Quick Answer

The Von Duprin 88 Series is a wide-stile crossbar exit device available in four configurations. Use this summary to find your opening type quickly:

• Single door to a fixed frame: 88 Rim or 88-F (fire-rated)
• Double door pair, surface rods: 8827 or 8827-F SVR
• Double door pair, concealed rods: 8847-F CVR (fire-rated only)
• Single or double door with mortise lock security: 8875 or 8875-F

The 88 Series is ANSI/BHMA A156.3 Grade 1 certified, tested to 2 million cycles, and carries a 3-hour UL fire rating on fire-rated configurations. It is a mechanical-only device with no motor-driven latch retraction. The RX crossbar monitor switch and E electric unlocking option (mortise only) are available as accessories.

For a full model-by-model parts breakdown, see the Von Duprin 88 Series catalog. For a complete overview of where the 88 Series fits within the Von Duprin product family, see the Von Duprin series guide.

What Sets the Von Duprin 88 Series Apart Before You Pick a Configuration

The Von Duprin 88 Series is a wide-stile crossbar exit device that has been in continuous institutional use since the 1950s. It carries ANSI/BHMA A156.3 Grade 1 certification, which means it is tested to 2 million open and close cycles at rated performance. Every configuration in the series is UL listed for accident hazard installations, and fire-rated versions carry a 3-hour UL fire resistance listing. It runs in four distinct configurations covering rim, surface vertical rod, concealed vertical rod, and mortise applications across single doors, paired doors, and openings where the rod hardware must be concealed inside the door. Choosing the wrong configuration is the most common ordering mistake on this device.

The 88 Series is the wide-stile version of Von Duprin's crossbar line. Its counterpart, the 55 Series, handles narrow-stile applications. The practical distinction is stile width. The 88 Series fits door stiles requiring wide-stile mounting, while the 55 handles narrower stile profiles. Parts do not cross between them. If you are working on a wide-stile opening and your application calls for a crossbar device over a push pad, you are in the 88 Series catalog.

What makes this series specifically different from the push-pad-dominated 98/99 Series is its lever-arm mechanism. The crossbar drives a simple, heavy lever-arm action to operate the latch, rather than the sliding mechanism used on push pad devices. Fewer moving parts across a mechanically robust assembly is why the 88 Series gets specified in correctional facilities, behavioral health units, historic renovations, and oversized institutional openings where the hardware faces sustained physical force and motor-driven electrified options are neither required nor desirable. For a direct comparison of the 88 Series against other Von Duprin exit device families, see the Von Duprin exit device series comparison.

Von Duprin 050004 standard 42-inch crossbar kit for 4-foot 88 Series devices. View product page.

The device ships field reversible with a 42-inch crossbar that is field-sizeable, meaning it cuts to exact door width on site. It is not handed from the factory. One unit services either a left-hand or right-hand opening, which eliminates stocking two separate versions on projects with mixed door swings.

88 Series Options and Accessories Available Across Configurations

Before selecting a configuration, it helps to understand the options available site-wide across the 88 Series:

• RX: Crossbar Monitor Switch. A crossbar-mounted SPDT switch that signals when the push bar is depressed. Used to monitor door use or integrate with access control systems. Available on all configurations.
• KN: Knurled Crossbar. Knurling on the crossbar provides a tactile warning to indicate doors leading to hazardous areas such as stairwells, loading platforms, and boiler rooms. Available on all configurations.
• E: Electric Unlocking. Allows outside lever operation to be controlled by an access control system, fire alarm, or remote switching station. Available on 8875 mortise configurations with BE trim only.
• HW / HH: Hurricane Rated. HW is wind-only rated; HH is wind and impact rated. Available where hurricane-resistant egress hardware is required by local code.

For a full discussion of how the 88 Series fits into a broader commercial egress hardware specification, see the panic hardware guide for commercial doors and the ANSI/BHMA door hardware standards guide.

Matching the Right Von Duprin 88 Series Configuration to Your Opening

Single Door to a Fixed Frame: 88 Rim or 88-F Rim

Von Duprin 1609 rim strike for 88 Series rim device installations. View product page.

The rim device is the most widely installed configuration in the Von Duprin 88 Series. It mounts on the egress surface of a single active door and latches at the frame-side rim strike. It ships with the 299 strike standard. Non-fire-rated devices use 5/32-inch hex key dogging. Fire-rated 88-F devices remove the dogging function because a fire-rated assembly must latch positively every time the door closes.

Available finishes include US26, US26D, US3, US4, US10B, US10, and SPBLK. The rim device covers stock hollow metal doors with 86 or 161 hollow metal door cutouts. If the application is a standard single door egress point and the opening is not a double door pair, this is the correct model.

For fire door compliance context on rim device selection, see the commercial door fire rating guide.

Double Door Pair Without a Center Post: 8827 or 8827-F Surface Vertical Rod

Von Duprin 304L vertical rod bottom strike, standard for 8827 SVR devices. View product page.

The 8827 Series is the surface vertical rod (SVR) configuration for double door openings without a center mullion. The top rod engages a strike at the frame header, the bottom rod engages the floor or threshold, providing three-point latching across the door height. It fits door stiles as narrow as 3-1/2 inches on the standard version. The fire-rated 8827-F fits stiles as narrow as 3-3/4 inches (95mm) and carries the 3-hour UL fire rating required for fire door assemblies. The 8827-F ships with the standard 304L strike and all mounting fasteners.

One installation point that affects parts ordering: the fire-rated and non-fire-rated SVR versions use different top latch assemblies. The 8827-F requires the plunger release bracket (107765) to function correctly. Ordering the non-fire-rated center case for a fire-rated SVR device is the most common wrong-part error on this configuration.

If the 8827 SVR is used on doors taller than 7 feet, extension rods must be ordered separately at the time of the device order. Confirm door height before specifying. The Pullman latch option is also available on 8827 non-fire-rated devices when latchbolts must remain extended at all times, typically used in combination with an electric strike on less-bottom-rod applications.

For parts diagrams and model-level ordering on 8827 and 8827-F devices, see the Von Duprin 75/78/88/94/95 Series parts guide.

Double Door Pair With Concealed Rods: 8847-F Concealed Vertical Rod

Von Duprin 301L fire-rated vertical rod bottom strike, standard for 8847-F CVR devices. View product page.

The 8847-F is the fire-rated concealed vertical rod (CVR) configuration. The rod hardware routes inside the door rather than running on the surface. It is specified when surface-mounted rods are architecturally unacceptable but a wide-stile crossbar device is still required. Hotels, healthcare interiors, and high-end office applications where the egress hardware needs to disappear into the door profile are the typical specification points. It fits door stiles as narrow as 4-3/4 inches (121mm) and ships with the 301L strike. This configuration is available fire-rated only.

Note that the 8847-F fits double metal doors up to 8 feet by 8 feet (2,438mm by 2,438mm). For doors taller than 7 feet, extension rods must be ordered. Also note that 8827-F uses the 377T trim, while 8847-F uses the 376T trim. These trim series are not interchangeable.

High-Security Single or Double Door With Mortise Lock Body: 8875 or 8875-F Mortise

The 8875 is the mortise device configuration, integrating the Von Duprin 7500 mortise lock body into the 88 Series chassis. It is specified when the opening requires the security depth of a full mortise lock combined with code-compliant panic egress. The 7500 body has been the Von Duprin standard mortise body since approximately 1977 and measures 5-7/8 inches high by 4-1/2 inches deep by 1 inch thick.

The same body is used in the 98/9975 mortise device, so if the facility is already maintaining 98/99 Series mortise devices, the lock body components are consistent across both series. The 8875 also supports the E electric unlocking option for outside lever operation, making it the only 88 Series configuration with any form of outside electrical integration.

For paired door 8875 installations, the Von Duprin 575-2 mortise lock strike is required for the center meeting stile on 1-3/4-inch wood door pairs. See that guide to confirm the correct strike specification before ordering. For a full mortise lock context, see the commercial mortise locks guide.

Von Duprin 88 Series Configuration Quick Reference

Trim and Outside Hardware for the Von Duprin 88 Series

Every 88 Series device leaves the factory with device hardware and the standard strike for its configuration. Outside trim is specified separately unless the device is ordered as a complete unit with trim suffix included.

The 880 trim plate is the standard outside trim for 88 Series rim devices, measuring 3 inches wide by 14-3/16 inches long with a 1-5/8-inch bore for cylinder. For full Von Duprin 880 Series trim specifications, see the Von Duprin 880NL trim guide.

Function designations for 88 Series trim:

• EO: Exit only, no outside trim operation
• NL: Night latch, key locks and unlocks from outside
• TP: Thumbpiece outside trim
• TL: Turn lever
• L / L-BE: Lever with or without cylinder
• K / K-BE: Knob with or without cylinder (rarely specified given ADA requirements on most commercial egress doors)
• DT: Dummy trim, non-functional aesthetic match

The 373 Series Control handles outside trim for 8827 SVR and 8875 mortise configurations. The 606, 608, and 609 trims cover specialty outside hardware requirements. Note that the 8827-F uses 377T trim while the 8847-F uses 376T trim. These series-specific trims are not interchangeable between SVR and CVR configurations.

If no cylinder operation is required, add the BE (blank escutcheon) suffix. The trim is always operable without a cylinder when BE is specified. Matching dummy trim uses the DT suffix. On wood doors without sex bolts, specify the WDA cover plate. When sex bolts are used, the 889 cover plate is required.

Sourcing Von Duprin 88 Series Parts at Security Parts

The Von Duprin 88 Series has been in production for over 70 years. Buildings running this device today have units installed in 1988, 2003, and 2019 side by side. Part numbers have evolved across those generations, and a replacement component ordered without knowing the device generation can produce a part that does not fit the specific unit in service.

Security Parts has been in commercial door hardware since 2001 and carries the complete Von Duprin 88 Series catalog organized by model within the series. Every model has its own dedicated page with an interactive diagram of the full assembly. A technician can navigate to the exact device configuration, open the diagram, confirm the failing component visually, and place the order without a cross-reference step or a compatibility guess.

The 8827 non-fire-rated center case and the 8827-F fire-rated top latch are on different model pages, which is what prevents that specific wrong-part order from shipping. The catalog covers both current-generation and legacy hardware. The full Von Duprin brand catalog extends this model-specific organization across every active series for facilities managing mixed Von Duprin hardware.

For a broader look at how 88 Series exit device parts fit into the full Von Duprin component ecosystem, see the Von Duprin parts guide and the exit devices parts guide. For help selecting the right series when the opening type spans multiple device families, see the Von Duprin panic bar selection guide.

Same-day shipping on stocked components. Pre-order compatibility support is available at 845-935-0301 before the order is placed. Browse the complete exit devices catalog for all series coverage with model diagrams.

The Von Duprin 88 Series covers every wide-stile crossbar exit device application from a standard single door egress point to a concealed vertical rod double door fire assembly. Four configurations, multiple active models, ANSI/BHMA A156.3 Grade 1 certification, 2 million cycle testing, and 3-hour UL fire ratings on rated versions. The configuration decision, rim versus SVR versus CVR versus mortise, is what determines which model, which parts, and which outside trim applies to the opening. Getting that decision right before the order is placed is what keeps a commercial or institutional door installation on schedule and code-compliant from day one.

About the Author

This guide was written by the Security Parts team, a commercial door hardware specialist serving locksmiths, facility managers, general contractors, and service technicians since 2001. Security Parts stocks Von Duprin 88 Series parts across all configurations and device generations, with same-day shipping on stocked items and pre-order compatibility support at 845-935-0301.