Windows, doors and glazing
No safety-glass mark is visible in a door side screen. Has the glass been proved to be ordinary annealed glass?
No. The absence of a safety-glass mark has not proved the side screen is ordinary annealed glass. Marks can be missing, worn, or printed on a face the survey could not read. The visit recorded that no mark was visible in that screen. It did not test the glass and it did not decide its type. A missing stamp is not a laboratory result. The survey has not decided the screen is unsafe, and it has not decided it is safety glass.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Glass in a door side screen sits where people pass close to it, which is why markings are looked for. The mark, when present and legible, is a clue left by the maker. When it is absent, the clue is simply absent. Annealed glass, toughened glass and laminated glass are not separated by a glance at a clear pane. The survey did not break the pane, and it should not be read as having identified it. Building-regulations compliance for that screen was not certified here.
Ask the solicitor whether any glazing paperwork exists for the screen, and keep that paper separate from the survey. Only an appropriate test or a readable mark, properly interpreted, can name the glass. Do not tell a lender the side screen was proved to be ordinary annealed glass. The finding is narrower: no safety mark was visible. What the pane actually is remains undecided.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the finding limited to no visible safety mark?
- Did anyone test or remove the side screen?
- Is any glazing paperwork held outside this report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not call the unmarked screen proved annealed glass.
- Ask the solicitor for any glazing certificate in the papers.
- Keep the survey limit as no visible mark, not a glass type.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Could a mark be on the edge hidden in the rebate?
Yes. A mark can sit on an edge the bead covers, or it can have worn away. The survey recorded that none was visible. It did not take the screen out to search the hidden edges. A hidden mark, if it exists, was not read. Visibility was the limit of the check.
Does clear glass that looks old have to be annealed?
No. Appearance and a guess at age do not prove the type. The survey did not date the pane and did not test it. Old-looking glass can still be a safety glass, and newer glass can lack a visible mark. Leave the type undecided rather than promoting a look into a result.