Door Hinges: Types, Grades, and Hinge-Side Security

Hinge Types

BHMA's Guide to Builders Hardware Terminology defines hinges by how each leaf mounts:

Full mortise hinges are by far the most common on residential and commercial swinging doors. Other hanging devices include:

• Continuous hinges, which run the full height of the door. ANSI/BHMA A156.26 is the standard.
• Pivots, which carry the door at the top and bottom, sometimes with intermediate pivots. Pivot requirements sit in ANSI/BHMA A156.4.
• Spring (self-closing) hinges, which use a built-in spring to close the door. ANSI/BHMA A156.17 is the standard.

BHMA's terminology also names several variations: swing clear hinges, which move the door completely out of the opening at 90 to 95 degrees; raised barrel hinges, with an offset barrel for clearance; and hospital tips, which BHMA defines simply as hinge barrel ends that are sloped.

Grades and Cycle Tests

Butts and hinges are covered by ANSI/BHMA A156.1 (current edition 2025). BHMA's summary of the 2025 edition says Grade 1 hinges "must pass a rigorous test through 2.5 million cycles" on a door of specified weight. The standard also ties metal thickness to hinge height, weight, and grade. As one example, a heavy-weight, 5-inch, Grade 1 hinge is made from 0.190 in. (±0.005) metal.

Hager's 2024 commercial hinge catalog, which states its hinges conform to A156.1, lists the grade-to-cycle relationship this way:

Bearing type matters for heavy or busy doors. Hager describes its ball-bearing units as carrying the knuckle weight on hardened steel raceways, with lateral wear minimized because the pin is held against thrust. The table above shows that bearing construction tracks with grade.

Hinge grades are separate from lock grades. For locks, ANSI/BHMA A156.36 sets the Grade 1 deadbolt figure at 250,000 cycles, and ANSI/BHMA A156.2-2022 sets the Grade 1 bored lock figure at 1,000,000 cycles.

Size and Quantity

Hinge size is given as height by width. For example, 4-1/2 × 4-1/2 inches, height first. Hager's sizing guide gives general starting points for 1-3/4 inch doors:

• Doors up to 36 inches wide: 4-1/2 inch hinge height
• Doors 36 to 48 inches wide: 5 inch hinge height

Hager notes that hinge choice also depends on door weight and frequency of use, and advises including the weight of hardware that will be added to the door. Hinge width is calculated separately, from door thickness, backset, and required clearance. Hager calls a hinge wider than it is tall a "wide throw" hinge.

For quantity, Hager's catalog states the common rule for doors up to 60 inches tall: two hinges, plus one more for each additional 30 inches. I Dig Hardware's summary of NFPA 80 gives the same rule for fire doors, with the example that a 90-inch door gets three hinges.

Hinge-Side Security

Standard hinge pins can be lifted out when the knuckles are exposed. On an out-swinging exterior door, that side faces outside. Manufacturers offer several features that address this. Hager describes three common ones and notes they "are intended as deterrents only":

• Non-removable pin (NRP). A set screw in the barrel seats against a groove in the pin. It can only be reached with the door open. BHMA defines NRP as a pin "secured by a set screw or other means."
• Safety stud. A projecting stud on one leaf engages a hole in the opposite leaf when the door is closed. BHMA's terminology defines it this way.
• Reverse security stud. Hager describes a welded stud projecting from the back of both leaves into the reinforcing plates of the frame and door. It is intended to resist battering or shearing and is "primarily used in prisons and psychiatric areas."

McKinney offers a non-removable door (NRD) variant, with a dowel force-fitted into the jamb leaf; McKinney says that when the door is hung, "the pin is completely concealed". BHMA's terminology also defines a maximum security pin as one "that cannot be removed when once installed." BHMA's A156.1-2025 summary notes the standard separately categorizes hinges with non-removable pins, wired (electrified) hinges, and beveled or hospital tips.

Electrified hinges carry wires through the hinge to power or signal electrified locksets, electric latch retraction, or door-position monitoring without exposed cable.

Hinges on Fire-Rated Doors

On a labeled fire door, hinges are part of the tested assembly. These points come from I Dig Hardware's summary of NFPA 80. Hager's catalog reproduces the same ball-bearing requirement and hinge-size table, which corroborates them. Confirm all of them against the edition of NFPA 80 your AHJ enforces:

• Hinges and pivots must be ball-bearing type, except spring hinges. Other antifriction bearings are allowed if they meet A156.1.
• Where spring hinges are used, at least two are required, and they must be labeled and meet A156.17 Grade 1.
• Continuous hinges must be labeled and comply with A156.26.
• NFPA 80 includes a table of minimum hinge size, type, and thickness based on door rating and size.
• Any shims must be steel.

See fire-rated door hardware for the wider assembly rules.

Related Topics

• Door handing: hinge side and swing direction
• Door closers: the other half of door control
• Strike plates: reinforcing the latch side
• Fire-rated door hardware: labeled assemblies
• Electrified locksets: powered through electrified hinges
• ANSI/BHMA lock grades: how BHMA grading works
• Multipoint locks: another way to secure a door along its height

Sources