Electric Strikes: Latch Release for Access Control

An electric strike is an electrified frame-side latch keeper that replaces (or supplements) a conventional strike plate. Instead of moving the lock’s latchbolt with a motor or solenoid inside the door, the strike’s keeper releases so an already-projected latch can pull through when access is granted.

That design keeps free egress through the door hardware itself in most applications, while access from the secure side is controlled by power, credentials, or a remote release. Electric strikes sit alongside electromagnetic locks and electrified locksets in modern access control. Each product family solves a different door geometry and code problem.

How an Electric Strike Works

A conventional mechanical strike is a fixed pocket in the frame that captures the latchbolt. An electric strike uses a spring-loaded keeper (or similar movable face) in that pocket. When the strike is secure, the keeper holds the latch so the door cannot open from the outside. When access is allowed, the keeper frees so the latch can pull through and the door opens.

The roles stay separate:

The lock or panic hardware on the door still retracts the latch for egress (lever, knob, or touchpad) in typical designs.
The electric strike decides whether that latch is captured or released from the frame side when someone approaches from the secure side.
A key or credential may also retract the latch into the lock body as a mechanical override, depending on the lock function. The strike does not replace that cylinder.

Power and control usually come from an access-control panel, power supply, or remote release. Exact wiring, voltage, and listing details belong to product documentation and the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). They are outside the scope of this overview.

Electric Strike vs. Electromagnetic Lock

Electromagnetic locks (maglocks) hold a door with a powered electromagnet on the frame and an armature on the door leaf. Bond exists only while power is applied; remove power and the door releases. Maglocks are therefore fail-safe only.

Comparison	Electric strike	Electromagnetic lock
What holds the door	Latchbolt captured by an electrified keeper	Magnetic bond between magnet and armature
Typical fail modes	Available fail-secure or fail-safe (product-dependent)	Fail-safe only
Free egress	Usually via the door’s lock or panic hardware, independent of strike power state	Requires code-compliant release devices (hardware release and/or sensor plus push button, plus power-loss and often fire-alarm release)
Fire-door latching	Fail-secure strikes are the type used when positive latching and listings matter	Maglocks do not provide mechanical latching by themselves

Choose based on door construction, whether positive latching is required, and whether the opening must stay secure during a power outage. Glass doors without suitable latch geometry often favor maglocks. Many hollow-metal and wood doors with standard latch hardware can use electric strikes.

Fail-Safe vs. Fail-Secure

In builders-hardware usage, fail-safe and fail-secure describe what happens on the secure (outside) side when power is removed:

Fail-safe: unlocked when power is removed; power is applied to lock.
Fail-secure: locked when power is removed; power is applied to unlock.

For electric strikes, that distinction applies to the keeper. A fail-secure strike stays secure without power. A fail-safe strike releases without power. Industry code educators note that most electrified products still allow free egress through the door hardware regardless of fail-safe or fail-secure — except electromagnetic locks, which do not provide that free-egress path by themselves and therefore need dedicated release methods.

Practical framing, at a high level:

Fail-secure strikes are common where the opening should remain locked during a power failure. They are the strike type used on fire-rated doors when positive latching and the applicable listings are required. Fail-safe strikes do not provide that latching behavior.
Fail-safe behavior is chosen when the secure side must unlock on power loss or alarm for a specific life-safety reason — and only when the product and listing allow it for that opening.
Maglocks remain fail-safe by physics: no power, no bond.

Local code, listing, and AHJ requirements govern every opening. Model-code details change by edition and occupancy. This page is explanatory, not a design guide.

Life-Safety Context

Electrified hardware sits at the intersection of security and egress. Broad principles that recur in code education:

Egress doors must allow occupants to leave without special knowledge or tools under the conditions the adopted code requires.
Fire door assemblies that need positive latching generally cannot rely on a fail-safe electric strike to hold the latch during a fire condition.
Maglocks used for access control typically need listed release paths (door-mounted release hardware and/or sensor systems with auxiliary push buttons), unlock on loss of power, and — for many sensor-release arrangements — unlock on fire-alarm or sprinkler activation.
Stairwell re-entry and similar special conditions may call for fail-safe electromechanical locks on the stair side so occupants can leave the stair when unlocked by fire command or alarm. That is a different product family than a fail-safe strike on a fire door.

None of these points replace the adopted building code, fire code, manufacturer listings, or AHJ interpretation for a specific project.

Where Electric Strikes Appear

Typical contexts, described conceptually:

Office and multi-tenant suite doors tied to card readers or remote release
Vestibules and controlled entries that keep standard latch hardware on the door
Openings where free egress stays on existing levers or panic hardware while inbound access is controlled electrically

They are less suitable where frame geometry cannot accept a strike, where listings forbid the chosen fail mode, or where magnetic holding without a latch is the only practical option.