Access Control Systems for Las Vegas Businesses

An access control system replaces metal keys with something you can switch on and off. People use a card, a fob, a code or a phone. When someone leaves, you cancel one credential and nothing is rekeyed.

This guide goes past our commercial locksmith page. It breaks a system into its parts, shows how to choose a lock for each door, and covers the life safety rules, the power plan and the questions to settle before anyone drills.

The short version

Here are the points that matter most.

• Four partsA credential, a reader, a controller and a lock at the door. Power and an exit release complete the picture.
• The lock decides the projectStrikes, mag locks and exit devices with electric latch retraction each fit different doors.
• People must still get outEvery controlled door needs a release that follows the fire and life safety rules.
• Plan for a power cutDecide which doors lock and which unlock when power fails.
• Doors must closeA reader cannot lock a door that hangs open.
• Start with the doorsCount them and note which ones matter most.

What you can check before you call

Walk the building and list every door you want to control. Mark who uses each one and when. A front door used all day is a different job from a server room used by two people.

Check each door type. Glass storefront, hollow metal, wood and aluminum frames take different locks. Look for a place near each door where a power supply and wire can go.

Write down how you handle keys today. If staff lose them or leave with them, that tells us how much you gain from switching to credentials.

The parts of a system

The maker catalogs show the same building blocks. Securitron lists electromagnetic locks, keypads and readers, push buttons and egress devices, and power solutions. Detex lists access control power supplies and logic controllers. Von Duprin lists electric strikes, exit devices and power supplies.

Picking the lock for each door

Von Duprin says its electric strikes suit standalone doors or a comprehensive access control system. Our electric strikes and mag locks page covers fail safe and fail secure, preload and the release rules in detail.

• Electric strikeGood where the door already has a latch and you want the handle to work from inside.
• Mag lockGood on frames where a strike will not fit. It needs a release that meets code.
• Exit device with electric latch retractionDetex lists these for entrance and exit doors with panic or fire exit hardware where access control is wanted.
• Keypad lockA standalone lock with its own keypad for a single door. See our keypad and keyless entry page.

Life safety rules that touch every door

A controlled door can limit who comes in. It cannot trap anyone who needs to leave. The Locksmith Ledger explains the key rule. Sensor release locks must unlock on loss of power and when the fire alarm or sprinkler system trips, and a Push to Exit button must keep the door unlocked for at least 30 seconds. Door hardware release locks must unlock at once and on loss of power. Read the Ledger article.

iDigHardware says the 2024 IBC and IFC require door hardware release on doors with panic hardware, and sensor release is no longer allowed there. See the iDigHardware article. Clark County adopted the 2024 IBC for permit applications filed from January 11, 2026. See the county codes page. The county list also names the 2023 National Electrical Code.

Choosing what people carry or type

Cards and fobs are easy to hand out and easy to cancel. A code costs nothing to issue, but people share codes, so it suits low risk doors best. Phone credentials remove the card but depend on staff using their phones. Pick the credential for each door by how much it matters and how often the people using it change.

You can mix them. A front door might take a card or a code, and a server room might need a card and a code together. We will tell you honestly when a good mechanical lock is the better buy for a door that almost never changes hands.

What an install day looks like

We walk each door with you first and confirm the lock, the reader spot, the power source and the route for the wire. Then we mount the lock, run the low voltage cable, fit the reader at a height people can reach, and wire the controller and the power supply.

Last comes testing. We test the reader, the lock, the exit release, the door position and the power loss behavior at every door. We walk you through adding and canceling a credential before we leave. If something is not right, we fix it that day.

Power and what happens in an outage

Every lock needs power, and every system needs a plan for when power fails. A fail safe lock opens when power drops. A fail secure lock stays locked. Mag locks always release when power drops. Pick the setting for each door on purpose, not by default.

A battery backup keeps readers and locks working for a while, and it keeps your data. Ask how long the system runs on battery and how you reset it.

Doors have to close

Access control only works if the door shuts behind the person. A door that hangs open stays unlocked. The ADA Standards require at least 5 seconds for a closer to swing from 90 to 12 degrees from the latch, and 5 pounds or less of force on interior hinged doors. See the ADA Standards. Section 309.4 adds that operable parts must work with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching or twisting, and with no more than 5 pounds of force, which is worth knowing for push plates and buttons.

Our door closers page covers setting and replacing the closer that makes the lock matter.

Questions to settle before anyone drills

A system is only as good as the rules behind it. Settle these before the install day.

• Who runs itOne person should add and cancel credentials, with a backup person.
• Lost cardsDecide how fast a lost card is canceled and who is told.
• After hoursList who can enter at night and on weekends, and by which door.
• Other systemsNote any tie in with the fire alarm, an alarm company or a landlord's system.
• Metal keysDecide which doors keep a key override, and who holds those keys.

Planning for growth

Most owners start with a few doors and add more. Ask whether the controller can take extra readers, how many credentials it can hold, and whether a second location could be added later under the same rules.

Keep a simple record of every door, its lock type, its fail safe or fail secure setting and the date it was last tested. That record saves hours the next time something changes, and it helps when a landlord, an insurer or an inspector asks.

The Las Vegas angle

Outdoor readers, gates and exit doors face sun and dust. Detex lists weatherized electric latch retraction devices for doors exposed to weather. See Detex. Ask for weatherized or outdoor rated parts on any door that bakes in the afternoon.

We install readers, fobs and keypads for offices and warehouses. See our Enterprise access control page and our Henderson access control page for how a job goes in those areas.

What to tell us on the phone

Give us these details and we can plan the visit.

• Door countHow many doors, and which ones matter most.
• Door typesGlass, aluminum, hollow metal or wood.
• PeopleRoughly how many users and how often they change.
• Today's lockWhat each door has now.
• RulesAny fire alarm tie in, alarm company or landlord rules.

How to check any locksmith before you let them in

Ask for the license number. Ours is City of Las Vegas Locksmith License P64 00012, and you can check it on our license page.

Get one total price and a written scope of work. The Nevada Attorney General's consumer protection pages explain how to file a complaint. To book, use our contact page.