Pass Door

A pass door, also called a wicket door or access door, is a swing door built into a large sectional or rolling steel door. It opens on its own. A person walks through without raising the main door. This saves time and energy wherever people and vehicles share the same opening.

In sectional doors, the pass door is cut into one or two sections. The manufacturer reinforces the opening with a steel frame. Standard fittings include hinges, a latch, and sometimes a door closer.

In rolling steel doors, the pass door is a swing leaf built into the lower curtain. The surrounding slats are reinforced. The door frame is welded into the curtain. When the rolling door rises, the pass door goes up with it.

Common applications:

• Warehouse dock areas where workers walk through while forklifts use the main door
• Farm buildings where livestock and equipment use the same opening
• Aircraft hangars where ground crew pass through between flights

One important limit: a pass door built into a sectional door is not a legal egress door. Most pass doors are narrower than the 32-inch clear width the IBC requires for required exits. The door assembly itself is not listed as an egress component.

A pass door is an alternative to cutting a separate walk door into the wall beside the main opening.