FSRT covers assessment, mitigation, cleaning, deodorization and documentation of fire and smoke damage to structures and contents. It also includes subrogation and spoliation. Build your preparation around those official scope areas, then use your course for the technical methods and the S700 public scope for background.
What the FSRT credential covers
The FSRT covers scoping, mitigation, cleaning, deodorization, subrogation, spoliation, and documentation of residential and commercial fire and smoke damaged structures and contents, with no prerequisites.
IICRC describes the credential as preparing you to perform and document cleaning and deodorization of typical residential or commercial fire and smoke damage projects. That word typical matters: the certification addresses ordinary fire and smoke losses, and you will see below how the governing standard handles unusual situations.
Sources: FSRT – IICRC — Certification scope, prerequisites, delivery options, Master designation
Delivery options and the Master restorer path
The FSRT is offered as a live-stream or in-person course, and it is a required step toward the IICRC Master Fire and Smoke Restorer designation.
IICRC lists the FSRT among its restoration certifications with both live-stream and in-person options, though the organization notes that course availability can change. No prerequisite certification is required to enroll.
The FSRT is also a building block: you must obtain it to earn the Master Fire and Smoke Restorer designation. If that designation is your goal, treat the FSRT scope areas as foundational rather than as a one-off hurdle, since later coursework builds on them.
Note the distinction between delivery and testing. Live-stream describes how the course is taught; the exam itself follows IICRC's exam process, described in the next section. Availability of specific courses varies, so check the certification locator for current sessions.
- Both live-stream and in-person FSRT courses are listed; availability changes
- No prerequisite certification is required
- FSRT is required for the Master Fire and Smoke Restorer designation
Sources: FSRT – IICRC — Certification scope, prerequisites, delivery options, Master designation; Certifications Offered – IICRC — FSRT listed with live-stream and in-person availability
Exam format and retests
The published passing score is 75%. IICRC allows one initial attempt and up to two retests.
In-person candidates take the exam on the final course day. Candidates completing an available live-stream course use the IICRC Online Exam Portal. Online testing requires a supported desktop or laptop with a camera, microphone and internet connection; check the current portal requirements before testing.
The retest page gives 45 days from receipt of the IICRC Exam Notification. Your notification states your attempts and expiration date. Use that date; the FAQ pages also describe windows tied to course completion or scoring, so those different triggers should not be combined into a new deadline. After two unsuccessful retests, IICRC requires re-enrollment.
The public sources used here do not establish this certification's question count or time limit. Check the exam instructions for those details and confirm the applicable fee when registering.
Sources: FAQs – IICRC — Live-stream and in-person exam sections: fees, timing, exam delivery; I Need to Retest – IICRC — Attempt limits, 45-day window, online portal requirements, instructor retests, country pricing; Retest FAQs – IICRC — 75% passing score, retest windows, results timing, re-enrollment after failed retests
The standard behind the coursework: ANSI/IICRC S700
S700, first edition 2025, describes fire residue and odor assessment, restoration planning, cleaning, odor management and documentation. Its public scope gives context without establishing FSRT exam weights.
Per IICRC, S700 covers assessing the presence, intensity, and boundaries of fire residues and odors affecting a building, its systems, and its contents after a fire event. It also describes restoration cleaning and fire odor management, contractor qualifications, development of a Restoration Work Plan, documentation of project events, and compliance with Authorities Having Jurisdiction, meaning the officials who enforce requirements where you work.
The standard's published scope also lists what it does not comprehensively address: demolition beyond fire damage assessment, wildfires and chemical or industrial fires posing environmental hazards, buildings with special requirements such as healthcare and laboratory facilities, occupants with special requirements such as immunocompromised people, and exposures impacting occupants. It states that it does not address all safety concerns and that restorers should follow the regulations of the Authorities Having Jurisdiction, especially when regulated hazardous materials are suspected.
Two study implications follow. First, a standard's topic list is a description of professional practice, not a weighted exam blueprint, so use S700 to understand the landscape rather than to predict questions. Second, the exclusion list is a reading exercise in itself: exclusions describe where the standard's procedures alone are insufficient, not where the credential becomes irrelevant.
A note on editions: S700's first edition was published in 2025. Retrieved IICRC pages do not state how the standard's editions map to the current FSRT course and exam content, so confirm the applicable course edition with your provider.
Practice
Compare two paper examples with the published S700 scope: A is a kitchen fire affecting the structure and contents of an ordinary house. B is a hospital laboratory fire in a facility with immunocompromised occupants. Which example matches the general scope, and which matches the situations the standard says it does not comprehensively address?
Show answer
Loss A falls within S700's described scope: assessing fire residues and odors in a building and its contents and planning restoration cleaning and odor management. Loss B sits on the standard's own exclusion list, which names buildings with special requirements and occupants with special requirements as situations the standard does not comprehensively address. For Loss B, the standard's procedures alone would be incomplete, and additional requirements, including those of the Authorities Having Jurisdiction, would apply.
The general scope covers fire residues and odors affecting buildings, systems and contents. The published limitations specifically name buildings and occupants with special requirements. This is a reading exercise about the standard's limits, not a determination that any real loss has no other hazards or requirements.
- S700 scope: residue and odor assessment, Restoration Work Plan, documentation, AHJ compliance, cleaning and odor management
- Explicitly not comprehensive for wildfires, chemical and industrial fire hazards, special-requirement buildings and occupants
- The standard directs restorers to AHJ regulations, particularly for suspected hazardous materials
Turning the scope into a study plan
Study each FSRT scope area as a decision sequence, anchor the technical detail to your coursework manual, and give documentation and the legal-adjacent terms their own review time.
Make a page in your notes for each official scope area. Under scoping, collect the observations your course asks you to record. Under cleaning and deodorization, connect the methods taught to the conditions in the course examples. Under documentation, record how the course explains the work and its results.
Give subrogation and spoliation their own entries. Both are named on the FSRT page, but that public scope does not define legal duties. Learn their meaning and application from the approved course and its references.
Sources: FSRT – IICRC — Certification scope, prerequisites, delivery options, Master designation
Official documents and next steps
Work from the IICRC FSRT page, the certification and retest FAQs, the retest page, and the S700 standard page, and book a course through the certification locator.
For drills against the scope areas and the decision chain, the practice set linked below pairs with this guide, and the broader study guide library covers related IICRC credentials if your career path includes them.
- Confirm current course availability in the IICRC certification locator
- Contact the IICRC Exams Department at exams@iicrcnet.org with exam issues
Sources: FSRT – IICRC — Certification scope, prerequisites, delivery options, Master designation; FAQs – IICRC — Live-stream and in-person exam sections: fees, timing, exam delivery; I Need to Retest – IICRC — Attempt limits, 45-day window, online portal requirements, instructor retests, country pricing; Retest FAQs – IICRC — 75% passing score, retest windows, results timing, re-enrollment after failed retests; S700 – IICRC — ANSI/IICRC S700 scope, exclusions, AHJ and hazardous-materials language, first edition 2025 status
Sources
Facts checked against IICRC pages: