Personnel doors are primarily used adjacent to or around the corner from garage doors, or roller shutter doors in a commercial environment. They are used to give pedestrian access to people who need easy and simple access to a garage, warehouse or other space, without the need to open up a large door every single time to do so. Equally though the pedestrian door will need to be very secure so that it is not a weak point for somebody hoping to gain illegal access.

Personnel doors are therefore highly convenient, and also very secure because it is known that they could become a weak point when somebody is attempting to gain illegal access to a garage. Personnel doors will often come from the same supplier as roller doors or commercial roller shutter doors so they will look similar and will also often operate on the same kind of system.