Door Handing: LH, RH, LHR, and RHR Explained

The Two Parts of a Hand

Allegion describes handing as two separate facts about a door:

• The hand (left or right): which side of the opening the hinges are on.
• The swing (standard or reverse): whether the door swings away from you or toward you.

Put together, those give four possible hands: LH, RH, LHR, and RHR.

Viewpoint: The Outside or Secure Side

A hand only means something if everyone looks at the door from the same side. The ANSI/BHMA convention used in North America reads the door from the outside. Allegion calls this the "outside, security side or key side of door." Hull Supply's training article describes it as the outside "of the building, room or space to which the doorway leads," and notes that this is the secure side, which is why it is used as the viewpoint.

From that side:

Allegion's method tells the reader to "note the location of the hinges, not the lock." A door that swings toward the viewer on the secure side is called a reverse swing (or reverse bevel) door.

Hull Supply adds an informal shortcut. Standard hands describe a door swinging "to" the space (into an office from the corridor), while reverse hands describe a door swinging "from" it.

Why the Outside Is Not Always Obvious

For an exterior door, the outside is the street side. Interior doors are less clear, so the rule ties the viewpoint to security rather than to the building envelope. Hull Supply suggests asking from which side you would unlock the door to enter the space. That side is the outside for handing purposes, even if it is a corridor inside the building.

The same training article notes that pairs of doors are handed in the same way as single doors, and that double-acting doors (which swing both ways) take their own designations such as LH-DA and LHR-DA.

How Handing Affects Hardware

Hull Supply notes that the frame, door, and hardware on an opening all carry a hand, and that "all the handing information for frame, door, and hardware needs to be compatible for the door to operate." The frame's hand decides which jamb gets the hinge preparation and which gets the strike plate.

On the lock itself, Allegion notes that handing decides which side is secure and how the levers are oriented. Manufacturers ask for handing on orders. Schlage's MultiPoint Lock data sheet, for example, lists "LH, LHR, RH, RHR (Note: must specify handing on order)." Some hardware can be changed in the field and some cannot, so handing is checked against the specific product's instructions.

Not every product is handed. A UK ironmongery article republished on I Dig Hardware notes that hardware can be described as non-handed, dual-handed, double-handed, or universal.

Door Closers Use a Different Reference

Closers are a well-known source of confusion. Allegion's knowledge base notes that "a LHR (left hand reverse) door uses a RH (right hand) door closer" and "a RHR (right hand reverse) door uses a LH (left hand) door closer." Its closer instructions tell the reader to go to the push side of the opening: if the door swings out to the left, it needs a left-hand closer.

The practical point is that a closer's hand is not always the same as the door's hand. Check the closer manufacturer's handing chart. See door closers.

Handing and Egress

Swing direction also connects to life safety. Building and life safety codes address which doors must swing in the direction of exit travel. Whether a particular door must do so, and what hardware it needs, depends on the occupancy, the code edition, and the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). See panic hardware and fire-rated door hardware.

Handing Outside North America

Other systems describe the same door differently. I Dig Hardware's article on international methods describes two examples:

• BS EN (ISO) handing describes a single-action door by the direction it closes: clockwise or anti-clockwise. UK ironmongers often write this using the numerals "5" and "6," and double-leaf doors are handed "5/6."
• DIN handing (DIN Left and DIN Right), used in Germany and other parts of northern Europe, is read from the pull side by noting which side the hinges are on.

Because DIN reads from the pull side and the ANSI/BHMA convention reads from the outside or secure side, the same door can carry labels that look contradictory. When ordering imported hardware, confirm which system the label uses.

Related Topics

• Door closers: closer handing and mounting
• Strike plates: the frame side of the latch
• Mortise locks: commercial locks often ordered by hand
• Lock functions: which side locks and when
• Panic hardware: exit devices and swing direction
• Fire-rated door hardware: labeled openings
• Door hinges
• Lever handles and accessibility
• Removable mullions

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