Santa Ana, CA Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Division 3 of Chapter 8, the city's Building Security Regulations, applies to 'all activities for which a building permit is required' (§ 8-200), including additions, alterations or repairs that within any 12-month period exceed 50 percent of a building's current valuation: at that threshold the whole structure must be brought up to the security standard. Section 8-211 sets the commercial hardware rules: swinging exterior glass, wood or metal doors must use solid-core wood at least 1¾ inches thick or 16-gauge hollow metal, and electronic sliding doors are prohibited outright.

Every swinging exterior door besides aluminum-frame doors needs a single- or double-cylinder deadbolt with a minimum 1-inch bolt projection and at least ¾-inch embedment into the strike; the cylinder must carry a guard, at least five pin tumblers, connecting screws of at least ¼ inch, and a locked indicator, with exposed screws on double-cylinder units nonremovable. The deadbolt has to sit between 30 and 44 inches above the finished floor. The same section separately regulates garage-type doors, glazing near locks, hinge pins on outswinging doors, double-door astragals, aluminum-frame jamb strength, skylights, roof hatches, and mandates silent alarm systems with 24-hour central-station monitoring for jewelry stores, firearms dealers, and businesses storing wholesale liquor, tobacco or precious metals.

A building official within the Planning and Building Agency enforces compliance, and Section 8-207 separately requires that locks in a tract or commercial development interchange freely within that development but not with other properties.