Last updated: 23 September 2026.
Quick answer. Lock hardware is specified by standard, grade and function, not by name. ANSI/BHMA A156.13 governs mortise locks, A156.36 auxiliary locks, A156.5 cylinders, A156.25 electrified locking and A156.18 finishes. Put the standard, grade, function number, material, finish code and door prep in the enquiry, and grade stops being an argument.
Every standard number, scope statement and numeric threshold below is dated and linked to the standards body's own summary page in the list at the end of this page. Standards are revised on their own cycles — check the current edition before you release a specification.
Buyers arrive with the word "lock" and suppliers quote against whatever it means to them. In the North American performance framework, which is the most fully published one, locks are not one product category at all: BHMA maintains more than 40 ANSI/BHMA standards, and its A156 series alone describes and establishes features and criteria for locks, closers, exit devices, butts, hinges, power-operated doors and access control products. Roughly a dozen separate A156 standards cover things a buyer would call a lock.
That matters commercially before it matters technically. A mortise lock, a bored cylindrical lock, a deadbolt, a multipoint lock, a cabinet lock, an electromagnetic lock and a keypad-operated electrified lock are governed by different standards, tested to different thresholds, and priced as different products. Until the enquiry names the standard, the grade and the function, the quotation is a guess with a price on it.
| What you are buying | What it does | The standard that governs it |
|---|---|---|
| Mortise lock | Lock body set into a mortise pocket in the door edge | ANSI/BHMA A156.13, Mortise Locks |
| Bored or cylindrical lock, locksets and latches | Latch and lock through bored holes in the door | ANSI/BHMA A156.2, Locks and Latches; A156.39 for residential locksets and latches |
| Auxiliary lock, deadbolt and deadlatch | Secondary locking independent of the latch | ANSI/BHMA A156.36, Auxiliary Locks; A156.40 for residential deadbolts |
| Cylinder and input device | The keyway and the mechanical input; keypads and card readers | ANSI/BHMA A156.5, Cylinders and Input Devices for Locks; A156.30 for high-security cylinders |
| Multipoint lock | Several locking points driven from one handle | ANSI/BHMA A156.37, Multipoint Locks |
| Cabinet lock | Locking for cabinets and casework | ANSI/BHMA A156.11, Cabinet Locks |
| Electromagnetic lock | Holding force by magnet rather than by bolt | ANSI/BHMA A156.23, Electromagnetic Locks |
| Electrified locking device | A mechanical lock with electrical control built in | ANSI/BHMA A156.25, Electrified Locking Systems |
| Electric strike and frame-mounted actuator | Releases the frame side of the opening | ANSI/BHMA A156.31, Electric Strikes and Frame Mounted Actuators |
| Keying system | Master keying structure across an opening schedule | ANSI/BHMA A156.28, Master Keying |
| Hardware for glass openings | Patch fittings, rails and locks for glass doors | ANSI/BHMA A156.44, Hardware for Architectural Glass Openings |
| Materials and finishes | The surface and substrate on every item above | ANSI/BHMA A156.18, Materials and Finishes |
Read that table as a routing map rather than a specification. The standard tells you which tests apply; the grade tells you which thresholds inside that standard your order has to meet.
Product grades are not a universal ladder. In the ANSI/BHMA system, grade 1, 2 or 3 is defined inside each standard by progressive levels of performance benchmarks, and grade 1 is the highest. The same page also gives the second way to read a grade: it can be ascertained from the BHMA product number on the item.
The practical consequence is that "grade 1" is meaningless unless the standard sits next to it. Grade 1 in A156.13 is a different test programme from grade 1 in A156.36. What follows is what the standards body itself publishes about each.
| Standard and product | Cycle requirement quoted by the standards body | Force and security thresholds quoted | Test structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| A156.13, mortise locks and latches | Grade 1 locks must pass 1,000,000 cycles of opening and closing with a 10 pound load applied | 1,200 in-lbf locked lever torque, and impact applied in two directions, among 15 aggressive tests | Operational, strength, security, cycle and finish tests plus dimensional criteria |
| A156.36, auxiliary locks | Grade 1 dead locks must pass 250,000 cycles | 1,350 pound force on the door against the dead bolt for grade 1, among seven aggressive tests | Five classifications: operational, cycle, strength, security and finish |
| A156.5, cylinders and input devices | Grade 1 cylinders must pass 40,000 cycles and still operate at reasonable forces | Key insertion or removal requires no greater than 3 pounds of force | Cycle, strength, operational, security, material evaluation and finish tests, plus dimensional criteria |
| A156.39, residential locksets and latches | Grade A locks must pass 400,000 cycles of opening and closing with a 5 pound axial load applied | Latch must withstand 800 pounds of force, and a locked lever test at 500 in-lbf, among eleven aggressive tests | Durability, security and finish |
| A156.40, residential deadbolts and deadlatches | Grade A residential dead latches must pass 400,000 cycles | Loading the door against the deadbolt with 1,350 pounds of force, among seventeen aggressive tests | Durability, security and finish |
| Lever trim across these standards | — | A lever-operated lock must open with a maximum torque of 28 in-lbf for mortise and 28 in-lbf for residential locksets; a key-operated auxiliary lock must open with a maximum torque of 9 lbf-in, and a residential deadbolt must retract within a maximum of 9 in-lbf | Operational tests, run to ensure ease of egress |
Two readings of that table are worth carrying into a negotiation. First, cycle counts are not comparable across product classes — a cylinder at 40,000 cycles and a mortise lock at 1,000,000 cycles are testing different mechanisms over different duty cycles, not a good product against a bad one. Second, the force thresholds are where a purchase quietly fails: a knob that needs more torque than the accessible-operable limit, or a deadbolt that needs more force than the standard allows, will be rejected on inspection even if the finish matches perfectly.
The cylinder is the part of a lock most likely to be substituted without anyone noticing, which is why A156.5 exists as a standard of its own for cylinders and input devices for locks. Its scope covers cycle, strength, operational, security, material evaluation and finish tests plus dimensional criteria, and its published examples are specific: key insertion and removal must require no greater force than 3 pounds.
Security features sit inside the same numbering system rather than in marketing language. A156.5's own worked example is a product number, E09231AL, which denotes a grade 1 cylinder used in bored locks and rated to be drill and pick resistant per UL 437. That is the form a specification should take: a product number, a standard, and the listing that backs the security claim.
Two neighbouring standards matter when the cylinder is the security argument. A156.30 covers high-security cylinders as its own category. A156.28 covers master keying as recommended practice for mechanical keying systems, which is the standard to name when a building needs one key to open many doors without handing every tenant the same key.
Electrified locking is where a mechanical purchase becomes an electronics purchase, and A156.25 is the standard that bridges the two. Its scope is explicit: it establishes requirements for the locking devices whose mechanical aspects are described in the applicable BHMA product standard, and where the input or controlling device is integral to the locking device, that device is tested with it.
The published test programme explains why an electrified lock can fail in the field while passing a mechanical standard. Operation is covered by under-voltage, over-voltage and coil over-voltage tests, followed by a slam cycle test of 10,000 cycles and a re-check that the device still operates, plus a variable ambient temperature test over alternating temperatures. Durability additionally requires mounting on a mechanically operated test door and performing normal electrical operation for 50% of the respective mechanical lock standard — so an electrified mortise lock inherits half of A156.13's duty. Electrical tests are drawn from UL 1034, Fifth Edition, the standard for burglary resistant electric locking mechanisms, and include corrosion protection, over-current protection, humidity, strain relief and production line grounding continuity.
The numbering system carries the electrical functions too. A156.25's own example, L1 – A156.13 F05 G1 – E05, E07, decomposes into a locked outdoor type at high voltage wired, a mechanical base of A156.13 function F05 at grade 1, and electrical functions E05, electric locking fail safe, and E07, cylinder monitoring. If a supplier cannot write a string like that for the product they are offering, the delivered device may be one function away from the one you specified.
Above the device layer sits the wireless protocol, and that is a separate certification question. Thread is an open, global low-power mesh networking protocol for IoT devices, delivered by the Thread Group, the industry alliance that develops, certifies and promotes it and runs device certification and interoperability testing. The protocol was designed to support large numbers of devices with minimal power consumption and no single point of failure. For a lock, the practical question is whether the specific model holds the certification, because the radio is the part of a smart lock that a buyer cannot inspect on receipt.
Fire and egress performance is not a property of the lock's mechanical grade, and it is not proved by the standard the lock was tested to for durability. The standards body's own statement of the position is that builders hardware provides attributes essential to building safety and performance, including egress and fire protection, and that hardware for fire doors is evaluated and listed to UL 10C by an accredited third-party testing laboratory.
For a buyer, that produces one non-negotiable question: which listing covers this exact device, on this door type, and can the supplier produce the document rather than the word. A156.25 makes the same point from the electrical side: an electrified lock is designed to comply with all applicable requirements, and those requirements are not the ones its mechanical grade test measured.
Accessibility is decided by the operating trim, and the standards body states the test plainly: various types of trim meet the ADA and A117.1 requirements for operable parts to be operable with one hand and without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist. Lever or paddle trim meets those stipulations; knob trim should be avoided for accessible routes. BHMA certified hardware must additionally comply with the operational forces in its respective standard, which have been shown to be suitable for accessible applications.
That single sentence is also the cleanest way to think about grade in commercial work: the grade decides how many cycles a device survives, while the trim and the force limits decide whether the opening is legal on an accessible route. Buy both deliberately.
Finish is the specification line most often left blank, and the one A156.18 is written for. Its scope covers materials and finishes for builders hardware, and its published test set is a useful checklist in its own right: nearly every type of builders hardware is evaluated to a salt spray test described in the standard, with defined failure criteria covering corrosion, staining and blistering; wear and chemical resistance are covered by a combination that includes pencil hardness, abrasion and perspiration resistance; and UV resistance is assessed against visible failure modes — chipping, flaking, cracking, colour loss, or a shift from clear to white, yellow or brownish.
The same standard supplies the vocabulary that makes finish comparable across suppliers. BHMA assigns a code number to each architectural finish and substrate combination, and its published examples include 605 for clear coated bright brass, formerly US3, and 612 for clear coated satin bronze, formerly US10, with 618 for clear coated bright nickel plated. It also defines the words that finish quotations quietly disagree about, for example relieved, meaning set off by contrast through partial removal of finish to create a brushed, satin or antique effect, and satin, a smooth dull finish with or without a directional pattern.
For outdoor and coastal hardware, this is the section to argue about rather than the grade, because the corrosion pathway runs through the finish system — and the coating route is a separate manufacturing decision, covered on our page on surface finishing.
The enquiry is where a lock order is won or lost. Nine fields make quotations comparable, and each of them exists because its absence produces a different product:
Three checks catch most of the risk, and none of them requires a lab visit.
First, check certification, not the claim. The standards body maintains a certified products directory for products tested by an independent laboratory against the relevant ANSI/BHMA standard, and states that certification does not require the manufacturer to be a member. A directory listing with a product number is a different kind of evidence from a datasheet sentence.
Second, check that the grade and the standard arrive together. Since grades are defined inside each standard, a quotation that says "grade 1" without naming the standard has told you nothing you can inspect against.
Third, check the electrical and finishing documents separately from the mechanical ones, because they come from different test programmes — a UL 1034 electrical test selection on an electrified lock, and an A156.18 finish regime with its salt spray and wear results.
We publish the trading and compliance side of this separately: our ASTM, CE and UL guide explains the standard-to-market mapping, and our quality control page covers how incoming inspection is organised so that a specified lock can actually be verified against the specification on arrival.
It depends on the product. ANSI/BHMA A156.13 covers mortise locks and latches, A156.36 covers auxiliary locks such as deadbolts, A156.5 covers cylinders and input devices, A156.11 covers cabinet locks, A156.25 covers electrified locking systems, A156.37 covers multipoint locks, and A156.39 and A156.40 are the residential lockset and deadbolt standards. Name the standard and the grade together in an enquiry.
Grades are defined inside each standard rather than across them, and grade 1 is the highest of the three. In A156.13 a grade 1 mortise lock must pass 1,000,000 cycles of opening and closing with a 10 pound load applied, and in A156.36 a grade 1 dead lock must pass 250,000 cycles. The same grade label on a different product class means different numbers, which is why the standard belongs next to the grade.
Not necessarily, but they are the most transparent performance framework to buy against, because each standard names its tests and each grade names its thresholds, so a specification can be checked rather than believed. If your project is specified to another regional system, ask which test reports the supplier holds and against which standard version, and use that answer as the comparability basis between quotations.
Use the BHMA finish code instead of a colour name. ANSI/BHMA A156.18 assigns a code to each architectural finish and substrate combination, including 605 for clear coated bright brass, historically US3, and 612 for clear coated satin bronze, historically US10. A code survives translation between suppliers and languages; a colour word does not, and the standard's own terminology, such as relieved and satin, is there to remove the same ambiguity.
The product standard and its edition, the grade, the function number, the product number where you have one, the material, the finish code, the door preparation, the keying requirement including master keying, whether the opening is a fire door with a UL 10C listing obligation, whether the route is accessible, and the quantity. Without the standard and the function number, two quotations describe two different locks.
All sources retrieved 23 September 2026. This page is an independent reading of the sources listed; the official pages themselves are the specification.
| Fact used on this page | Source |
|---|---|
| S1 — The standard-to-product mapping, and the edition years of the A156 series: BHMA maintains more than 40 ANSI/BHMA standards, and the A156 series describes and establishes features and criteria for an array of builders hardware products including locks, closers, exit devices, butts, hinges, power-operated doors and access control products. Titles and editions as published by the standards body: A156.2 Locks and Latches 2022; A156.5 Cylinders and Input Devices for Locks 2020; A156.11 Cabinet Locks 2024; A156.13 Mortise Locks 2022; A156.18 Materials and Finishes 2020; A156.23 Electromagnetic Locks 2022; A156.25 Electrified Locking Devices 2023; A156.28 Master Keying 2023; A156.30 High Security Cylinders 2025; A156.31 Electric Strikes and Frame Mounted Actuators 2024; A156.33 Internally Powered Architectural Hardware Devices 2024; A156.35 Power Supplies for Electronic Access Control 2025; A156.36 Auxiliary Locks 2020; A156.37 Multipoint Locks 2025; A156.39 Residential Locksets and Latches 2025; A156.40 Residential Deadbolts 2025; A156.44 Hardware for Architectural Glass Openings 2025 | Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA), ANSI/BHMA Standards — Hardware Highlights index (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights |
| S2 — ANSI/BHMA A156.13 mortise locks: the standard establishes requirements for mortise locks and latches and includes operational tests, strength tests, security tests, cycle tests, finish tests and dimensional criteria; grade 1 locks must pass a test through 1,000,000 cycles of opening and closing with a 10 pound load applied; fifteen aggressive security tests are specified, including a 1,200 in-lbf locked lever torque and two directions of impact; lever operated locks must open with a maximum torque of 28 in-lbf; hardware for fire doors is evaluated and listed to UL 10C by an accredited third-party testing laboratory; various types of trim meet the ADA and A117.1 requirements for operable parts to be operable with one hand and not require tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist, and knob trim should be avoided for accessible routes; an example function number is F04 entry lock | BHMA, A156.13 - 2022 Mortise Locks (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15613-2022-Mortise-Locks |
| S3 — ANSI/BHMA A156.36 auxiliary locks: the standard establishes requirements for auxiliary locks and includes dimensional criteria and five classifications of tests — operational, cycle, strength, security and finish; key operated locks must open with a maximum torque of 9 lbf-in; grade 1 dead locks must pass a rigorous test through 250,000 cycles; seven aggressive tests are specified, including a 1,350 pound force on the door against the dead bolt for grade 1; fire door hardware is evaluated and listed to UL 10C; lever or paddle trim meets the ADA and A117.1 operable-parts stipulations while knob trim should be avoided on accessible routes | BHMA, A156.36 - 2020 Auxiliary Hardware (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15636-2020-Auxiliary-Hardware |
| S4 — ANSI/BHMA A156.5 cylinders and input devices for locks: the standard establishes performance requirements for bored and preassembled locks and latches and includes cycle tests, strength tests, operational tests, security tests, material evaluation tests, finish tests and dimensional criteria; the force to insert or remove the key is covered and requires no greater than 3 pounds; grade 1 cylinders must pass a rigorous test through 40,000 cycles and still operate at reasonable forces; performance requirements are specified for electrical input devices such as card readers, keypads and mechatronic cylinders, adding tests such as ESD resistance, over-voltage and water resistance; a published worked example, E09231AL, refers to a grade 1 cylinder used in bored locks only and rated to be drill and pick resistant per UL 437 | BHMA, A156.5 - 2020 Cylinders and Input Devices for Locks (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A1565-2020-Cylinders-and-Input-Devices-for-Locks |
| S5 — ANSI/BHMA A156.25 electrified locking systems: the standard establishes requirements for the locking devices whose mechanical aspects are described in the applicable BHMA product standards, and where the input or controlling device or both are an integral part of the locking device they shall also be tested with the locking device covered by this standard; operation is covered by tests including under voltage, over voltage and coil over voltage, followed by a slam cycle test of 10,000 cycles and a re-check that the device operates properly, plus a variable ambient temperature test over a range of alternating temperatures; durability requires mounting on a mechanically operated test door and performing the normal electrical operation for 50% of the respective mechanical lock standard, for example A156.13 for mortise locks; electrical tests include applicable selections from UL 1034 Fifth Edition Standard for Burglary Resistant Electric Locking Mechanisms, including corrosion protection, over-current protection, humidity, strain relief and production line grounding continuity; the published type-numbering example is L1 - A156.13 F05 G1 - E05, E07, where L denotes Locked Outdoor Type, 1 denotes High Voltage Wired, and E05 is Electric Locking (Fail Safe) and E07 is Cylinder Monitoring | BHMA, A156.25 - 2023 Electrified Locking Systems (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15625-2018-Electrified-Locking-Systems |
| S6 — ANSI/BHMA A156.39 residential locksets and latches: the standard establishes performance requirements for bored residential locksets and latches and includes durability, security and finish; lever operated locks must open with a maximum torque of 28 in-lbf; grade A locks must pass a rigorous test that requires 400,000 cycles of opening and closing with a 5 pound axial load applied; eleven aggressive tests are specified, including one in which the latch must withstand 800 pounds of force and a locked lever test at 500 in-lbf; corrosion resistance is evaluated through a salt spray test to ASTM B117; an example function number is F77A for a patio or privacy lock | BHMA, A156.39 Residential Locksets and Latches (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15639-2015-Residential-Locksets-and-Latches |
| S7 — ANSI/BHMA A156.40 residential deadbolts and deadlatches: the standard establishes requirements for residential deadbolts and deadlatches and includes durability, security and finish tests; the forces that retract the latch or bolt must not exceed a maximum torque of 9 in-lbf; grade A residential dead latches must pass a rigorous test that requires 400,000 cycles of opening and closing; seventeen aggressive tests are specified, including loading the door against the deadbolt with 1,350 pounds of force; corrosion resistance is evaluated through a salt spray test to ASTM B117; an example function is a deadlocking latch bolt operated by key from either side with no latch bolt hold-back | BHMA, A156.40 - 2025 Residential Deadbolts (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15640-2015-Residential-Deadbolts |
| S8 — ANSI/BHMA A156.18 materials and finishes: nearly every type of builders hardware is evaluated to the salt spray test described in the standard, with the test method and failure criteria covering lack of corrosion, staining and blistering; a combination of tests including pencil hardness, abrasion and perspiration resistance is offered; finishes are required to resist ultraviolet degradation, with visual failure modes being chipping, flaking, cracking, colour loss or a change from clear to white, yellow or brownish; just about every combination of architectural finish and substrate is assigned a BHMA code number, such as 605 for clear coated bright brass, formerly US3, and the standard carries comprehensive tables with code numbers, descriptions and equivalent finishes, including 612 satin bronze clear coated, formerly US10, and 618 bright nickel plated clear coated; the standard defines finishing terms including relieved, meaning set off by contrast through partial removal of finish to create a brushed, satin or antique effect, and satin, a smooth dull finish with or without a directional pattern | BHMA, A156.18 - 2020 Materials and Finishes (Hardware Highlights) (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights/A15618-2020-Materials-and-Finishes |
| S9 — How keying systems are addressed as their own standard and how high-security cylinders are classified: A156.28 is published as Master Keying, recommended practices for mechanical keying systems, and A156.30 as High Security Cylinders | BHMA, ANSI/BHMA Standards — Hardware Highlights index (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Hardware-Highlights |
| S10 — Product grade levels and how to read them: many ANSI/BHMA standards define product grades of 1, 2 or 3 with grade 1 the highest; grades are defined by progressive levels of performance benchmarks in each applicable ANSI/BHMA standard and can also be ascertained by looking at the BHMA product number; grades are a way of defining other classification information such as the predominant material, product category and function. Product numbering: every ANSI/BHMA standard contains an explanation of the product numbering code applicable to that category; the number is a five-digit number preceded by a prefix letter, where the prefix denotes the BHMA product section, the first numeral designates the base material with the default number 0 allowing an optional material that meets the performance requirements of the applicable standard, the second number identifies the type of product, the third and fourth numerals identify the function, and the fifth number indicates the performance grade; the published example B52131 resolves, under A156.9, to a grade 1 back-mounted stainless steel cabinet knob, where B is the product section for cabinet hardware hinges, 5 is stainless steel, 2 is cabinet knob, 13 is back mounted and 1 is grade one; the standards body states that building hardware products should always be specified by BHMA product number to eliminate confusion over brand names, performance standards or product grade | BHMA, Product Grade Levels and BHMA Product Numbering (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards/Product-Grade-Levels |
| S11 — The standards body's role and the certification route: BHMA is the only organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop and maintain performance standards for locks, closers, exit devices and other builders hardware; it recognises that residential requirements differ enough from commercial ones to have separate standards, and has developed two residential standards, one for deadbolts and another for locksets; those standards require that consumers be made aware of the three key areas tested — security, durability and finish. Manufacturers voluntarily submit a hardware product to independent laboratory testing to confirm that it fully meets the criteria of its ANSI/BHMA standard, on a regular basis, and certification does not require the manufacturer to be a BHMA member; the BHMA Certified Products Directory lists products certified to meet ANSI/BHMA standards, with cycle, operational, strength, security and finish test requirements | BHMA, ANSI/BHMA Standards and Certification Program (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://buildershardware.com/ANSI-BHMA-Standards |
| S12 — What Thread is, and who certifies it: Thread Group delivers an open and global wireless mesh networking protocol that extends IP infrastructure in homes and buildings; it is a low-power, reliable and secure mesh network; Thread is a secure, low-power mesh networking protocol built for the Internet of Things, designed to support large numbers of devices with minimal power consumption and no single point of failure; the Thread Group is the industry alliance responsible for developing, certifying and promoting the Thread standard, providing device certification and interoperability testing plus developer tools, specifications and resources | Thread Group, official site (retrieved 2026-09-23) https://threadgroup.org/ |