What should an inspector do when a solid fuel appliance's data label is accessible?

The data label on a solid fuel appliance is the primary evidence of what the unit is and how it was permitted to be installed. It carries the manufacturer, model, listing agency and listing standard, and the clearances to combustibles the unit was tested with. That information is what lets anyone later determine whether the installation matches the listing — whether the clearances are met, whether the chimney system is the one the appliance is listed for, and whether the unit is a fireplace, a stove or an insert with its own requirements. Recording what the label says is therefore substantive rather than clerical. The label must also stay with the appliance permanently, which is why removing it, even to give the client a copy, is wrong; photographing it is fine.

The label identifies the appliance and its listing, including clearances to combustibles, which is what an installation must comply with. Recording it gives the client and any later professional the reference needed to evaluate the installation.

Listed solid fuel appliances carry a permanent data label identifying the manufacturer, model, listing agency and required clearances to combustibles. Installation compliance is assessed against that listing, and the label may not be removed.

The Label Is the Rulebook for that appliance — clearances, listing, model. Photograph it, record it, never remove it.

Note when a label is absent or illegible. Without it, the installation cannot be evaluated against a listing, which is itself a reportable limitation.

• •Detaching a label that must remain with the appliance
• •Recording the label without comparing installed clearances to it
• •Failing to report an absent or illegible label as a limitation