ADA Stair Landing Requirements

This guide will help you determine the required ADA stair landing width and length to accommodate door swing and an area of refuge. We refer to the International Building Code (IBC) for new construction because it covers ADA landing requirements.

ADA Stair Landings

ADA Stair Landings with Doors:

• Landings should be at least as wide as the stairway or the door, whichever is greater.
• When a landing serves an occupant load of 50 or more, doors in any position should not reduce the landing size to less than 1/2 the required width.
• When the door is fully open, it should not project more than 7″ into the required minimum landing dimensions.

1011.6 Stairway landings – There shall be a floor or landing at the top and bottom of each stairway. The width of landings, measured perpendicularly to the direction of travel, shall be not less than the width of stairways served. Every landing shall have a minimum depth, measured parallel to the direction of travel, equal to the width of the stairway or 48 inches (1219 mm), whichever is less. Doors opening onto a landing shall not reduce the landing to less than one-half the required width. When fully open, the door shall not project more than 7 inches (178 mm) into a landing. 

ADA Stair Landings that Require Area of Refuge:

• If the stairway requires an area of refuge, you must have a 30″ x 48″ space for every 200 occupants.
• Access to any required wheelchair spaces in an area of refuge cannot be obstructed by more than one adjoining wheelchair space.
• The area of refuge cannot overlap the required width of the landing.
• The door swing cannot overlap the area of refuge.

Sources:

IBC Chapter 10 Means of Egress

• 1009.3 Accessible Means of Egress: Stairways
• 1010.1.6 Doors, Gates, and Turnstiles: Landings at Doors
• 1011.2 Stairways: Width and Capacity
• 1011.6 Stairways: Stairway Landings
• 1011.8 Stairways: Vertical Rise