Commercial Door Hardware Cost per Door (LA, 2026)
Picture the back door of a restaurant on La Brea at 4:45 on a Friday. The lever spins without catching, the closer is weeping oil down its arm, and a delivery driver is holding the door open with a milk crate. The owner wants one number.
There isn’t one number, but there are tight ones. Commercial door hardware cost per door in Los Angeles runs from about $185 for a plain interior latch to about $3,280 for a heavy-duty storefront entry, and the type of door sets almost all of it. Below you get the range for each door, the math behind it, and the code rules that change the bill.
Short answer: Installed in Los Angeles, a basic interior latch runs about $185 to $345, an office, stockroom or restroom door $360 to $740, an emergency exit $710 to $1,390 and a storefront entry $1,315 to $3,280. These are our estimates: distributor parts prices plus labor at The Handy Geeks’ $105 to $195 an hour.
Last verified: November 2026
- How much does commercial door hardware cost per door in LA?
- What is in a commercial door hardware set?
- Grade 1, 2 or 3: when is Grade 1 worth it?
- How does a fire-rated door change the price?
- What do ADA and California rules require of door hardware?
- Do you need a licensed contractor to replace door hardware?
- Repair, swap one part or replace the whole set?
- What else adds to the bill?
- Our call
- FAQ
How much does commercial door hardware cost per door in LA?
Installed in Los Angeles, commercial door hardware costs about $185 to $345 for a basic interior latch, $360 to $740 for an office, stockroom or restroom door, $710 to $1,390 for an emergency exit and $1,315 to $3,280 for a storefront entry. The closer-only swap is our published $120 to $280 per door.
| Door type | Parts (hardware only) | Labor assumed | Installed estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closer swap only | Included | Included | $120 to $280 (THG published rate) |
| Interior passage latch | $80 to $150 | 1 hr, $105 to $195 | $185 to $345 |
| Restroom door | $200 to $350 | 1.5 hr, $158 to $293 | $360 to $640 |
| Stockroom door | $200 to $400 | 1.5 hr, $158 to $293 | $360 to $690 |
| Office door | $250 to $450 | 1.5 hr, $158 to $293 | $410 to $740 |
| Emergency exit, rim device | $500 to $1,000 | 2 hr, $210 to $390 | $710 to $1,390 |
| Storefront entry, basic Grade 1 set | $1,000 to $1,750 | 3 hr, $315 to $585 | $1,315 to $2,335 |
| Storefront entry, heavy-duty set | $1,750 to $2,500 | 4 hr, $420 to $780 | $2,170 to $3,280 |
Source: parts from National Lock Supply, Cost-Per-Opening for Commercial Door Hardware (May 2026, retail category, hardware only); labor at The Handy Geeks’ published $105 to $195 an hour; closer swap is the published THG rate. Installed totals are our estimates.
One cross-check. ACME Locksmith’s published pricing, which we cite in our panic bar installation cost guide, puts a rim exit device at $600 to $1,900 installed. Our emergency exit row of $710 to $1,390 sits inside that.
Brand matters, and the parts column is the low side of it. On the retail sites we checked in November 2026, a Schlage ND80PD Grade 1 storeroom lock was listed at $645.21 and an ND53BD Grade 1 entrance lock at $508.68, marked down from $942. An LCN 4040XP Grade 1 closer ran $468.68 to $518.16 for the part alone. The $120 to $280 figure is our standard closer-swap price. If the spec says LCN 4040XP, budget roughly $575 to $715 installed (part plus one hour of labor).
Those are estimates. A written quote after a photo beats any table, ours included. See our storefront door repair cost guide for the repair side and the door closer replacement cost page for the closer.
What is in a commercial door hardware set?
A hardware set is every piece of hardware on one opening, priced together. Contractors and suppliers quote doors this way because one cheap part can drag down a good one.
- Hinges. Usually the first thing to wear on a heavy door. A sagging door that drags on the threshold is often a hinge or pivot problem, which we cover in our storefront door drag guide.
- Lockset or latch. Passage, privacy, office, storeroom or entrance function. This is where Grade 1 versus Grade 2 shows up.
- Closer. Surface-mounted on most LA storefronts and back doors. See why one keeps slamming.
- Exit device. The push bar on an exit door.
- Stops, kick plate and silencers. Cheap parts, easy to forget on a quote.
National Lock Supply prices a storeroom mortise lock at $250 to $450, a panic device with exit alarm at $500 to $1,000, and an electric strike at $150 to $400 more. If an opening gets card access later, price the strike and the wiring as their own line.
Grade 1, 2 or 3: when is Grade 1 worth it?
Grade 1 is worth it on any door that gets hammered every day, meaning exterior doors, restaurant back doors and storefront entries. BHMA, the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association, grades products by how many test cycles they survive. The relevant standards are ANSI/BHMA A156.2 for bored locks, A156.4 for door controls (closers), A156.3 for exit devices and A156.1 for butt hinges.
| Product (standard) | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bored lock (A156.2) | 1,000,000 | 400,000 to 800,000 | 200,000 to 400,000 |
| Exit device (A156.3) | 500,000 | 250,000 | 100,000 |
| Closer (A156.4), without backcheck | 2,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 |
| Butt hinge (A156.1) | 2,500,000 | 1,500,000 | 350,000 |
Source: Allegion, What are ANSI/BHMA hardware grades and National Lock Supply, BHMA A156 series cheat sheet. The two sources agree on Grade 1 locks and on exit devices but differ on Grade 2 and 3 locks (400,000 and 200,000 at Allegion; 800,000 and 400,000 at National Lock Supply), so we show both as a range.
Turn cycles into years. A restaurant back door that opens 300 times a day uses 1,000,000 cycles in about 9 years (1,000,000 / 300 = 3,333 days). A Grade 2 lock rated at 400,000 cycles is done in about 3.7 years at the same traffic. That is arithmetic on a rated test, not a promise of field life, but the gap is real. A closer that fails early is also the thing that leaves a door hanging open, so don’t cheap out there.
How does a fire-rated door change the price?
Yes, a fire-rated door costs more, because everything on it has to be listed for the job. National Lock Supply puts the fire-rating premium at 15 to 30 percent on the lock, and a fire-rated closer adds $150 to $300. Apply that to a $250 to $450 storeroom lock and you land around $290 to $585 for the lock alone.
The rules come from NFPA 80, the standard for fire doors and other opening protectives. As summarized by Locksmith Ledger, a fire door assembly needs a means of positive latching, most openings need a closer, and every component beyond a steel leaf hinge must be certified. The lowest rated component sets the rating for the whole opening. Two things catch owners out:
- Panic hardware that isn’t labeled as fire exit hardware can’t go on a fire door, and fire exit hardware can’t be mechanically dogged down.
- Heavier machining, such as cutting for a mortise lock or concealed closer, has to happen under the door manufacturer’s label service. Drilling round holes for surface hardware is allowed in the field. Cutting a new lock prep into a labeled door with a hole saw and a chisel is not.
Source: Locksmith Ledger, The Basics of Fire-Door Assemblies. NFPA 80 also calls for an annual inspection of fire doors.
What do ADA and California rules require of door hardware?
California Building Code Chapter 11B sets the hardware rules for most commercial doors, and three numbers matter. Operable parts must sit between 34 and 44 inches above the floor (11B-404.2.7), interior hinged doors can take no more than 5 pounds of force to open (11B-404.2.9), and a closer must take at least 5 seconds to swing the door from 90 degrees to 12 degrees from the latch (11B-404.2.8.1).
Federal ADA text allows up to 48 inches for the same parts. In California, use 44. Some sources and supplier pages quote 48, so check before a reader hands you a drawing. Required fire doors get a different opening-force rule: the minimum the authority allows, not more than 15 pounds.
The same section carries a DOJ advisory that hardware you can work with a closed fist or loose grip serves the most people. A round knob needs grip and twist, so in our experience it fails inspection. Lever hardware passes. The section numbers above come from the 2022 California Standards for Accessible Design guide text; confirm against the code edition your permit falls under. More on storefront doors in our ADA storefront door requirements post and the most common ADA violations in California list.
Source: 2022 California Standards for Accessible Design, 11B-404; 11B-404.2.8.
Do you need a licensed contractor to replace door hardware?
Yes, once the job reaches $1,000. California law requires a contractor’s license when the total price for labor, materials and everything else is $1,000 or more. The old limit was $500; Assembly Bill 2622 raised it on January 1, 2025, per the Contractors State License Board.
In the table above, the first five rows can stay under that line. The emergency exit and both storefront rows cross it. Hiring unlicensed help for a job over the limit carries risk for you as the property owner or tenant, which we lay out in our unlicensed contractor liability and handyman license guides. The Handy Geeks is a licensed general contractor, so the larger jobs go through our general contractor team. Smaller ones go through commercial handyman service.
Source: CSLB press release on AB 2622 (Chapter 240, Statutes of 2024).
Repair, swap one part or replace the whole set?
Repair when the hardware is sound and only out of adjustment, swap one part when a single component has failed, and replace the whole set when two or more parts are shot. Most closers that slam are adjustment, not replacement.
The half-the-price rule is ours, not a code number. The logic is simple: new parts on a worn door don’t reset the hinges or the frame, so you keep paying for visits. Grade 3 residential hardware on a commercial door is an automatic replace. It was never built for that traffic.
What else adds to the bill?
Keying, retrofit prep and after-hours work move a quote the most. National Lock Supply lists cylinder keying at $5 to $15 per cylinder, and a master key system at $1,500 to $4,000 to set up for 50 to 100 doors. A door and frame that don’t match the new hardware’s prep cost another $100 to $400 per opening to correct.
After-hours work multiplies labor only. Our after-hours multiplier is 1.25 to 1.6 times and emergency work is 1.4 to 1.75 times. On the emergency exit row, 2 hours of labor ($210 to $390) becomes $263 to $624 after hours. Parts don’t change. Our handyman hourly rate and commercial handyman rates guide explain how a quote is built, and the price guide has the rest.
Our call
For exterior and high-traffic doors in a Los Angeles store or restaurant, buy a Grade 1 lockset and a Grade 1 closer. The deciding reason is cycle math: at 300 openings a day, Grade 1 lasts about 9 years against about 3.7 for a 400,000-cycle Grade 2, and every early failure is another visit at $105 to $195 an hour with a $110 to $210 minimum.
The one flip: interior doors under about 100 openings a day can take Grade 2. A 400,000-cycle lock over 10 years is 110 openings a day (400,000 / 3,650), so below 100 you will not wear it out before the lease ends. Stockroom, office and restroom doors in a small shop usually fall below that. Anything on a fire-rated opening or an emergency exit needs the labeled hardware regardless of grade.
If you’re pricing several doors at once, our retail store maintenance and vendor guide cover how we schedule a whole space, and the full list of commercial handyman services shows what else we handle.
FAQ
How much does commercial door hardware cost per door?
For a store, restaurant or office in Los Angeles, plan on $360 to $740 for an office, stockroom or restroom door and $1,315 to $3,280 for a storefront entry, installed. A basic interior latch is closer to $185 to $345. Those are our estimates, built from distributor parts prices plus our $105 to $195 hourly labor.
How much does it cost to install door hardware?
Labor is the part we control. We charge $105 to $195 an hour in Los Angeles with a $110 to $210 minimum, and we plan about an hour for a lockset swap and three to four hours for a storefront entry set. Swapping only a closer is $120 to $280 per door.
What is the difference between Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 door hardware?
Grade 1 is the toughest of the three BHMA grades. A Grade 1 bored lock is tested to 1,000,000 cycles and a Grade 1 exit device to 500,000. Grade 2 is for lighter traffic and Grade 3 is for residential or very light use. On a store or restaurant exterior door, we buy Grade 1.
Do I need a licensed contractor to replace door hardware in California?
Once the job reaches $1,000 in labor and materials, yes. The limit was $500 until January 1, 2025. A single passage latch swap can land under it, but an emergency exit or a storefront entry set usually won’t.
Does fire-rated door hardware cost more?
It does. National Lock Supply puts the fire-rating premium at 15 to 30 percent on the lock, and a fire-rated closer adds $150 to $300. The hardware also has to be labeled for fire doors, and a panic bar sold only as panic hardware doesn’t count.
How much does keying or master keying cost?
National Lock Supply lists cylinder keying at $5 to $15 per cylinder and a master key system for 50 to 100 doors at $1,500 to $4,000 to set up. Our labor to install and test the cylinders comes on top of that.
Send us a photo of the door
Take one photo of each side of the door and one of the closer and the latch edge, then text them with the street address to (818) 835-0556 or use our contact page. Tell us roughly how many people use the door in a day. We’ll send back a written price. See other jobs on our portfolio page.