BS EN 12320 is the UK equivalent and watered down grading system similar to that of the CEN Grades created by the Association of Building Hardware Manufacturers. It aims to provider the reader with a concise document which includes a summary of relevant sections from the European standard.
Download your original copy here (800kb)
The guide is self explanatory but if you buy a CEN graded padlock then it will automatically meet the BE EN requirements and more. If however you are simply asked to get a padlock which meets the requirements of BS EN 12320 then you’ll also need to ask which grade. The BSEN grading is identical to that of CEN and was in fact based on CEN.
In theory a lock which adheres to BS EN 12320 should have two numbers which follow the overall code. for example BS EN 12320-34. The first relates to weather resistance and the latter to security. Since the security rating follows that of CEN then it is easy to understand. The weatherproofing however appears to be something that is plucked from thin air and has no real testing factor. They simply state that a lock is suitable for internal or external applications. Who decides?
Well the answer is the that the manufacturer decides. The best bet is to read what we have to say about weatherproof padlocks and make you own mind up since it is a little bit of a contentious area.
Summary:
Almost all of the keyed padlocks on our site are BS EN approved but not all are CEN Graded. Most quality padlocks do not state specifically that they adhere to BS EN 12320 but 90% do comply. The question is to what degree and grade. For that you then need to refer back to CEN
Related Topics:
CEN Graded Padlocks Examples: (click to view)
