Los Angeles requires egress doors to unlatch with one motion using a single hand under LABC §1010.1.9 and CFC §1010. Classroom barricade devices are restricted, while standard residential thumb-turns and night-latches remain permitted.
Every required egress door in commercial, assembly, educational, and multifamily buildings must be operable from the inside without keys, special knowledge, or tools, using a single hand and one motion per LABC §1010.1.9. Acceptable hardware includes lever handles, panic bars, push-pads, and listed electromagnetic locks with delayed egress. Classroom barricade or jamming devices are prohibited unless they meet ANSI/BHMA A156.41 and unlock from outside. Single-family dwellings may use deadbolts and thumb-turns since LABC exempts R-3 occupancies. Locks on stairwell doors must allow re-entry on every fourth floor or be controlled by the fire alarm system.
Installing keyed deadbolts on commercial egress doors, double-cylinder locks needing a key from inside, or unauthorized barricade devices triggers LADBS correction notices, fire-marshal red tags, and occupancy revocation.
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See how Los Angeles's door locking hardware rules stack up against other locations.
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