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Quick Verdict

Pick the chassis by grade and door, then build the number. Exterior, corridor, restroom or classroom lever: ND, Grade 1, doors 1-5/8" to 2-1/8". Private office, closet or tenant interior lever: ALX, Grade 2, IC-ready, doors 1-3/8" to 1-3/4" (AL is the line ALX replaced). Mortise pocket, or lever plus deadbolt in one case: L9000, Grade 1, 2-3/4" backset only. Auxiliary deadbolt: B600 (Grade 1) on exterior and storeroom doors, B500 (Grade 2) inside; both lose a grade or two on an interchangeable core. Knob spec: D. Budget light-duty door: S, Grade 2 tubular. Credential without door wiring: NDE cylindrical, LE mortise. A part number reads series + function + cylinder + lever + finish: ND80PD RHO 626 is a Grade 1 storeroom lever, conventional cylinder, Rhodes, satin chrome.

Which Schlage commercial lock series fits which door?

Schlage sorts the commercial line by chassis, and the chassis fixes the grade under ANSI/BHMA A156.2 (bored locks), A156.13 (mortise) and A156.36 (deadbolts); the tests behind those grades are in the Grade 1 hardware explainer. The chassis also fixes door prep, so the series decision is a thickness and backset decision first.

Two rules fall out of the table. Thickness eliminates series first: a 2" hollow-metal door rules out ALX and B500 with a conventional cylinder; a 1-3/8" interior door rules out ND and B600. Core format changes deadbolt grade: B660 is Grade 1 conventional, Grade 2 FSIC, Grade 3 SFIC; B500 is Grade 2 conventional, Grade 3 SFIC. Settle a Grade 1 spec against a small-format keying plan before you order.

How to read a Schlage part number

Every Schlage commercial number is five fields plus options: series, function digits, cylinder letter, lever or trim code, finish. The decoder runs three stock numbers through it.

Function digits are the field people get wrong. They hold across ND, AL and ALX; L9000 keeps them behind a leading zero (L9010, L9040, L9050, L9080) and adds the 4xx block where the case carries a deadbolt. What each function does mechanically, with its ANSI F-number, is in the commercial lock function code explainer, so this guide only maps the digits. One more: B660P 626 OS-LOC is a B600 Grade 1 single-cylinder deadbolt, conventional, satin chrome, outside LOCKED/UNLOCKED indicator.

ND vs AL vs ALX: when Grade 2 is enough

ND is the Grade 1 workhorse: 1/2" throw oil-impregnated stainless latch, ANSI curved-lip strike 1-1/4" x 4-7/8", 3-hour listing on a 4' x 10' single door (8' x 8' pairs with the 3/4" latch), Miami-Dade compliance, nine lever designs, 10-year warranty. Volume functions: ND10S passage, ND40S privacy, ND50PD entrance/office, ND53PD push/turn entrance, ND70PD classroom, ND80PD storeroom; the ND50PD ATH entrance/office lever is the office-door default. Two ND-only options earn the upcharge on abused doors: Vandlgard (the 9x block, ND93PD vestibule, ND96PD storeroom) lets a locked outside lever spin free so nobody can load the chassis; indicator trims fit eight functions on a 1-3/4" door, spacer kits to 1-3/8", same UL 10C listing.

AL is the Grade 2 lever ALX replaced; buy it only to match an existing building. ALX is A156.2 Series 4000 Grade 2, above the standard for lever and spindle strength per Schlage's certification note: 1/2" stainless latch with a 3/4" fire latch option, 3-hour on a 4' x 8' single door, ten finishes, 10-year limited warranty. The chassis is modular (the ALX CK kit ships chassis, spring cage, rose and strike; levers order by design), so a door re-trims without re-prepping. The ALX10 SAT passage lever runs about $164 at NLS; the ALX80B OME storeroom lever with SFIC prep puts a Grade 2 door on a small-format key system without a Grade 1 price.

Rule: ND on any public, exterior, over-1-3/4" or abused door; ALX on private offices, closets and tenant interiors. Both use the same ANSI 4-7/8" strike, so ALX upgrades to ND without frame work; the preps that change strikes are in the commercial door strike plate guide.

L9000 mortise: functions, trims and the P/L suffix

The L9000 is a Grade 1 mortise lock: 4-7/16" x 6-1/16" x 1" case, 1-1/4" x 8" armor front, 1" throw stainless deadbolt, handing reversible without disassembly, 3-7/8" lever-to-cylinder spacing, 14 finishes including 629 and 630 stainless. An L9010 01A passage lock runs about $630 at NLS, roughly four times an ALX passage lever, plus the mortise pocket. The case against Sargent 8200 and Corbin Russwin ML2000 is in the L9000 vs 8200 vs ML2000 comparison; this section is what to order once L9000 wins.

Trim is a two-digit lever (01, 03, 06, 07, 17, 18 in NLS stock) plus a rose (A, B, C wrought; AVA, MER forged) or an escutcheon (N, L) covering cylinder and lever on one plate, the pick for doors with old trim scars: L9080P 07L is storeroom, conventional cylinder, 07 lever, L escutcheon. P ships with the cylinder installed; L ships less cylinder, so a 1-1/4" mortise cylinder with the right cam becomes your line item, the trap the mortise cylinder sizes and cams guide exists to avoid (L9080L 18L and L9050L 06A OS-OCC ship that way). L9000 indicators: 2" x 1/2" display, 180-degree side windows, 30-plus functions, retrofit kit for installed locks.

B500 vs B600 deadbolts and the indicator variants

B500 (Grade 2) and B600 (Grade 1) share function digits: 60 single cylinder with thumbturn (B560 E0152, B660 E0151), 61 cylinder outside, blank plate inside (B561 E0162), 62 double cylinder (B562 E0142, B662 E0141). The B561 one-way runs about $91 at NLS; the B660 Grade 1 single cylinder deadbolt is about $220.

B500: solid zinc bolt with hardened steel anti-saw pin, 1" throw, 1" x 2-1/4" faceplate, 1-1/8" x 2-3/4" box strike on three 3" screws, Everest 29 S123 six-pin standard with FSIC, SFIC and 7-pin SL options, 3-year warranty, UL 3-hour available except on B562. B600: sintered steel bolt with the same pin, 1-1/8" x 2-1/4" faceplate, reinforced strike, UL 10C 3-hour on all functions, 3-year warranty; B800 above it adds a UL 437 Primus cylinder. Rule: B600 when the bolt is the only lock on an exterior or storeroom door; B500 where it backs up a lever lock, or on a 1-3/8" door where B600 will not fit. Double-cylinder B562 and B662 go only where no egress code applies; B562 cannot be UL 10C listed.

Indicators use two vocabularies: OCC reads VACANT/OCCUPIED on privacy doors, LOC reads LOCKED/UNLOCKED on entrance and storage doors, white unlocked, red locked. NLS stocks B560 IS-OCC, B561 OS-OCC, B562 OS-LOC, B660 OS-LOC and B662 IS-LOC; inside versus outside placement is in the occupancy indicator lock guide.

NDE, LE, CO and AD: the electronic families

NDE is a Grade 1 wireless cylindrical lock on the ND chassis running Schlage ENGAGE; NDEB adds a Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 reader for phone credentials beside smart and proximity cards. Spec: 5,000 users, 2,000 audits, reads in one second or less, four AA batteries up to two years, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for scheduled syncs, AES-256 and TLS 1.2, ENGAGE Gateway range about 30'. One lock field-selects storeroom/classroom, office (inside button toggles passage, covering lockdown), privacy (needs a door position sensor) and apartment. The NDEBJSAR RHO 626 decodes as NDE, B Bluetooth reader, J large-format core prep, SAR for a Sargent core, shipped less core, so a Sargent-keyed building goes wireless without rekeying. The Schlage NDE series page lists stocked lever and prep combinations.

LE is the same electronics on the L9000 case. Below NDE sit the standalone CO-Series: CO-100 keypad programmed at the lock, CO-200 and CO-250 with proximity or magstripe readers programmed through Schlage Utility Software. Above it, the AD-Series: AD-200 offline, AD-300 hardwired, AD-400 wireless through a PIM400. Standalone versus ENGAGE versus networked is decided in the commercial smart lock guide; code recovery on any keypad is in the Schlage keypad reset walkthrough.

Common mistakes

1. ALX on a door over 1-3/4". ALX stops there; ND runs to 2-1/8" and B600 to 2".

2. Grade 1 and SFIC on the same deadbolt line. B660 drops to Grade 3 with SFIC; fix the keying plan before the submittal.

3. Reading the L suffix as a lever. L9080L and B560L ship less cylinder; the cylinder and cam are a separate line.

4. Mixing OCC and LOC. VACANT/OCCUPIED is for privacy, LOCKED/UNLOCKED for entrance and deadbolt functions; ND indicator trims need the spacer kit under 1-3/4".

5. Double cylinders on an egress door. B562 and B662 carry a life-safety caution, and B562 cannot be UL 10C listed.

6. ND53 where ND50 was intended. The 53 push/turn button holds the outside lever locked after inside egress; the 50 releases.

7. Lever names across series. Saturn and Omega are ALX, Neptune, Jupiter and Flair are S, Rhodes, Sparta and Athens are ND, and 01 to 18 exist only on L9000.

FAQ

Is the Schlage ND series Grade 1? Yes. Every ND function meets A156.2 Grade 1, with a 10-year warranty and a 3-hour listing on a 4' x 10' single door. Unlike the B-series deadbolts, the grade does not change with cylinder format.

What is the difference between Schlage AL and ALX? Both are Grade 2 cylindrical levers. ALX is the current line: modular chassis, P/B/J cylinder options, ten finishes, 10-year warranty. AL is the line it replaced; order it only to match existing trim.

What do PD, BD and JD mean? PD is a conventional six-pin cylinder installed, BD a small-format core prep, JD a full-size core prep. ALX, L9000 and B-series drop the D and use P, B, J. S means no cylinder, as in ND10S and ND40S.

Which Schlage deadbolt is Grade 1? B600 (B660 single, B662 double) with a conventional cylinder, plus B700 and B800 above it. B500 (B560, B561, B562) is Grade 2. Both drop to Grade 3 on an SFIC core.

Next step

Measure thickness and backset, confirm the prep, pick the row, build the number. The Schlage commercial catalog at NLS is organized by series; the four stock numbers here cover most schedules: ND50PD ATH for office doors, ALX80B OME for Grade 2 storerooms on SFIC, B660 for the deadbolt, and the L9080P 07L storeroom mortise lock for the mortise-prepped mechanical room. Orders before 3:00 p.m. EST ship same day from Brooklyn, ground is free at $450 and up, and stock items return within 30 days uninstalled. For a keying schedule that mixes conventional, SFIC and LFIC, or a number that does not decode, call the commercial desk at 718-814-6300 with the door list.