Access control installation services for a Miami law office cover card or fob entry on the front door, the file room and the server closet, a record of who opened each one, and every exit still free to open from the inside under the Florida Building Code. ClearMax technicians install it on site as part of the buildout and test each door with the firm present.
Last updated: November 2026
Which doors in a law office should be controlled?
Usually three, sometimes four. A door earns a reader when it protects something or when the firm needs to know who went through it:
- The main entrance, so keys are not copied and handed around, and so early arrivals and late departures are recorded.
- The file room, where closed matters, original documents and client paper files are kept.
- The server or IT closet, because every electronic file the firm holds passes through it.
- A records or evidence room, where a firm keeps one, with the shortest list of people allowed in.
Attorney offices and conference rooms rarely need readers. A good lock and a key the attorney holds is usually enough there. Each reader adds hardware, wiring and testing, so the list starts small and grows only for a stated reason.
What does the Florida Building Code require of those doors?
That leaving stays simple, whatever is done to entering. The 2023 Florida Building Code says egress doors shall be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key or special knowledge or effort, unless one of its listed locking arrangements applies. A main entrance is almost always an egress door, and so is any door on the path out of the office. Security is applied to the way in.
The code allows electric locks on those doors in two main ways, and the choice decides what hardware is ordered.
Sensor release. Section 1010.2.12 allows sensor release of electric locks in Group B buildings, which covers offices, when, among other listed conditions, loss of power unlocks the lock, and a manual device signed PUSH TO EXIT sits 40 to 48 inches above the floor within 5 feet of the door and keeps the lock released for not less than 30 seconds. The sensor detects someone walking toward the door from inside and unlocks it. The building's fire alarm, where there is one, must release it too.
Door hardware release. Section 1010.2.11 allows door hardware release of electric locks when, among other listed conditions, the hardware can be operated with one hand and has an obvious method of operation under all lighting conditions. Turning the inside lever or pushing the exit bar cuts power to the lock directly. It suits doors where a sensor and a wall button are awkward, such as a glass main entrance.
Each controlled door goes on the plan with a line saying what it is, how a person leaves through it, and which section it follows. That line is what the inspector reads, and what the next person to change the door should read first.
Which lock fits which door?
| Hardware | How it works | Typical law office use |
|---|---|---|
| Electric strike | Releases the latch in the frame; the inside lever always opens the door | File room and closet doors on standard frames |
| Electrified lever or exit device | The outside is controlled; the inside always opens by hand | Main entrances, glass doors, doors under section 1010.2.11 |
| Magnetic lock | Holds the door with a magnet until power is cut | Only where nothing else fits, with the sensor and PUSH TO EXIT rules above |
Every lock is also either fail safe or fail secure. A fail-safe lock releases when its power goes. A fail-secure lock keeps the outside locked without power but still lets people out by hand. The entrance, as an egress door, is the fail-safe case: those sections require loss of power to unlock it. The closet is often fail secure; the plan records each choice.
What happens during a storm or power cut?
In Miami this is a practical question every hurricane season. A door controller has a battery, and the plan states how long it holds each door locked, what each door does when the battery runs out, and how the office is secured by hand if the power stays off for days. A mechanical lock with a key held by a named partner is the fallback on the main entrance, and it is tested at handover so nobody discovers during a storm that the key does not fit.
Do alarms and permits change the plan?
They can. Many offices tie access control to an intrusion alarm, so the alarm arms when the last person leaves. In the City of Miami that alarm has its own registration. The Miami Police Department's Alarm Ordinance Unit says an alarm permit is valid from October 1 through the following September 30. The registration and its renewal month are handed to the firm at the end of the project, so the renewal does not arrive as a surprise addressed to the previous tenant.
Wiring for doors and alarms follows the permit rules too. Section 553.793 of the Florida Statutes says a permit is not required to install, maintain, inspect, replace or service a wireless alarm system. Wired door hardware and controllers are a different case, so the scope lists which parts are wired and which are wireless, and the permits follow that list. The cabling page covers the permit for the data side.
Badge, fob or phone credential?
Most firms pick by preference. A fob on a keyring stays with people; a card fits a badge holder. Phone credentials are convenient, but they add a device that can be lost, replaced or belong to the person rather than the firm. Three things matter more than the format:
- Each person has their own credential. A shared code produces a log that proves nothing.
- Someone at the firm can remove a person the same day they leave, without waiting on an outside company.
- The log is readable by the office manager, and the firm decides how long it is kept.
That last point connects to Florida's breach statute, which covers data in electronic form. Under section 501.171, notice to affected individuals is due no later than 30 days after the determination of a breach or reason to believe a breach occurred, subject to the delay and waiver the statute allows. A firm that can read its own door log for the server closet can answer what electronic records were reached far faster than one that has to call a vendor to find out. The file room log serves the firm's own review.
How does the firm know each door works?
Because someone from the firm watches each one tested and signs for it. At every controlled door:
- A working badge or fob opens it, and the log names the right person at the right minute.
- A badge that was just deleted is refused.
- Walking out needs no key, card or know-how.
- The exit button or the lever frees the lock the way its section of the code says.
- With power off, the door behaves as the plan predicted.
- Where the building has a fire alarm, triggering it frees the door.
That signed sheet is filed with the door list and the list of who holds a credential. Access control often goes in with cameras at the same doors; the camera page covers that side.
Access control questions from Miami law offices
Can the front door unlock on a schedule?
Yes. Most systems release a door during reception hours and lock it afterwards. Decide who can override the schedule on a day the office closes early.
What if a fob is lost?
The firm removes it from the system and issues another.
Does the landlord need to agree?
Usually, for the main entrance. Door hardware on a common corridor is coordinated with building management before ordering.
Can it be added to an office we already occupy?
Yes. The quote is built from photos of each door, inside and out. If more work is needed once a frame is opened, it is brought to the firm's attention and the bid is updated.