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Secured by Design Steel Front Doors

Secured by Design Steel Front Door — Police-Preferred Specification Explained

The UK police-preferred specification

What Secured by Design actually covers on a front door, and why every SteelR door carries it

Secured by Design is the official UK police security initiative. It is not a marketing scheme, not a trade association certificate, and not an industry self-assessment. It is the specification preferred by UK police forces for products that reduce the likelihood of burglary, forced entry and related crime. Every SteelR door carries Secured by Design approval as standard.

This page explains what the approval actually covers, how the testing process works, how SBD sits alongside PAS 24 and SR3, and what it means practically for home insurance and new-build planning requirements.

Ownership

Not a trade body. The UK police crime prevention initiative

Secured by Design is owned and operated by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives Limited, a police-owned organisation established in 1989 to reduce crime through product specification, building design and physical security. The scheme is endorsed by all UK police forces and sits under the National Police Chiefs' Council. That ownership structure is what makes SBD different from an industry self-assessment. It is a police-operated certification scheme, not a vendor-written trust mark.
The practical consequence of police ownership is that the specification is designed around reducing real-world burglary rates, not around product marketing. The testing methodology references actual attack patterns identified by police crime data, not generic tool lists.
Multi-point locking mechanism on a Secured by Design approved steel front door

Scope

The whole door system, not individual components

A common pattern in the door industry is to advertise a door as secure on the basis of one certified component, typically the lock. A high-rated lock on a weak frame is a weak door. A high-rated frame with a weak hinge specification is also a weak door. Secured by Design addresses this by assessing the complete door assembly.
SBD approval on a front door covers the frame, the leaf, the locking mechanism, the hinges, all hardware, and the glazing. If any single element does not meet specification, the door cannot carry SBD approval even if every other element is certified at a higher level. This forces whole- system thinking at the manufacturing stage, which is the only way to build a door that actually resists sustained forced entry rather than one that simply has a good lock.
  • Frame construction and fixing specification
  • Door leaf structure, skin and core
  • Multi-point locking mechanism with police-approved cylinder rating
  • Hinge specification, number and bolt-through security
  • Glazing laminate thickness where glazing is fitted
  • Hardware including handles, knockers and letterplate

SBD alongside PAS 24 and SR3

How the three certifications interact

PAS 24 is a single performance test against a one-to-three- minute casual attack. SR3 is a higher-tier performance test against a twenty-minute sustained attack. Secured by Design is a specification that requires PAS 24 as a minimum and adds further system-level requirements. SBD is not a replacement for PAS 24 or SR3; it is a layer on top of them.
Every SteelR door is PAS 24 certified, SR3 rated to BS EN 1627 Class 3, and Secured by Design approved as standard. SR4 under LPS 1175 Issue 8 is available as a commercial-grade upgrade. In other words, every SteelR door satisfies the UK minimum regulatory standard, the European high-security standard, and the UK police preferred specification, with a commercial-grade option available above all three. Detailed comparison on the security specification page.

Insurance

What insurers usually do with an SBD certificate

Home insurers generally treat independently certified security standards as material reductions in forced-entry risk. Secured by Design certification, combined with SR3 rating, is usually sufficient for a UK home insurer to accept the property as meeting or exceeding their specified minimum door standard. In many cases insurers will offer a premium adjustment, reduced excess on theft claims, or a waiver of the requirement for additional security devices such as internal bolts.
The practical step is to provide your insurer with the SBD certificate and the SR3 certificate at policy renewal or at the point the door is installed. Both are supplied as part of the handover pack on every SteelR installation.

New build and planning

When SBD is effectively required rather than optional

For planning applications on larger residential developments, SBD approval is frequently required by the local planning authority as a condition of approval. For housing association new-build specifications, SBD is typically the mandated baseline. For developers of higher- value new builds, SBD is often required by the insurer providing the development's structural warranty.
For a private owner replacing a front door on an existing home, SBD is not legally required, but it is the sensible default. The incremental cost over a non-SBD door is minimal, the insurance treatment is usually favourable, and the certificate is a genuine pointer to build quality. More on fire rated FD30 front doors for new-build and flat entrance applications where further specifications apply.

Continue Reading

Related reading

SR3 residential steel doors

BS EN 1627 Class 3, the twenty-minute attack test, and how SR3 works alongside SBD.

PAS 24 steel entrance doors

The UK minimum for new-build security, and why SBD builds on top of it.

Bespoke steel front doors UK

The full SteelR service model from survey through installation.

Common Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is Secured by Design?

Secured by Design (SBD) is the official UK police security initiative, owned by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives Limited and endorsed by police forces across the UK. It sets a nationally recognised benchmark for crime prevention in buildings and the products installed in them. Products carrying the SBD mark have been independently tested and approved as meeting the specification preferred by UK police forces for reducing burglary, forced entry and anti-social behaviour.

What does SBD approval actually cover on a front door?

SBD approval is granted against the complete door assembly, not against individual components. That means the frame, leaf, locking mechanism, hinges, hardware and glazing are all assessed as a single system. Individual component certifications are not sufficient to carry the SBD mark; the whole assembly must pass. This is an important distinction because it prevents the common industry practice of advertising a door as secure because it uses a high-rated lock, while the frame or hinges are the actual weak point.

Does Secured by Design approval affect home insurance premiums?

Most UK home insurers recognise Secured by Design as a material reduction in forced-entry risk. Combined with an SR3 security rating under BS EN 1627, SBD certification is usually sufficient for insurers to accept the property as meeting or exceeding their minimum door specification, and in many cases to offer a premium adjustment or reduced excess on theft claims. Confirm the specific policy treatment with your insurer directly, referencing the SBD certificate supplied with the door.

Is SBD the same as PAS 24?

No. PAS 24:2022 is a security performance standard that tests a door against a one-to-three-minute casual forced-entry attack. Secured by Design is a broader specification that requires PAS 24 as a prerequisite and then adds additional requirements covering construction, locking mechanisms, hinge specification, glazing laminate thickness, and overall system integrity. A door can be PAS 24 certified without being SBD approved. Every SteelR door is both.

Do I need a Secured by Design door for a new build?

PAS 24 compliance is mandatory under Approved Document Q for new-build dwellings. SBD approval is often required by planning authorities for larger residential developments, by housing associations on their new-build specifications, and increasingly by insurers on higher-value new builds. SBD is the safer default. For any new-build project where planning authority approval is required, SBD-approved doors are a sensible specification choice and rarely questioned.

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