WMA Regulatory Affairs Update – January 2026

What You Might Not Know About the WMA 100: A Structural Standard for Side-Hinged Exterior Doors - WMA Regulatory Affairs

ANSI/WMA 100: Standard Method of Determining Structural Performance Ratings of SideHinged Exterior Door Systems and Procedures for Component Substitution is an ANSI recognized test standard for determining structural performance ratings of residential SideHinged Exterior Door Systems (SHEDS) and includes procedures for component substitution. Structural system testing required by this standard follows ASTM E330, Procedure A. Slab stiffness testing is used and outlined in the standard for component substitution.

WMA developed the standard to provide door pre-hangers and distributors with a means by which to test and rate the structural performance of a SHEDS and qualify specific door components for substitution in the rated SHEDS.

WHY WMA 100 EXISTS

About twenty years ago, there was an attempt to change residential building code requirements for side-hinged exterior doors by requiring compliance to AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440 (aka NAFS, North American Fenestration Standard). This would have negatively impacted door pre-hangers and component manufacturers because the NAFS requires several other tests in addition to structural, which is the only performance requirement expressly referenced in the section of the code where there was this effort to mandate NAFS. In addition, there are no protocols for component substitution in NAFS, so door pre-hangers, who test their own products and who buy components from multiple suppliers would be required to test multiple options of each door configuration they assemble for the marketplace in order to comply with the multiple tests required in NAFS, such as water penetration testing, durability testing, material testing, forced entry resistance, cycling performance, and vertical loading resistance testing.

Historically, NAFS was a windows-based standard. Provisions for side-hinged exterior doors weren’t added to the standard until 2002, and shortly after, there was a concentrated effort by the developers of NAFS to impose the standard on SHEDS in the IRC through code change proposals that would have required side-hinged exterior doors to comply with NAFS. And that’s when WMA (then AMD – Association of Millwork Distributors) pushed back on behalf of the door industry and successfully opposed these attempts over several code cycles. The IRC Committee, who was responsible for hearing and voting on the code proposals related to the IRC, finally challenged WMA to come up with a comparable standard to NAFS that would meet code requirements but consider the multifaceted aspects of the door industry.

STANDARD DEVELOPMENT

Work began on developing the standard in 2008 and a draft was completed in 2010. The WMA 100 (then known as AMD-100) then went through the ANSI consensus-based standards development process and was also validated by a third-party test lab.

The first edition of the standard was published as an ANSI American National Standard in 2013, and WMA then successfully advocated for its inclusion in the 2015 edition of the IRC.

ABOUT THE WMA 100 WMA 100 defines a clear, repeatable test procedure that establishes the structural performance rating of a complete side-hinged exterior door system using ASTM E330, Procedure A.

Procedures for determining component substitution qualification cover door slabs, sidelights, and transoms; doorglass assemblies; frames; astragals; thresholds; hinges; and locksets.

The WMA 100 provides procedures for determining:

• Whether a component substitution is permissible

• Whether limited evaluation is sufficient

• Whether engineering analysis is acceptable

• Whether component testing is required

Testing:

1. The WMA 100 standard begins with a fully tested and rated door assembly

2. Component substitution is permitted for the rated door assembly depending on the proposed component’s performance characteristics.

3. Components considered for substitution are tested in an assembly that uses the same interactive components, anchorage, and installation as the originally rated door system as defined in the component evaluation sections of the standard.

4. The component’s maximum tested pressure must be equal to or greater than that of the originally rated system. However, the governing rating is that of the originally rated system.

5. The standard also sets forth those conditions that allow for component substitution without component testing.

6. The standard does not provide procedures for substituting multiple components in a rated system. If more than one component is considered for substitution in a rated system, engineering analysis and/or additional testing would be required.

UPCOMING REVISION CYCLE FOR THE WMA 100 WMA will be conducting a revision cycle of the WMA 100 over the next year and will be announcing information regarding proposed revisions, the formation of the WMA 100 Consensus Body Committee, and public comment period. So stay tuned!

The current edition of the standard is the ANSI/WMA 100-2023, which WMA members can access free of charge from the WMA website.

Jessica Ferris, Director of Regulatory Affairs & Standards Development jferris@worldmillworkalliance.com