In the case of a locking mechanism (1) for a vehicle seat, in particular for a motor vehicle seat, having a pivotably mounted pawl (11) for locking to a mating element (B), and having at least one securing element (25, 31) which secures a locked state by interaction with a first functional surface (21) of the pawl (11), and secures an opened state by interaction with a second functional surface (41) of the pawl (11), the securing element (25, 31) exerts an opening moment on the pawl (11) in the opened state.