Harrisburg, PA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Harrisburg regulates exit door hardware in Chapter 3-903, Fire Occupancy Classification and Occupancy Loads, and the rule depends on the occupancy. For a new assembly occupancy, § 3-903.2(M) allows a latch or lock on a door in a required means of egress from an area with an occupant load of 100 or more persons only if it is panic hardware or fire exit hardware. For an existing assembly occupancy, § 3-903.3(O) prints the same rule for an area with an occupant load of more than 100 persons. Both sections also bar turnstiles or other devices that interfere in any way with the required means of egress.

Residential occupancies follow a different test. Under § 3-903.10(H) for new apartment buildings, and the matching subsections H of § 3-903.8 for new hotels and dormitories and § 3-903.9 for existing ones, no door in any means of egress can be locked against egress when the building is occupied. Locks, if provided, cannot require a key, tool, or special knowledge or effort to operate from the inside of the building. Ordinary double-cylinder locks and chain locks do not meet the section. Existing hotels and dormitories must also fit all guest room doors and all corridor doors with self-closing devices under § 3-903.9(O).

Child day-care facilities carry two hardware rules in § 3-903.14. Every closet door latch must let children open the door from the inside, and every bathroom door lock must be designed so the locked door can be opened from the outside in an emergency, with the opening device readily available and accessible.