Surface burning characteristics of interior finish materials and systems

Installation codes require that building products used as interior finish materials are tested for surface flammability characteristics.

UL 723 is recognized as the industry standard for evaluating surface burning characteristics of building materials. As the pioneer of the industry-standard Steiner tunnel apparatus, UL offers unmatched expertise and capability to evaluate building products with respect to UL 723. With more than 100 years of fire testing and certification expertise, UL is a leading resource on fire safety.

Test Standards

Surface Burning Characteristics

• UL 723, Test for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials (ASTM E84/NFPA 255)

Room/Building Corner Tests

• NFPA 286, Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Evaluating Contribution of Wall and Ceiling Interior Finish to Room Fire Growth (ISO 9705)
• UL 1715, Fire Test of Interior Finish Material
• NFPA 265, Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Evaluating Room Fire Growth Contribution of Textile Wall Coverings on Full-Height Panels and Walls

Intermediate-Scale, Multistory Test

• NFPA 285, Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components

The UL advantage

Products certified by UL have a better chance of being immediately accepted by authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs). Once a product is UL Listed, it will appear in the appropriate UL product directory. These directories, as well as the online certifications directory, are referenced by more than 2,500 regulatory authorities and code officials annually.

In addition, UL's Follow-Up Services program verifies continued compliance through periodic unannounced inspections at the manufacturer's facility. Through this program, manufacturers, installers and regulatory authorities can be confident that ongoing production consistently meets UL compliance requirements.