How to Read EN Classification Codes Digit by Digit: EN 1906, EN 12209, EN 1154, EN 1935 and EN 1303

An EN classification code is a row of positions, not a single grade: EN 1906 lever handles carry 8 positions, EN 12209 locks 11, EN 1154 door closers 6, EN 1935 hinges 8 and EN 1303 cylinders 8. Each position answers one question, so the code is read one position at a time against the standard's own table.

The shortcut is that the first six positions ask the same questions in the same order in all five standards: category of use, durability, a door-mass position, fire door suitability, safety and corrosion resistance. Only the positions after that are specific to the product. Every code in this article is an illustrative example written to show the reading; none describes one of our products, and our product records publish no EN classification.

The five standards side by side

Three of the shared positions mean the same thing everywhere. Durability is a test-cycle count expressed as a grade, so the digit is a key to a number, not the number itself. The fire position says whether the product was assessed for use on a fire or smoke door, and 0 means it was not; it describes the hardware's suitability, while the fire resistance of the door is tested on the whole door assembly under EN 1634-1. The corrosion position refers to EN 1670, the salt-spray classification that our corrosion guide covers.

EN 1906: lever handles and knob furniture

Worked example: a lever classified 3 7 - 1 1 4 0 A reads as category of use 3, 200,000 test cycles, no door-mass grade, suitable for fire or smoke doors, safety 1 (the safety requirements are met), corrosion grade 4, no security claim, and a spring-assisted handle. EN 1906 has been published in 2002, 2010 and 2012 editions whose grade definitions differ, so the code should travel with its year. Our guide on lever return covers the safety and category fields in more depth.

EN 12209: mechanically operated locks, latches and locking plates

Worked example: a lock case classified 3 C 6 1 0 C 4 B 0 2 0 reads as category of use 3, a durability letter (the cycle count each letter stands for is in the edition's table), door mass and closing force grade 6, suitable for fire or smoke doors, safety 0, corrosion and temperature code C, security grade 4, then field of door application B, key operation 0, spindle operation 2 and key identification 0. Positions 6 and 8 to 11 only mean something against the table of the edition named on the report, and a 2024 edition has replaced the 2016 one. Note also that one door usually needs three codes: a mortise lock with a lever and a euro cylinder is classified as three products, the case under EN 12209, the handle under EN 1906 and the cylinder under EN 1303, and the case's security grade does not cover a cylinder that can be attacked from outside.

EN 1154: door closers

Worked example: a closer classified 4 8 4 1 1 3 reads as closing from 180°, 500,000 test cycles, power size 4, suitable for fire doors, safety 1 and corrosion grade 3. Position 3 is the one buyers select by: power size 4 covers a leaf up to 1100mm wide and 80 kg. Our guide on closer power sizes has the full size table and the method for choosing from the door.

EN 1935: single-axis hinges

Worked example: a hinge classified 4 7 6 1 1 4 0 13 reads as category of use 4, 200,000 cycles, a 120 kg test door, suitable for fire doors, safety 1, corrosion grade 4, no security claim and hinge grade 13. The test door mass is what the tested set of hinges carried on the test door, not a load per hinge; our guide on hinge grades and hinge count explains why an extra hinge does not raise it.

EN 1303: cylinders

Worked example: a cylinder classified 1 6 0 0 0 C 6 B reads as category of use 1, 100,000 cycles, no door-mass requirement, not assessed for fire doors, no safety requirement, corrosion and temperature code C, key-related security 6 and attack resistance B. Positions 7 and 8 carry the security information; anti-snap, anti-pick or anti-theft in a product name is not a grade in either of them. EN 1303 sets performance only, while the dimensions of the euro profile come from DIN 18252.

Four ways a code gets misread

Quoting one digit: the same digit means different things in different standards and positions. A 6 is 100,000 cycles in position 2 of EN 1906 or EN 1303, a 120 kg test door in position 3 of EN 1935, and the top key-related security grade in position 7 of EN 1303, so a specification that says grade 6 has said nothing until it names the standard and the position. Dropping the edition: EN 1906, EN 12209 and EN 1303 have all changed their grade tables between editions. Reading the fire position as a door rating: a 1 in position 4 says the hardware may be used on a fire door tested with it, while the rating belongs to the door assembly. Accepting a code without its source: a classification is a laboratory result, and it belongs on a test report or, for a CE-marked product, a Declaration of Performance; our guide on validating a hardware certificate covers how to check one.

What our records publish, and which positions to ask for

Our product records publish no EN classification, for any model. What they publish are dimensions and materials, and the table below shows, for five of our models, which code positions a buyer still has to ask a supplier for before the product can be written into a specification that calls for a classification.

The request that settles it is one sentence: state the full classification code for this model, every position, with the edition year and the test report number. A supplier who holds a classification can answer in one line. If the answer is that none exists, the product is specified by its dimensions and materials, as ours are, and a project whose specification calls for a classification needs a product that has been tested for it.