Delayed Egress Locking: Code Requirements and Hardware
A delayed egress lock keeps an exit latched for a set period after someone pushes the bar, so staff can respond before it releases. It is a common answer to an exit that keeps getting used as a shortcut or a theft route. This page covers what the IBC and NFPA 101 require, which buildings can use it, how the hardware works, and what to confirm with your authority having jurisdiction before anyone orders.
Last updated: September 24, 2026
What delayed egress is
Delayed egress locking holds an exit latched for a set period after someone tries to use it. In one form it is a single device, with the timer and the alarm built into the exit device itself. Other arrangements put the logic or the locking in a separate component, such as a wall-mounted controller driving a magnetic lock, so do not assume everything sold as delayed egress is shaped the same way.
The sequence on an integrated device: someone pushes the bar, an alarm sounds, and the latch stays locked for the delay period. When it expires the device releases the delayed locking mechanism, letting the pushpad retract the latch. It does not open the door. At least one maker's instructions have the person keep the pushpad depressed until it lets go. What matters is that it releases without a key, a code, or anyone coming to let the person out.
What the delay buys is response time. Devices differ in what starts the sequence: some trigger on latchbolt movement, others also monitor the pushpad or the outside trim, so treat the initiating input as a per-product question. At least one maker also builds in a short nuisance delay, so a brief push does not begin the cycle.
Three different products get confused here. An exit alarm reports that an exit was used. A door prop alarm reports that a door has been held open beyond a set interval, and it can have a delay of its own: at least one maker's is adjustable from seconds to minutes before it sounds. A delayed egress lock decides when the door can be opened at all. They are sold as separate products, and only the third one delays egress; the first two delay or report an alarm while the door opens normally.
The problem it solves is an exit being used as something other than an exit. A stockroom door that has become a smoking shortcut, a rear retail exit that walks merchandise out of the building, a ward door that a patient should not leave through unaccompanied. Note that institutional patient containment is treated as its own kind of arrangement and is not automatically the same question as delayed egress, so do not assume this page's answer fits it. Staffing an exit is expensive, and whether any locking arrangement is available to you on that opening is the first thing to ask. Where a delayed egress lock is permitted, it is the middle answer between those two.
This is a life safety device on an exit, not a security accessory. Whether a delayed egress lock is permitted on your opening, and on what conditions, is a determination for the authority having jurisdiction and the engineer of record. Get it in writing before you specify one, not after it is installed.
What the codes require
The International Building Code has a delayed egress section, and the International Fire Code carries the same section under the same number. NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code, has its own. A jurisdiction may adopt one or more of them, in particular editions, and may amend them, so the edition your authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) enforces is the one that governs your opening. The table below compares the 2021 and 2024 IBC and IFC with NFPA 101 (2024), using the code text itself.
Where to find it. IBC and IFC 2021: Section 1010.2.13, with the conditions in 1010.2.13.1. IBC and IFC 2024: Section 1010.2.12 and 1010.2.12.1, because the section was renumbered. NFPA 101, 2024 edition: Section 7.2.1.6.1. Citing the wrong edition's number is an easy way to end up reading the wrong rule: in the 2021 IBC, 1010.2.12 is sensor release of electrically locked doors.
| Requirement | IBC and IFC, 2021 and 2024 | NFPA 101, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Building | Sprinklered throughout (Section 903.3.1.1) or equipped with an approved automatic smoke or heat detection system (Section 907). The courtroom allowance is narrower: sprinklered throughout only | An approved delayed egress system, in a building protected throughout by an approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system or approved, supervised automatic fire detection system, on doors serving low or ordinary hazard contents, and only where the occupancy chapter permits it |
| Delay | Not more than 15 seconds. Up to 30 seconds where approved: by the building official under the IBC, the fire code official under the IFC | Within 15 seconds. 30 seconds where approved by the authority having jurisdiction |
| Starting the release | A physical effort on the egress side hardware, applied for not more than 3 seconds, starts an irreversible release process | A force of not more than 15 lbf, applied for not more than 3 seconds, starts an irreversible release process |
| Alarm | Starting the process sounds an audible signal near the door | Starting the process sounds an audible signal near the door |
| Fire alarm release | The delay switches off when the sprinkler system or automatic fire detection system activates, allowing immediate free egress | The delay switches off when the approved, supervised sprinkler system activates, or not more than one heat detector or not more than two smoke detectors of the approved, supervised detection system, allowing unobstructed egress |
| Power loss | 2021: on loss of power controlling the lock or lock mechanism. 2024: on loss of power to the electrical locking system or electrical lock | On loss of power controlling the lock or locking mechanism |
| Remote release | Must be able to be switched off at the fire command center and other approved locations | Not part of this section |
| Rearming | By manual means only, once the delay has been deactivated | By manual means only, after force on the release device has released the lock |
| Locks in one path | No more than one on any egress path. Exceptions allow two, with a combined delay of 30 seconds or less, in Groups I-1 Condition 2, I-2 and I-3, and in I-1 Condition 1 and I-4 buildings that are sprinklered throughout | Not limited in this section. Check the chapter for your occupancy |
| Door sign | On the door, above and within 12 in of the exit hardware. Lettering to the visual character requirements of ICC A117.1 | A readily visible, durable sign on the door leaf next to the release device, in the direction of egress. Lettering to the visual character requirements of ICC A117.1 |
| Emergency lighting | Required on the egress side of the door | Required on the egress side of the door |
| Listing | 2021: the system units listed to UL 294. 2024: the locking device listed to UL 294 or UL 1034 | For new installations, the locking hardware listed to UL 294 or UL 1034 |
The sign wording is set by the code. For a door that swings in the direction of exit travel the IBC sign reads PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS. DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 SECONDS. For a door that swings the other way, PULL replaces PUSH, and where a 30 second delay has been approved the IBC sign says 30. NFPA 101's required wording uses the same words with a comma in place of the first full stop and says 15 seconds; its non-mandatory annex adds that the sign should show the longer time wherever the AHJ has permitted one. A package may include the sign; if it does, check which timing it is printed for.
Two points that trip people up. The IBC's delayed egress section gives no force figure, only a physical effort held for up to 3 seconds; the 15 lbf limit comes from NFPA 101. And the listing requirement is not the panic hardware listing: UL 305 is what an exit device carries as panic hardware, while the delayed egress sections ask for UL 294 or, in the 2024 editions, UL 1034. Ask the manufacturer which of those covers the configuration you are ordering.
Where it is permitted
Under the IBC (2021 and 2024), delayed egress is permitted on doors serving the following. The first two need a building that is sprinklered throughout or has an approved automatic smoke or heat detection system; the courtroom allowance needs sprinklers throughout.
- Groups B, F, I, M, R, S and U. Business, factory, institutional, mercantile, residential, storage and utility occupancies.
- Group E classrooms with an occupant load of less than 50.
- Courtrooms in Group A-3 and B occupancies, on exit or exit access doors other than the main one, and only in a building sprinklered throughout.
Assembly occupancies other than those courtroom doors, larger Group E spaces and high-hazard Group H occupancies are not on the list. In Group I occupancies, where approved, the sign can be left off where care recipients need restraint or containment for clinical reasons. Controlled egress for Group I-1 and I-2 is a separate provision with its own rules, covered on our healthcare egress page.
NFPA 101 works the other way round. Section 7.2.1.6.1 describes how a delayed egress system has to behave, but it is permitted only where the chapter for your occupancy (Chapters 11 through 43) allows it, on doors serving low or ordinary hazard contents, in a building protected throughout by supervised sprinklers or supervised fire detection. Read your occupancy chapter before anything else: that is where the permission, and any extra condition, lives.
What to confirm first
The requirements above are the model codes. These are the questions to put to your AHJ and engineer of record before anyone orders hardware, because the answer for your opening depends on the edition adopted, any local amendment, and the building itself.
Treat the edition as part of the answer. The section moved between the 2021 and 2024 IBC, the listing rule changed between them, and jurisdictions amend these provisions. A figure read from the wrong edition is exactly the kind of thing that gets designed into a building and then fails an inspection.
- Is it permitted on this occupancy at all? Ask this first, before anything else about the opening is specified.
- Which code and which edition is your jurisdiction enforcing? Ask for the specific document and edition you will be held to, and get any citation you are given checked against that edition rather than a newer or older one.
- How long a delay is permitted on this opening? Get the permitted duration confirmed before you buy a device, because the device is built around a particular timing and it is not a field adjustment you should be making to suit an answer you got later.
- What has to release the door automatically, and on what signal? Get the full list, and get the interface specified. Where the fire alarm loop lands differs by product: on at least one maker's integrated exit devices it connects at the power supply rather than at the device, and that maker's installation instructions call for a separate fire alarm relay for each supply; on at least one maker's delayed egress magnetic lock it connects at the lock itself. Either way it is a separate connection to the building's fire alarm system, so include the interface in the quote and in the commissioning scope.
- Does the building need a sprinkler or detection system for this to be allowed? Ask whether any such condition attaches, and whether it is a precondition or a recommendation, because that changes whether the device is an option for you at all.
- What signage is required, if any, and where? Ask for the wording verbatim and the mounting location, and treat the sign as part of the installation rather than an accessory to it.
- Is this a fire-rated door assembly? If so, stop and have the hardware confirmed specifically for that assembly, including whether dogging is acceptable on it. Fire exit hardware and panic hardware are not the same product, and ordering the wrong one is an expensive thing to discover on site.
Our own summaries of the governing documents are here: NFPA 101 and IBC Chapter 10. ANSI/UL 305 covers bar, pad and paddle actuated releasing devices for outward-opening doors, which includes panic hardware, fire exit hardware and exit locks. What it does not do is classify the fire resistance of the door and releasing device as an assembly. UL's own guidance for fire-rated doors is where the additional UL 10C evaluation for fire exit hardware comes from. So when you ask about listings, ask which ones your exact assembly has to carry rather than treating the exit device listing as the whole answer.
Specifying a device
Once the code question is settled, the hardware decisions are ordinary. Below are four of the choices that come up on nearly every order of an integrated delayed egress exit device. Makers package these differently, and arrangements with a separate controller or magnetic lock are configured differently again: a delayed egress magnetic lock leaves the door's own latching hardware in place, so the dogging question turns into whether that latch still holds the door closed and rigid for the lock's trigger, and the rest become holding force, the release inputs and where the fire alarm lands. The comparison table further down links to every device we stock, with its own specifications.
These four are not a complete configuration. A real order also settles the base series and device type, the door construction and stile, the strike application, whether the opening is single or one leaf of a pair, whether it is fire or hurricane rated, trim, power transfer, what power is already at the door and whether it needs backup, the fire alarm interface, the delayed egress timing, and the arming and rearming options. Treat the list below as the decisions worth understanding before you talk to someone, not as the order form.
Two device specifications to check against the code answer: the delay the device is built for, and the timing printed on any sign that ships with it. Both are product facts, not statements about what any code permits, so read them off the product page. Whether they satisfy your jurisdiction is a separate question, and it is the one on the checklist above.
- Door width. Match the door leaf, not the frame. Exit devices are sold by the door width they fit, typically 36 in for a 3 ft door and 48 in for a 4 ft door, and vertical rod devices also by the door height their rods fit.
- Finish. Standard finishes differ between product lines, and a black finish can be anodized on one line and painted on another. The product page shows the finishes each device is actually offered in. Confirm the lead time on any non-standard finish before you commit to it on a schedule.
- Dogging. Cylinder dogging holds the latch retracted so the door pushes open freely during open hours. The mortise cylinder may not be included, so either add one to the order or have it factory-installed; otherwise the unit arrives unable to dog, and on some integrated devices unable to arm. At least one maker offers a no-dogging build at no extra cost, and supplies its fire rated builds without dogging, so on a fire-rated opening this choice may already be made for you.
- Power supply. Whether one is in the box depends on the product. At least one maker's integrated exit device packages include a filtered, regulated low-voltage DC supply, and the same maker offers a second-leaf build that omits it; at least one maker's delayed egress magnetic lock ships without a supply and its instructions call for a UL 294 listed one. Confirm which model ships with it, and whether batteries are actually fitted. Both matter for how the opening behaves in an outage: some supplies have no battery-charging circuit, so a mains outage takes their output away, while others carry batteries, sometimes as a separately ordered kit.
The cheapest line on the price list can be the wrong one. At least one maker lists a build that omits the power supply, and it is genuinely cheaper. It exists for the second leaf of a pair, where the two devices share the supply that came with the first. It is not a way to save money on a single opening. Order it for one door with no supply already at it and you receive a device that cannot run.
Worth confirming separately: the fire alarm connection. It ties the device to the building's fire alarm system, at the power supply on at least one maker's integrated exit devices and at the lock on at least one magnetic lock, and it is easy to leave off a quote precisely because the other end of it is not part of the hardware order.
Fire-rated doors
The delayed egress sections do not change what a fire door needs. A labeled fire door does not automatically need exit hardware, but where panic or exit hardware is required or chosen for it, that hardware has to be fire exit hardware listed for the rated assembly: panic hardware that has also been evaluated for fire door use to UL 10C. A delayed egress device on that door therefore has to be a fire rated build.
At least one maker builds its fire rated devices as a separate model from the panic hardware version, supplied without dogging. Read the listing on the product page before specifying any delayed egress device for a fire-rated opening; if it is listed as panic hardware only, it does not belong there. We can quote fire rated delayed egress builds. Check the labels on the door and frame before you order, and confirm that the complete delayed egress configuration and every other component of the assembly are permitted by their own listings.
Delayed egress hardware
Compare the delayed egress devices we stock
Each row links to the product page with its full specifications, listings, finishes and stock. Start with the opening: a rim device suits a single door or a pair with a mullion, a vertical rod device a pair without one.
| Photos | Unit | Which opening it serves | Device type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  | Detex V50 EE 36 in Delayed Egress Surface Vertical Rod Exit Device | A pair of doors with no mullion between them. Rods run the door face and latch top and bottom, so each leaf holds on its own. | Surface vertical rod | from $2,232 View → |
 | SDC ExitCheck 1511S Single Door Delayed Egress Magnetic Lock | A door that keeps its own latching hardware, or a latchless door with an egress bar. The electromagnet holds the door shut and releases on a signal, or after the delay on a delayed egress model. The latching hardware stays in place; a trigger switch or egress bar may be added to work it. | Magnetic lock | from $964 View → |
   | Detex V40EEFC362899 36" Delayed Egress Rim Exit Device | A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead. | Rim | from $1,821 View → |
  | Detex V40EEFC362899 48" Delayed Egress Rim Exit Device | A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead. | Rim | from $1,850 View → |
 | Detex Advantex 10 EE 36 in Delayed Egress Wide Stile Rim Exit Device | A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead. | Rim | $2,999 View → |
from $2,232
View →Which opening it serves: A pair of doors with no mullion between them. Rods run the door face and latch top and bottom, so each leaf holds on its own.
Device type: Surface vertical rod
from $964
View →Which opening it serves: A door that keeps its own latching hardware, or a latchless door with an egress bar. The electromagnet holds the door shut and releases on a signal, or after the delay on a delayed egress model. The latching hardware stays in place; a trigger switch or egress bar may be added to work it.
Device type: Magnetic lock
from $1,821
View →Which opening it serves: A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead.
Device type: Rim
from $1,850
View →Which opening it serves: A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead.
Device type: Rim
$2,999
View →Which opening it serves: A single door, or a pair WITH a mullion. The latch throws into the frame stop, so a mullion-less pair needs a vertical rod device instead.
Device type: Rim
Specifying delayed egress on an opening?
Tell us the door width and handing, the finish, the strike and trim application, whether the opening is fire rated, whether you need dogging, the delay timing you have been told to use, and how many openings. We will come back with pricing and lead time on US-made delayed egress hardware, and we will flag selection details that look missing or inconsistent. We do not determine whether a locking arrangement is permitted on your opening.
or call 714-248-6555 · email partners@usmadesupply.com
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a delayed egress lock hold the door?
Under the IBC (2021 and 2024 editions) and NFPA 101 (2024 edition), the door has to release within 15 seconds of someone starting the release, or 30 seconds where the building official or authority having jurisdiction approves it. Your jurisdiction may enforce a different edition or amend the text, so confirm the edition in force.
What does the delayed egress door sign have to say?
For a door that swings in the direction of exit travel: PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS. DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 SECONDS. For a door that swings the other way, PULL replaces PUSH. Under the IBC, 30 replaces 15 where a 30 second delay has been approved; the required NFPA 101 wording says 15 seconds, and its non-mandatory annex adds that the sign should show the longer time where the AHJ has permitted one. The IBC places the sign on the door, above and within 12 inches of the exit hardware. NFPA 101 places it on the door leaf next to the release device. Both require the lettering to meet the visual character requirements of ICC A117.1. A package may include the sign; if it does, check which timing it is printed for.
Does a delayed egress lock need a UL 294 listing?
The 2021 IBC requires the delayed egress locking system units to be listed to UL 294, and the 2024 IBC accepts UL 294 or UL 1034 for the locking device. NFPA 101 (2024) requires electromechanical or electromagnetic locking hardware in new installations to be listed to UL 294 or UL 1034. UL 305 is the panic hardware listing and is a different thing, so ask the manufacturer for the UL 294 or UL 1034 listing that covers the exact configuration you are ordering.
Which buildings can have delayed egress locks?
Under the IBC, doors serving Group B, F, I, M, R, S and U occupancies and Group E classrooms with an occupant load of less than 50, in buildings that are sprinklered throughout or have an approved automatic smoke or heat detection system. Courtroom doors in Group A-3 and B occupancies are also allowed, other than the main exit, but only in buildings sprinklered throughout. NFPA 101 permits an approved system only where the chapter for your occupancy allows it, on doors serving low or ordinary hazard contents, in buildings protected throughout by an approved, supervised sprinkler or fire detection system.
Is a delayed egress device the same as a door alarm?
No, and the difference matters when you are specifying. A door prop alarm reports a door held open beyond a configured interval, and while it can delay its own alarm, it never holds the door. A delayed egress device controls when the door can be opened: pushing the bar sounds an alarm and starts a timed delay, and when it expires the device releases the delayed locking mechanism so the pushpad can retract the latch. It does not open the door for you. If all you need is to know that a door was used, an exit alarm is cheaper and simpler.
What happens to the door when power is lost?
Separate two different events. The codes require the delay to switch off when the lock loses its power, but a building losing mains power is not the same event. What your opening does in an outage depends on the power supply at the door, whether it shipped with the device or was specified separately, and on whether backup batteries are actually fitted, which on some supplies is a separately ordered kit. Some supplies have no battery-charging circuit, so a mains outage takes the lock power away; others carry batteries and keep the system energised, so the door does not release just because the lights went out. Upstream emergency power changes the picture again. Some integrated devices carry a battery that keeps the alarm sounding without holding the delay; at least one maker documents it that way. Confirm the supply model and the release conditions for your own configuration rather than a general description.
Is the mortise cylinder included with a cylinder dogging device?
Check the product page. At least one maker ships its cylinder dogging builds without the cylinder, so on those you order one alongside the device, or it arrives unable to dog, and on some integrated devices unable to arm. The same maker also offers a no-dogging build.
Why is the build without a power supply cheaper, and should I buy it?
Almost certainly not. At least one maker lists a build without a power supply, and it exists for the second leaf of a pair, where two devices share the supply that shipped with the first. It is not a way to save money on a single opening. The delayed locking function needs its supply to work, so ordering that build for one door with nothing already at it buys hardware you cannot commission. A battery that keeps the alarm sounding is not the same thing as a working delayed egress device.
Can I put a delayed egress device on a fire-rated door?
Do not assume so. Fire exit hardware and panic hardware are not the same product, and what is acceptable on a fire-rated assembly, including whether dogging is allowed on it, needs confirming for your specific opening before you order. It is an expensive thing to discover on site.
Do you stock delayed egress hardware?
Yes. The products section above lists the delayed egress hardware currently available to order online, each with its price and stock. Other configurations, such as a different door width or finish, a narrow stile or concealed vertical rod device, or a fire rated build, we can source. Use the quote form in that section to start it off, and expect us to come back with follow-up questions before a firm price, because a complete configuration needs more than any form usefully asks for.
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