Panic Bars and Exit Devices for Las Vegas Businesses

A panic bar is the push bar on an exit door. You lean on it and the door opens. No key, no knob, no thinking. If yours sticks, or you are not sure you need one, this page shows what the codes say and what a technician checks.

This guide goes past our commercial locksmith page. It covers when panic hardware is required, what the bar itself must do, how a repair is worked in order, and how to add an alarm, a delay or an electric lock without trapping anyone.

The short version

Here are the points that matter most.

• Two codes, two numbersThe International Building Code asks for panic hardware on locked or latched doors serving assembly or educational rooms with 50 or more people. NFPA 101 uses 100.
• High hazard rooms countBoth codes cover high hazard rooms, and the National Electrical Code adds some electrical rooms.
• Nothing else may lock the doorA door that needs panic hardware cannot also have a chain, a padlock or a second lock.
• Fire doors need fire exit hardwareA bar on a fire door must be fire exit hardware with the right label.
• Most repairs start at the doorA sagging or racked door causes many sticking bars, so we check the door before the device.
• Electric locks need a releaseA mag lock or a delay on an exit door must free the door in the ways the code lists.

What you can check before you call

Stand at the door and push the bar with your hand. Does it travel all the way down? Does the latch pull in fully and snap back out? Watch the top of the door and the frame for fresh scrape marks.

Look to see if the bar is held down. Many devices have a setting that holds the latch in so the door works like a push pull door. If someone left it on, the bar looks stuck and the door never latches.

Take a photo of the maker name and model on the case, plus the door width and what the door is made of. That photo lets us bring the right parts on the first trip.

When the codes say you need panic hardware

Lori Greene, who manages codes and resources at Allegion, sums up the rules in a FacilitiesNet article. Panic hardware only applies to doors that lock or latch. A push pull door with no lock or latch is not covered.

Which rules apply to your building

An office, shop or apartment building usually needs none unless it holds one of those rooms. A training room, a church hall, a gym or a restaurant dining area can all count as assembly space.

The National Electrical Code can add more. Starting with its 2014 edition, doors within 25 feet of the work area that latch or lock, and that serve rooms with equipment rated 800 amps or more, 600 volts or more, or battery rooms, need listed panic hardware or fire exit hardware.

Which book applies to your building? Clark County says its Building Department adopted the 2024 International Building Codes, and permit applications filed from January 11, 2026 follow them, with Southern Nevada amendments. See the Clark County codes page. The City of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas run their own building departments, so ask the one that covers your address. The building official decides, not us and not a magazine.

What the bar itself must do

The same FacilitiesNet article lists the rules for the device. Your inspector will look at each of them.

• Wide enoughThe pad or crossbar must be at least half the width of the door leaf.
• Right heightCurrent codes put it between 34 and 48 inches above the floor. Older bars may sit at other heights that were legal when installed.
• Light pushA force of 15 pounds on the pad or bar must release the latch. Some newer codes ask for 5 pounds.
• No second lockNo deadlock, chain, or padlock and hasp may be added to a door that must have panic hardware.
• Fire doorsA bar on a fire door must be fire exit hardware, and the door carries a label saying so. Fire exit hardware has no mechanical dogging. Electric dogging is allowed only if the latch springs out when smoke detection trips.
• Balanced doorsA balanced door, which pivots a few inches in from the hinge edge, needs a touchpad device. A full width crossbar cannot be used.

Types of exit devices

Von Duprin, which calls itself the inventor of the panic device category, shows its exit devices as cross bar, touch bar and recessed styles. It also lists options such as remote undogging and remote monitoring.

• CrossbarA bar runs across most of the door. It is easy to hit in a hurry, so it is the common choice for public doors.
• Touch barA slimmer pad that can suit a narrow stile or a cleaner look.
• RecessedThe pad sits flush in the door so it cannot snag clothing or a cart.
• Rim, mortise and vertical rodThese describe how the latch works. Rim devices latch on the door edge, mortise devices sit inside the door, and vertical rod devices latch at the top and bottom.
• Fire exit hardwareThe same push action, but tested and labeled for fire rated doors.

Installing a new panic bar

First we look at the door and frame. Hollow metal, aluminum storefront and wood doors all take different prep. The door has to hang straight, close on its own and meet the strike cleanly, or the new bar will fail the same way the old one did.

Then we mount the device, set the strike or the latch retraction, fit the trim if the outside needs a handle or key, and test it a dozen times. For a door in a place of assembly, ask your landlord or the building department whether a permit is needed before work starts. We will tell you what we need to see.

Repair, in the order a technician works it

When a bar sticks, drags or will not latch, we work down this list.

• The doorA sagging door rubs the frame and loads the latch. We check hinges and the gap all around first.
• The strikeIf the latch no longer lines up with the strike, the bar may feel stiff or the door may not catch.
• DoggingWe confirm the latch is not held in by the dogging setting, and that the door relatches when the setting is off.
• Trim and cylinderA bad outside trim or cylinder can leave the door hard to open from outside, even if the bar works.
• The closerA closer set too strong can fight the latch, and one set too weak lets the door hang open. See our door closers page.
• Worn partsIf springs, the latch or the touchpad are worn out, replacing the device often costs less than rebuilding it.

Alarms, delays and electric locks on exit doors

You can add control to a panic bar door, but the door must still release. Detex lists exit alarms with an internal alarm of about 100 decibels, an electric latch retraction option for access control, and a delayed egress option with a 15 second delay. Detex says delayed egress must have a fire alarm input so the delay is overridden in a fire.

Electric locks have their own rules. iDigHardware, which is run by Allegion, says that starting with the 2024 IBC and IFC, doors that need panic hardware must use door hardware release, and sensor release is no longer allowed for them. Read that breakdown. Our electric strikes and mag locks page explains both release types, and our access control page covers the readers.

The Las Vegas angle

Exit doors on the outside of a building take the sun, dust and heat. The Locksmith Ledger describes one weatherized Detex panic device tested under UL 1034 for a temperature range of minus 31 to 151 degrees Fahrenheit, plus dust and driving rain. See the Locksmith Ledger article. That is one model, but it shows that outdoor rated devices exist and are worth asking about for back doors and loading doors.

If your building is in Henderson, our commercial door hardware page covers the same work there. If you are locked out of an office instead, see office lockout service.

What to tell us on the phone

A few facts let us quote one total price and bring the right parts.

• Address and doorWhich door, what it is made of, and its width.
• The deviceMaker, model and a photo of the case.
• The symptomSticks, will not latch, held open, or door will not close.
• The roomWhat the room is used for and how many people it holds.
• Anything electricMag lock, alarm, delay or card reader on the door.

How to check any locksmith before you let them in

Ask for the license number and look it up. Ours is City of Las Vegas Locksmith License P64 00012, and you can check it on our license page or use the city's license search.

Get one price before work starts, in writing if you can. The Nevada Attorney General's consumer protection pages explain how to file a complaint if something goes wrong. To set up a visit, use our contact page.