The B1 certificate is a certificate for flame-retardant materials and was often used in Germany as a benchmark for the fire safety of materials. A material that has been awarded a B1 certificate corresponds to a flame retardant class. Certified building materials of class B1 must not continue to burn on their own after the heat source that ignited them has been eliminated. This is tested and certified in recognized test laboratories.

Since 2002 there have also been the European standards EN 13501-1 and EN 13501-2, which regulate the requirements for fire safety of materials in Europe.

The new European fire safety certificates for print media have been developed to unify and standardize the fire safety of materials in Europe. The EN 13501-1 standard regulates the requirements for the fire safety of materials and defines different classes of fire protection requirements, from non-combustible (class A1) to easily flammable (class F). Class B-s1,d0 is generally considered to be the benchmark for fire safety of materials in public buildings in Europe.

The conditions for issuing fire protection certificates vary depending on the country and area of application. In Germany, materials used in public buildings or at trade fairs usually had to have a B1 certificate in accordance with DIN 4102. However, the European standard EN 13501-1 is gaining in importance.

The two standards cannot be compared 1:1 with each other, as the European system is the first to define side effects of fire, such as smoke development and flaming droplets or falling off. The details can be found in our table – see below.

The main differences between the certificates are the fire safety requirements and the test methods. For example, a material that has received a B1 certificate in Germany may not meet fire safety requirements in other countries. It is therefore important to take into account the respective national regulations and standards.