Mortise Lock Functions & Trim Explained
Mortise lock function describes how the outside and inside trim operate (keyed, free, locked, always locked). Trim is the visible hardware — levers, knobs, roses and escutcheons — that must match the case series. Getting both right keeps the door schedule, prep and aesthetics aligned.
Common commercial mortise functions
Manufacturers publish ANSI function numbers (F01, F04, F05, F07, F09, F13, and many more). On our product pages the Function option usually shows a plain-language label such as:
- Entry / vestibule — outside key retracts latch; inside lever free; often with deadbolt options.
- Office / entrance — key locks outside lever; inside free.
- Classroom — key locks/unlocks outside; inside always free for egress.
- Storeroom — outside always locked; key retracts latch; inside free.
- Institutional / asylum — both sides keyed or locked for controlled egress (confirm code compliance).
- Privacy / hospital — inside thumbturn or push-button; emergency outside release.
- Passage — both sides free (no locking).
Always match the function code on the submittal to the product option — titles vary by brand even when the ANSI function is the same.
Trim styles
- Escutcheon — full plate covering a larger area of the door face; common on architectural Schlage L / Corbin ML packages.
- Sectional — separate rose and trim pieces for flexible lever/cylinder layouts (common on Cal-Royal NM/SC).
- Rose — compact round rose without a full escutcheon.
Specialty behavioral-health / anti-ligature and paddle trim ships under the Mortise Trim leaf.
Levers, roses and cylinders
Lever Design / Lever / Rose / Escutcheon options pick the handle style and rose geometry. Cylinder Type / Keyway / Keying select how the lock is keyed (conventional, IC core, less cylinder). Standalone cylinders are sold under mortise cylinders.