S-13/S-14 Citywide Standpipe Systems, and Standpipe for Multi-Zone Systems
The card the Fire Code requires of the person who personally supervises the inspection, testing and maintenance of a building’s standpipe system, the piping that carries water to the hose connections firefighters use inside the building. It is the companion to the S-12, and superintendents in most larger buildings hold both.
Course price
$750
6 months access
Studied in the Tauris Training app.
Who needs it
Who holds the S-13/S-14
Superintendents, building engineers, and the staff of fire protection contractors. The Fire Code requires that inspection, testing, servicing and other maintenance of standpipe systems be personally supervised by a Certificate of Fitness holder, performed in accordance with NFPA 25 and NFPA 1962. The S-13 covers standpipe systems citywide. The S-14 covers standpipe systems for multi-zone buildings, the taller buildings where the system is divided into pressure zones.
The FDNY study material covers the building owner’s responsibilities, out-of-service systems, record keeping and impairments, the individuals the Fire Code authorizes to perform each task, the standpipe system types and their components, the required signs, Local Law 58 of 2009, and Chapter 9 of the Fire Code and rules on standpipe systems.
What the FDNY asks
To apply
You are at least 18
With a reasonable understanding of English.
Government-issued photo ID
Presented when you apply and when you take the exam.
A $25 FDNY application fee
Paid to the FDNY, on top of the course price.
Exam day
75 questions at FDNY Headquarters
- Format
- 75 multiple-choice questions on a touch-screen computer.
- Pass mark
- 70%
- Where
- FDNY Headquarters, 9 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn
- FDNY application fee
- $25 per attempt, paid to the FDNY
- Valid for
- Three years, then $15 to renew
Questions people actually ask
About the S-13/S-14
Who needs an S-13 Certificate of Fitness in NYC?
The person who personally supervises the inspection, testing, servicing and maintenance of a standpipe system in a New York City building. The Fire Code requires that supervision to be by a Certificate of Fitness holder. Standpipes are required in most buildings above a certain height and in many others by the Building Code, so it is held by superintendents and building engineers across the city.
What is the difference between the S-13 and the S-14?
The S-13 covers standpipe systems citywide. The S-14 covers standpipe systems in multi-zone buildings, the taller buildings where the standpipe is divided into pressure zones. The FDNY tests both from the same 75-question exam and the same study material.
What is the S-13 exam like?
Seventy-five multiple-choice questions on a touch-screen computer at FDNY Headquarters, 9 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn. Four answer options per question, one correct. The pass mark is 70%, and the $25 FDNY application fee is paid before you sit.
Do I need the S-12 sprinkler certificate as well?
If your building has a sprinkler system, yes: the S-12 is a separate certificate for supervising sprinkler systems. Most larger New York City buildings have both systems, often combined, and superintendents in those buildings hold both the S-12 and the S-13.
Your building has more than one system
The FDNY issues a Certificate of Fitness per system or hazard. All 36 courses, or group enrollment for a whole crew.