Egress Locking Devices
Maglocks, Delayed-Egress & Access-Control Doors

Why This Matters

Doors that are locked against egress are the single deadliest condition in fire events with mass casualties. Historical mass-casualty fires — Iroquois Theatre (1903), Triangle Shirtwaist (1911), Cocoanut Grove (1942), Station Nightclub (2003), Ghost Ship warehouse (2016) — all share the pattern of occupants unable to escape because of locked doors. NFPA 101 §7.2.1.5 and §7.2.1.6 exist to prevent that outcome by strictly governing when and how any door may be locked against egress.

The rule starts at: doors in a means of egress shall be openable without the use of a key, tool, or special knowledge. Every exception is an exception, with specific conditions that must all be satisfied. If your locking arrangement does not cleanly fit one of the four permitted variants below, it is not permitted.

The Four Permitted Locking Arrangements

Section numbers below follow the NFPA 101 (2024) edition. Two of the four moved in that revision: door hardware release came into §7.2.1.6.3, and elevator lobby locking shifted from §7.2.1.6.3 to §7.2.1.6.4. For the full 2012 / 2018 / 2024 crosswalk, the no-mixing rule, and the healthcare provisions, see the deep dive: Delayed Egress & Special Locking Arrangements.

1. Door Hardware Release (§7.2.1.6.3)

An electric strike, electric latch retraction, or electrified lever handle that is locked against ingress (someone outside cannot walk in without a credential or key) but always releases for egress by operation of the door hardware itself — the hardware directly and immediately interrupts power to the lock. Occupants never depend on the electrical state to get out, and loss of power unlocks the door. In the 2012 and 2018 editions this same provision lived outside the special-locking block, at §7.2.1.5.6 (“Electrically Controlled Egress Door Assemblies”).

2. Delayed-Egress Locking (§7.2.1.6.1)

A maglock or electric latch holds the door locked; occupant attempts to exit trigger a local alarm and a 15-second timer (or 30 seconds with AHJ approval). At the end of the timer, the door unlocks. Required features:

• The delay deactivates on sprinkler activation, on not more than one heat detector, or on not more than two smoke detectors — or on loss of power to the lock.
• The building must be protected throughout by a supervised automatic fire detection system (Section 9.6) or a supervised automatic sprinkler system (Section 9.7) — one or the other, not both.
• Signage adjacent to the release device: “PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS, DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 SECONDS” (or “PULL…” for doors swinging against egress travel).
• Permitted only where the occupancy chapter allows it (Chapters 11–43), and only for low- or ordinary-hazard contents. Not prohibited in healthcare — §18.2.2.2.4(2) expressly permits it in a new health care means of egress.
• Rearming the delay electronics is by manual means only.
• Emergency lighting on the egress side of the door.

3. Sensor Release of Electrical Locking Systems (§7.2.1.6.2)

A maglock on a door, released automatically when someone approaches from the egress side. The approach is sensed by a request-to-exit (REX) device — typically a PIR motion sensor mounted above the door on the egress side, or a panic-bar integrated switch. Required features:

• REX sensor unlocks the door immediately when motion is detected on the egress side.
• Manual release device on the egress side, 40–48 in. above the floor and within 60 in. of the secured opening, signed PUSH TO EXIT. It must interrupt power to the lock directly, independent of the locking system electronics, and hold the lock released for at least 30 seconds.
• Automatic unlock on fire alarm activation, sprinkler or detection activation, and loss of power to the sensor or the locking system — staying unlocked until the alarm system is manually reset.
• Manual pull stations are not required to unlock the doors (§7.2.1.6.2.1(5)).

Through the 2012 edition this was titled Access-Controlled Egress Door Assemblies; the 2018 edition renamed it to sensor release, which is why the old name is still everywhere in the field.

4. Elevator Lobby Exit Access Door Locking (§7.2.1.6.4)

A locking arrangement specifically for elevator lobbies, used to separate leased tenant space from the public elevator lobby. It carries the longest condition list of the four: listed hardware, a fire alarm system and a supervised sprinkler system throughout, supervised smoke detection in the lobby, unlock on alarm initiation by other than manual pull stations, unlock on power loss, and a two-way communication system to a constantly staffed central control point whose staff are trained and authorized to provide emergency assistance. This was §7.2.1.6.3 in the 2012 and 2018 editions.

How the Fire Alarm Drops the Lock

The maglock is powered through a fire alarm relay wired so that an alarm condition removes power from the lock. In the normal, non-alarm state the relay holds the lock circuit closed and the magnet is energized. On alarm — or on any loss of power to the relay, the panel, or the lock supply — the circuit opens, the magnet drops, and the door is free. The design rule behind every variation of this wiring is the same: the de-energized state must be the unlocked state, so that no single failure can leave the door held shut.

In practice, the cleanest design is: power to the maglock passes through the relay's normally-open contact and the relay is normally energized. On fire alarm, the relay de-energizes, the contact opens, and the maglock drops. This is fail-safe against wire breaks, relay failure, and panel power loss.

The interconnect between the FACP and the maglock (or access-control panel) must be supervised per NFPA 72 so any wiring failure annunciates as trouble.

Common Violations

• Maglock without fire-alarm release. Security installer wired the maglock directly to a UPS with no FA tie-in. On alarm the door stays locked. Immediate life-safety violation.
• Delayed-egress in prohibited occupancies. Hospital patient-care unit with delayed-egress locks on a corridor exit. Healthcare cannot use delayed-egress per §7.2.1.6.1; must re-engineer with behavioral health locking (§18.2.2.2.5) or access-controlled egress.
• REX sensor on the wrong side. PIR installed on the ingress side — it senses people coming in, not going out. Egress is not free. Relocate to the egress side.
• Missing “PUSH TO EXIT” button. Access-control door with maglock, REX sensor, and fire-alarm release — but no manual unlock button. Required by §7.2.1.6.2.
• Unsupervised FA-to-lock wire. Wiring between FACP relay and maglock not supervised. A broken wire silently removes the FA release. Solution: supervised Style 4 or Style 7 circuit.

ITM

• Monthly — verify every locked egress door releases on fire alarm activation. For delayed-egress, verify timer, local alarm, signage, and fire-alarm release.
• Annual — full functional test including REX sensor operation, manual unlock button, power-loss release, sprinkler-activation release (where applicable).
• After any modification — any change to the access-control system, maglock wiring, or FACP programming requires full retest of every affected door.