Buying guide
Panic Bar vs Exit Device vs Fire Exit Hardware: What the Terms Mean and When Code Requires Them
What panic bar, crash bar, and exit device mean, the UL listings behind fire exit hardware, and when IBC and NFPA 101 require panic hardware on a door.
A "panic bar," a "crash bar," and a "push bar" are the same hardware: trade and lay names for what the code calls panic hardware and the industry calls an exit device. Fire exit hardware is that same device, additionally listed for a fire-rated door assembly. Which configuration an opening needs, and whether code requires one at all, depends on the occupancy, the occupant load, and whether the door carries a fire label.
Panic bar, crash bar, exit device: one product, three names
idighardware.com, the code blog written by Allegion's Lori Greene, gives the code definition of panic hardware as: "A door-latching assembly incorporating a device that releases the latch upon the application of a force in the direction of egress travel." On the floor that same product is called a panic bar, a crash bar, or a push bar; manufacturers and the trade call it an exit device.
Fire exit hardware is not a separate product category. It is panic hardware also listed for use on a fire door assembly, which changes what the device may do about holding the latch open, covered next.
The listings, and what they mean for dogging
Panic hardware is listed to UL 305, the panic hardware standard. Fire exit hardware carries that same UL 305 listing plus UL 10C, the positive pressure fire test for door assemblies, per idighardware.com's explanation of the difference between the two.
That second listing changes one thing day to day: dogging, holding the latch retracted so the door pushes and pulls open without latching. idighardware.com states that on fire doors mechanical dogging, holding the latch retracted with a key or tool, "is not allowed on fire exit hardware," because a fire door has to positively latch every time it closes, though "the dogging function may be accomplished electrically, as long as the latches project automatically upon fire alarm," through an electric latch retraction device. Standard panic hardware without a fire listing can typically be dogged mechanically on non-rated doors.
When code requires panic hardware
Whether an opening needs panic hardware instead of an ordinary lockset comes from the IBC and from NFPA 101, and the two do not use the same number.
The IBC's rule is numbered 1010.2.9 in the 2021 edition and was 1010.1.10 in the 2015 and 2018 editions. As the current 2021 text reads on up.codes: swinging doors serving a Group H occupancy, of any occupant load, and swinging doors serving a Group A or Group E occupancy with an occupant load of 50 or more, "shall not be provided with a latch or lock other than panic hardware or fire exit hardware." idighardware.com notes this pairing "has not changed much in the last 20 years" and traces it to the 2006 IBC, so it carries through the 2015, 2018, and 2021 text even where the section number moved.
NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code, sets a different number for assembly and educational space. idighardware.com's summary of NFPA 101 states panic hardware is required on required means of egress doors serving assembly, educational, or day care occupancies with a calculated occupant load of 100 or more, and on areas of high hazard contents with a calculated occupant load in excess of 5.
Which code and edition applies is whatever the jurisdiction has adopted, and the AHJ decides how it reads for a specific opening; confirm both before the doors are ordered.
Exit device types
All exit devices latch the same way: force in the direction of egress travel releases it. Where the latch sits and how many points it engages separates the four configurations.
| Device type | Typical door(s) | How it latches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rim | Single doors, or pairs with a removable mullion | Latch projects from the device itself into a strike on the frame or mullion | idighardware.com calls it "the simplest configuration of panic hardware, and the easiest to maintain" |
| Surface vertical rod (SVR) | Pairs of doors | Rods and latches mounted on the face of the door, latching top and bottom | A less-bottom-rod (LBR) version omits the floor strike; idighardware.com notes it typically needs an auxiliary pin for fire compartmentalization |
| Concealed vertical rod (CVR) | Pairs of doors | Same top-and-bottom latching, with the rods run inside the door stile instead of on its face | Von Duprin's own device line describes the rods and latches as "concealed within the structure of the door" |
| Mortise | Primarily single doors; occasionally one leaf of a 3-hour fire-rated pair alongside a vertical rod device on the other leaf | Panic hardware on the door face operates a mortise lock body set into the door edge | idighardware.com notes it is "less commonly used than rim panics, likely because of the more complex door preparation and product design" |
All four are available electrified: Von Duprin's 98/99 Series offers EL (electric latch retraction) and QEL (quiet electric latch retraction) for tying into a card reader, keypad, or access control panel, per Von Duprin's own product page.
The grade to spec on a commercial door is Grade 1 under ANSI/BHMA A156.3, which BHMA's own page says covers "exit devices and trim, automatic flush bolts, removable mullions, coordinators, and carry-open bars" and tests a Grade 1 device to "500,000 loaded cycles with no loss of operation." Von Duprin's 98/99 Series is one line certified to A156.3-2014 Grade 1; we quote Grade 1 panic and fire exit hardware from Von Duprin, Yale, and Dormakaba.
Mounting height and operating force
Where the touchpad sits on the door, and how much force it takes to work, is set by the 2010 ADA Standards, separate from the device's own UL listing. Section 404.2.7 states: "Handles, pulls, latches, locks, and other operable parts on doors and gates shall comply with 309.4 . Operable parts of such hardware shall be 34 inches (865 mm) minimum and 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum above the finish floor or ground. Where sliding doors are in the fully open position, operating hardware shall be exposed and usable from both sides." Section 309.4 adds the force limit: "Operable parts shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum." Both apply to a panic device's touchpad or crossbar the same as any other door hardware. Full detail is on our door hardware mounting height page.
What to spec
Send us these details on a quote request and we can match hardware to the opening without a site visit:
- Single door or pair, and whether the pair needs a removable mullion
- Fire rating of the opening, if any, and the UL label required
- Door material and thickness (hollow metal, aluminum storefront, wood)
- Existing hardware prep on a retrofit, or new construction being prepped to spec
- Finish (US26D satin chrome, US32D satin stainless, US10B oil-rubbed bronze, and others)
- Electrified or mechanical, and what it needs to integrate with if electrified
- Whether a door closer is being specified on the same opening
We quote panic and fire exit hardware from Von Duprin, Yale, and Dormakaba through panic exit devices, and pair it with door closers from the same lines when the opening needs both; our door closer guide covers that half. Schools hit the 50-occupant IBC threshold often; see our schools industry page. Start a quote with the details above.
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