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Printable checklist

Monthly exit door check

One printable page for walking every exit and accessible door in your building once a month and writing down what you find.

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How to use this sheet

This is a routine walk for the building's own staff. Monthly is the interval this sheet suggests, not one that any code sets. It does not replace any inspection that a code, an insurer or a fire inspector requires, and it does not certify anything. Its job is to catch the slow faults early and leave a dated record of each walk.

Take the sheet to every exit door and every door on an accessible route. Fill in the log columns for each door, then work down the checklist. The test for the exit itself is the one in our article on an exit door or panic bar that will not release: push once, flat-handed, at normal walking pace. If you had to adjust your grip or push twice, the door fails. The panic hardware inspection article covers what an inspector looks for when they test the same door.

What the walk covers

After the exit test, watch the closer. Let the door go from a wide angle and see whether it closes and latches under its own power. A door that rests against the latch without engaging, or that slams, is described in what a failing door closer is telling you.

On doors along an accessible route, check how hard the door is to open. The figure most often cited for interior hinged doors is five pounds of force, measured with a door pressure gauge pulled steadily through the swing. Fire rated doors are treated differently, and the exemption is narrower than most people assume. Our piece on ADA door opening force explains how doors drift past the limit, most often because someone wound the closer up to make a door latch.

Last, look at the door itself and at what has been done to it: worn hinges, a threshold fouling the bottom rail, compressed weatherstripping, and any sign of propping, chaining or bolting. Write down anything you find and the date.

The checklist

Monthly exit door check

Download the PDF to print

Log columns, one row per door

  • Door (location or number)
  • Date of walk
  • Result: pass or fail
  • Action: what is needed and who was told

Free exit from the push side

  • Push once, flat-handed, at walking pace
  • Door opens in a single motion, with no second push or change of grip
  • Panic bar moves freely and returns fully
  • Door still releases when pressed against the frame
  • Latch retracts and the touchbar is not stiff or corroded
  • Dogging is off when the building is closed and absent on a rated door

Closer and latching

  • Let the door go from a wide angle
  • Door closes and latches under its own power every time
  • Door does not slam
  • No oil on the closer, door or frame
  • Arm and bracket are straight and tight

Opening force on accessible routes

  • Door is not hard to open
  • Gauge reading taken through the swing, more than once
  • Door tested as the building normally runs
  • Hard door: note it, do not wind the closer up

Hinges, threshold and seals

  • Hinges tight, with no wear or sag
  • Even gap around the door leaf
  • Door does not rub the frame or threshold
  • Weatherstripping not crushed or hardened
  • Latch lines up with the strike

Propping, chaining and obstruction

  • No chain, padlock, barrel bolt, slide bolt or bar on the door
  • No wedge or hold-open that is not a release device
  • Nothing stacked or parked in front of the exit, inside or out
  • Exit sign in place and lit

Where it comes from

Built from these pages

Common questions

Questions about this checklist

Does a code require this monthly check?

This sheet makes no such claim. It is a routine walk for your own staff, and it does not replace any inspection that a code, your insurer or a fire inspector requires. Ask the relevant authority what applies to your building.

Who fixes what the walk turns up?

Door hardware, closers, exit devices, hinges, thresholds and alignment are fitted and adjusted by our own technicians. Electrified hardware wiring, fire alarm tie-ins and anything that needs a permit are coordinated through licensed contractors, with TrionX coordinating and documenting the work.

What should we do if an exit device will not release in one motion?

Treat it as a life safety failure while the building is occupied. Keep the door supervised or route people to another compliant exit and sign it, then have the door attended as soon as it can be arranged.

More to print

Other checklists

All printable checklists

Found something on the walk?

Send us the sheet. Our own technicians adjust and replace closers, exit devices, hinges and thresholds, and coordinate licensed contractors for any wiring or alarm tie-in. We carry general liability and workers' compensation, and every job is photographed.

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