The TL-30 Rating (Tool Resistant for up to 30 minutes) is a high-security rating by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) and is a physical test on the door. They do not test the body of the safe. The TL part of the rating stands for tool, and the 30 stands for 30 minutes. The UL engineers are some of the best professional, safe crackers in the world. Their goal is to prove that the safe can handle a tool attack for up to 30 minutes. Here are some of the construction requirements the safe must meet to get tested and receive the UL label.
Construction Requirements
The testers are allowed 30 minutes and aggressive tools to gain entrance, such as:
Their goal is to try and make a 6" square opening entirely through the door or front face within that 30 minutes. Remember that these engineers have the manufacturing blueprints and can disassemble the safe being tested before the test begins to see how it works. They know all the weak points before they start. The TL-30 label means the testers could not open the door or make a 6" square opening through the door or front face within 30 minutes. If a professional, safe cracker like Underwrites Laboratory cannot break in, how will someone who doesn't know what they are doing defeat your safe?
Since this is a high-security rating, businesses and homeowners with a high content value they need to protect should buy a TL-30 safe. Or if you need to meet specific requirements by a government agency such as the DEA for drug storage. There are many different types of companies that buy a TL-30 safe:
Homeowners also buy TL-30 safes to protect cash, jewelry, family heirlooms, and other valuable items. If you have a monitored burglar alarm on your home, a TL-30 rated safe is designed to protect up to $375,000 in content value. If you don't have a burglar alarm on your home, it is designed to protect up to $195,000 in content value.
High-security safes with this rating should be a minimum weight of 750 pounds. Otherwise, it should have an anchor hole to bolt to a concrete floor. The models we carry range from 463 to over 4,000 pounds, and all meet this requirement.
If you want the high rating but not the heavyweight, one company makes a smaller safe in a TL-30 rating. These safes by Hollon Safe don't meet the minimum weight requirement but have an anchor hole to secure to a solid surface.
Not many companies make a safe with this high of a rating, but they do exist. The benefit is that you get the ultimate protection for your guns and can store your other valuable items inside. American Security makes the RF6528 TL-30 High-Security Gun Safe. We also sell our private label brand-TL-30-5921-GS International Fortress TL-30 Gun Safe. We consider these gun safes to be the best-rated gun safes on the market.
The standard lock is a Group II dial combination lock. You can upgrade to an electronic lock for an additional cost. Other upgraded locks are available with features such as multiple users, dual control mode, time delay, audit trail functionality, and more. Some requirements for drug storage do require an upgraded mechanical lock called the UL Listed Group 1R lock. The Group 1R lock is a high-security lock with plastic tumblers to prevent someone from taking a portable X-Ray machine to see them fall into place.
We carry some of the highest-rated safes and brands of TL-30s on the market. These brands include Access Security, American Security, Gardall, Hollon Safe, Mesa, and our private label Safe & Vault Store safes.
