A locked door is a life-safety device
A mag-lock that does not release the way the code requires is not a security feature — it is an egress failure. That is why access control permits do not file like a simple trade permit: the locking hardware, the release method, and the fire alarm tie-in are reviewed together, by fire and building reviewers, before the work is legal. PermitsPros files access control and mag-lock permits for security and low-voltage installers, building owners and facility managers, and general contractors whose tenant improvement includes electrified hardware — pre-checked before filing, filed the same day the complete package is in, and tracked until the issued permit is delivered.
Our filing record to date is California-filed. This page states capability and process plainly: what the permit covers, what it costs, and how the San Francisco route works.
What it covers
- Magnetic locks (mag-locks) — electromagnetic locking on controlled doors and openings.
- Electric strikes and electrified hardware — electric strikes, and electrified lever and exit hardware, including mixed-hardware sites.
- Card access — card readers and controlled entries as part of the same permit package.
- Egress locking, by release type — sensor release (motion sensor plus push-to-exit), hardware release (lever or panic hardware cuts power), delayed egress, and free egress where the hardware always opens from inside.
- High-rise elevator lobby access control — controlled elevator lobbies, filed as their own egress case.
- Fire alarm tie-in — locks that release on fire alarm, documented in the package the reviewer actually reads.
Every controlled opening is its own egress case in the review — which is exactly how the pricing below is built.
Pricing: one flat fee per site, by entry count
Our service fee is one flat fee per project and site, keyed to entries — the count of controlled doors and openings. Fire and building review are handled end to end, plans and cutsheets are checked before filing, the package files same-day, and one corrections round is included.
| Controlled entries | Service fee | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 9 entries | $495 per site | The base tier — most single-tenant access control jobs land here. |
| 10–24 entries | $795 per site | Larger floors and multi-door suites. |
| 25–49 entries | $1,195 per site | Multi-floor and campus-scale controlled openings. |
| 50+ entries | $1,695 per site | The largest sites — every opening still its own egress case. |
Additional corrections rounds are $295, quoted in writing before we resubmit. City fees are a pass-through at cost — never marked up. An optional Plan Code Review is $195: before we file, we review your access control plans against the locking and egress code — sensor release, fail-safe on power loss, push-to-exit placement, release on fire alarm, delayed-egress rules — and flag what a reviewer would correct, while fixing it is still free.
San Francisco: Fire Department review, filed Route B
In San Francisco, electromagnetic locks go through Fire Department review. The San Francisco standard is Route B: the fire application and a companion electrical draft are filed in parallel, so the fire review and the electrical side move together instead of waiting on each other. For San Francisco jobs, SFFD fire final-test scheduling and coordination are included in the service fee above.
Filing is not approval or issuance — the city controls review and issuance timelines, and no one can promise them. The promise is the filing: complete, pre-checked, and filed the same day the complete package is in.
What we need at intake
- The count of doors and openings getting controlled hardware — that count sets your tier, and the order flow reprices live as you enter it.
- The approximate device and component count — readers, locks, sensors, exit buttons, power supplies.
- The lock and hardware type, and how each door releases for egress — sensor, hardware, delayed, or free egress.
- Whether the locks tie into the fire alarm and release on alarm.
- The installing contractor’s license class and number — C-7 Low Voltage Systems or C-10 Electrical are the usual classes for this work.
- Plans and manufacturer cutsheets — files upload with your job files right after payment, in the same order; there is no separate upload trip.
- Your signed authorization letter and photo ID — filing starts with those, as with every PermitsPros order.
Call (888) 907-9511 and we will confirm the entry count and the tier for your site before you order.