Palmdale, CA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Chapter 67, Security Provisions (PMC Sec. 8.04.255)
- Deadbolt throw
- Minimum 1-inch throw, 5/8-inch embedment
- Sliding glass door test load
- 300 lbs parallel, 150 lbs perpendicular
- Cylinder guards
- Required when cylinder projects beyond door face
- Applies to
- Groups B, F, M, R, S occupancies and garages
- Alternate hardware approval
- County sheriff or City Public Safety Office recommendation
Summary
Palmdale's Municipal Code Chapter 67, Security Provisions, adopted at PMC Sec. 8.04.255, sets forced-entry-resistant hardware standards for every door on a dwelling unit or single-tenant space that's reachable from a street, yard, corridor, garage, or similar area. Swinging doors need a keyed deadbolt with at least a 1-inch throw and hardened cylinder guards, sliding glass doors and windows must pass concentrated-load tests, and hinge pins must be non-removable from outside.
6708 – DOORS – GENERAL A door forming a part of the enclosure of a dwelling unit or of an area occupied by one tenant of a building shall be constructed, installed, and secured as set forth in Sections 6709, 6711 and 6712, when such door is directly reachable or capable of being reached from a street, highway, yard, court, passageway, corridor, balcony, patio, breezeway, private garage... 6709.2 A single swinging door, the active leaf of a pair of doors, and the bottom leaf of Dutch doors shall be equipped with a deadbolt and a latch... Deadbolts shall contain hardened inserts, or the equivalent, so as to repel cutting tool attack. The deadbolt lock or locks shall be key-operated from the exterior side of the door and engaged or disengaged from the interior side of the door by a device not requiring a key, tool or excessive force... A straight deadbolt shall have a minimum throw of 1 inch (25.4 mm) and the embedment shall not be less than 5/8 inch (15.9 mm)... 6709.6 Cylinder guards shall be installed on cylinder locks for deadbolts whenever the cylinder projects beyond the outside face of the door or is otherwise accessible to attack tools.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 67 (Security Provisions) applies to enclosed Group B, F, M, R and S occupancies and private garages citywide (Sec. 6702). Under Sec. 6708, any door forming part of a dwelling unit's or single tenant's enclosure must meet Secs. 6709, 6711 and 6712 whenever it is reachable from a street, yard, court, passageway, corridor, balcony, patio, breezeway or private garage. Sec. 2 requires a single swinging door, the active leaf of double doors, and the bottom leaf of Dutch doors to carry both a deadbolt and a latch; deadbolts must contain hardened inserts to resist cutting-tool attacks, be key-operated from outside, and release from inside without a key, tool or excessive force.
The minimum bolt throw is 1 inch with at least 5/8-inch embedment (3/4 inch for hook-shape or expanding-lug bolts). Sec. 6 requires cylinder guards on any deadbolt lock whose cylinder projects beyond the door face or is otherwise reachable by attack tools, and Sec. 5 requires non-removable pins in exterior-accessible pin-type hinges. Overhead and sliding doors (Sec. 6711) need a deadbolt or hardened-shackle padlock, with locking devices on both jambs once the door exceeds 9 feet wide. Sliding glass doors and windows (Secs. 6706-6707, 6710, 6715) must remain intact and engaged after a series of 150-to-300-pound load tests and carry a compliance label from a recognized testing agency.
Sec. 6704 lets the Building Official accept an alternate device only on the recommendation of the county sheriff or the City Public Safety Office. These are building-code standards enforced at plan check and inspection by the Building Official, not a police ordinance.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 67 is part of the Palmdale Building Code, so noncompliance is enforced the same as any other building code violation: PMC Sec. 1.12.020 makes a first misdemeanor conviction punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in County Jail, or both, with escalating infraction fines of $100, $200 and $500 for repeat offenses within a year if the Building Official elects to cite the violation as an infraction instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Palmdale require a deadbolt on every exterior door?
What load do sliding glass doors have to withstand in Palmdale?
Who enforces Palmdale's door security hardware code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palmdale
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