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ADA door requirements for commercial door hardware
The ADA door requirements, in section 404 of the 2010 ADA Standards, are operable parts 34 to 48 inches above the floor that work with one hand at 5 pounds or less, a 5 pound maximum opening force on interior hinged doors and a closing time of at least 5 seconds from 90 to 12 degrees.
A threshold is 1/2 inch high at most and the push side of a swinging door is smooth for its bottom 10 inches; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
Last checked against the sources listed on this page.
What are the ADA door requirements?
This section and those after it were checked on against the sources listed on this page.
The ADA door requirements are in section 404 of the 2010 ADA Standards. For hardware they come to five numbers: operable parts 34 to 48 inches above the floor, 5 pounds to work them, 5 pounds to open an interior hinged door, a closing time of at least 5 seconds from 90 to 12 degrees, and a 1/2 inch threshold.
| Requirement | What the Standards say | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Operating the hardware | One hand; no tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist; 5 lbf maximum | 404.2.7, 309.4 |
| Hardware height | Operable parts 34 in minimum, 48 in maximum above the finish floor | 404.2.7 |
| Opening force | 5 lbf maximum on interior hinged doors and on sliding or folding doors; fire doors at the authority’s minimum; none set for exterior hinged doors | 404.2.9 |
| Door closer | 5 seconds minimum from 90 degrees open to 12 degrees from the latch | 404.2.8.1 |
| Spring hinges | 1.5 seconds minimum from 70 degrees open to closed | 404.2.8.2 |
| Threshold | 1/2 in high maximum; edges, ramps and existing thresholds are in our ADA threshold height guide, the parts under thresholds | 404.2.5 |
| Bottom of the door | Push side smooth to 10 in above the floor, full width; joints within 1/16 in of the same plane; kick plate cavities capped | 404.2.10 |
| Clear width | 32 in minimum, door open 90 degrees; no projection below 34 in, 4 in maximum from 34 to 80 in; closers and stops as low as 78 in | 404.2.3 |
| Maneuvering clearance | Floor space on both sides, sized by approach; more on some approaches with a closer, or a closer and a latch | 404.2.4 |
| Doors in series | 48 in minimum apart, plus the width of any door swinging into the space | 404.2.6 |
| Automatic and power-assisted doors | Full-powered: ANSI/BHMA A156.10; low-energy and power-assisted: A156.19, 1997 or 2002 edition; controls meet 309 | 404.3 |
Section 404 applies to doors on an accessible route (404.1), including at least one door at each accessible entrance and into each accessible room or space (206.5). An exit-only door with no outside hardware need comply only on its usable side, the US Access Board says, unless it is ever usable from both.
Who enforces the ADA: the US Access Board explains that there is no plan review or permitting process under the ADA, that building departments are not required or authorized by the ADA to enforce its Standards, and that an occupancy permit or a building inspection does not ensure ADA compliance. The ADA is enforced through complaints to federal agencies and through lawsuits, and the entities the law covers are ultimately responsible for complying.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
What is the ADA door handle height?
The ADA door handle height is 34 inches minimum to 48 inches maximum above the finish floor, measured to the operable parts: the lever, pull, latch or lock a person works (2010 ADA Standards, section 404.2.7). Every operable part on the door falls under it, so a second lock above 48 inches is outside the range.
Two exceptions in 404.2.7: existing locks may sit anywhere on existing glazed doors without stiles, existing overhead rolling doors or grilles, and similar existing doors locked only at the top or bottom rail; and pool, spa and hot tub barrier gates may put a self-latching release up to 54 inches high, on conditions set there.
The manual control of an automatic door, such as a push plate, follows section 309 instead: 15 to 48 inches above the floor for an unobstructed reach (308), with its clear floor space beyond the arc of the door swing (404.3.5). Panic hardware heights by maker are in exit devices explained.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
What door hardware is ADA compliant?
ADA compliant door hardware works with one hand, needs no tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist, and operates with 5 pounds of force or less (2010 ADA Standards, sections 404.2.7 and 309.4). The US Access Board accepts lever handles, U-shaped pulls and push bars; round knobs do not comply because they twist the wrist.
| Hardware | Access Board reading |
|---|---|
| Lever handles, U-shaped pulls | Acceptable |
| Round knob, gripped and turned | Does not comply: it twists the wrist |
| Push plates and bars | Acceptable at 5 lbf or less |
| Handle with a thumb latch | Acceptable; hardware needing no simultaneous action is better |
| Small lock or latch parts that must be pinched | Does not comply |
| Keys and access cards | Not covered: the Standards apply to fixed parts only |
| Closed-fist operation | A good test, not a requirement |
Latch hardware is held to 5 pounds too: its force is left out of the door’s opening force, but the Access Board notes that it must operate at 5 lbf or less. Sliding door hardware must be exposed and usable from both sides when the door is fully open (404.2.7). For bars and pulls the Access Board recommends at least 1-1/2 inches of knuckle clearance; Rockwood’s 107 pull has 1-7/8 inches, or 2-1/2 as the barrier free BF107 (catalog page B14).
Lever locks are under lever locks by ANSI function, each function explained in lock function codes; pulls are under door pulls.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
What is the maximum ADA door opening force?
The maximum ADA door opening force is 5 pounds (22.2 N) for interior hinged doors and for sliding or folding doors, under section 404.2.9 of the 2010 ADA Standards. Fire doors are held instead to the minimum opening force the appropriate administrative authority allows, and the Standards set no maximum for exterior hinged doors.
The limit is the continuous force to open the door fully, not the initial force to overcome its inertia, and it excludes retracting a latch or releasing anything else holding the door closed (404.2.9 and its advisory). The US Access Board’s gauge method, unless the gauge’s instructions differ:
- Open the door until its face edge lines up with the frame’s outside edge.
- Hold the gauge just above the hardware, about 2-1/2 inches from the latch edge.
- Push slowly, the gauge perpendicular to the door face.
- Remove the gauge at 70 degrees open.
Exterior hinged doors have no figure because, the Access Board explains, the minimum force for proper closure and positive latching usually exceeds 5 pounds; it recommends automating them where the opening force is significant, or setting closers with the least force that closes the door. Norton states that its 8301 and 8501 closers comply with the ADA opening force requirements for interior doors (catalog page 89); see the Norton 8501 door closer.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
What are the ADA door closer requirements?
The ADA door closer requirements start with closing speed: a closer must be adjusted so that, from 90 degrees open, the door takes at least 5 seconds to reach 12 degrees from the latch (2010 ADA Standards, section 404.2.8.1). Spring hinges must take at least 1.5 seconds to close the door from 70 degrees (404.2.8.2).
Two more rules touch a closer:
- Headroom. A closer or stop may sit as low as 78 inches above the floor (exception to 404.2.3).
- Floor space. Table 404.2.4.1 adds 12 inches beyond the latch on the push side of a front approach where the door has both a closer and a latch, and 6 inches of depth on some side approaches. The Access Board does not count spring or gravity hinges as closers for this table.
Setting a closer to these times is in our commercial door closer adjustment guide. Choosing and sizing a closer is in our types of door closers guide; closers are under commercial door closers.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
Does the ADA require a kick plate on a door?
No. The ADA requires a smooth surface, not a kick plate: 2010 ADA Standards section 404.2.10 makes the push side of a swinging door smooth to 10 inches above the floor, full width, because, the US Access Board says, wheelchair footrests and other mobility aids are sometimes used to push doors open. A kick plate may protect it.
Two conditions in 404.2.10 bear on plates: joints in that surface must be within 1/16 inch (0.0625 inch) of the same plane, and any cavity an added kick plate creates must be capped. Rockwood’s metal door plates are .038, .050, .062 or .125 inch thick, edges beveled as standard (catalog pages C1 to C3).
Section 404.2.10 exempts sliding doors; tempered glass doors without stiles whose bottom rail or shoe tapers at 60 degrees or more from the horizontal at its top leading edge; doors ending more than 10 inches above the floor; and existing doors without smooth surfaces, provided added kick plate cavities are capped.
Plate sizes are in our door kick plate sizes guide; we quote plates under kick plates.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
When do the 2010 ADA Standards apply to an existing door?
The 2010 ADA Standards apply to an existing door altered in work whose last permit application was certified complete (or received, where not certified), or which started without a permit, on or after March 15, 2012 (28 CFR 36.406(a)). Public accommodations must also remove barriers at doors where readily achievable (28 CFR 36.304).
- Government facilities. State and local governments count from the start of construction (35.151(c)).
- Alterations. Each altered element must comply (202.3); normal maintenance is not an alteration unless it affects usability (36.402(b)(1)). The Department of Justice does not count hardware alterations as alterations affecting a primary function area, the trigger for path of travel work (36.403(c)(2); 35.151(b)(4)(i)(B)).
- Barrier removal. Readily achievable means easily accomplishable without much difficulty or expense; the Department’s examples include widening doors, offset hinges to widen doorways and accessible door hardware (36.304(b)), and the work must meet the alteration rules for that element (36.304(d)(1)).
- Safe harbor. An element not altered on or after March 15, 2012 that complies with the 1991 Standards need not be modified to meet the 2010 Standards (36.304(d)(2)(i)).
| Element | 1991 Standards | 2010 Standards |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware height | 48 in maximum (4.13.9) | 34 in minimum, 48 in maximum (404.2.7) |
| Door closer | From 70 degrees, 3 seconds minimum to 3 in from the latch (4.13.10) | From 90 degrees, 5 seconds minimum to 12 degrees from the latch (404.2.8.1) |
| Spring hinges | No closing time in 4.13 | From 70 degrees, 1.5 seconds minimum to closed (404.2.8.2) |
| Bottom 10 in, push side | No smooth surface rule in 4.13 | Smooth, full width (404.2.10) |
Hinges that swing a door clear of the opening are in our types of door hinges guide.
We supply listed hardware and confirm in writing the part number and options you have chosen. We are not code consultants; your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) makes the final call.
What do we confirm before it ships?
Before anything ships we confirm in writing: the part number and options you have chosen: the lever trim and its function, the closer and its arm, the threshold height and profile, and the kick plate size and finish.
Sources
The numbers and code sections on this page come from these documents, opened on the date above.
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 404 doors, doorways and gates: 404.1 to 404.3 (ADA.gov)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 308 reach ranges (ADA.gov)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 309 operable parts (ADA.gov)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 206.5 doors, doorways and gates (ADA.gov)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 202 existing buildings and facilities (ADA.gov)
- 28 CFR 36.406(a), standards and compliance date for public accommodations and commercial facilities, as printed with the 2010 Standards (ADA.gov)
- 28 CFR 35.151(b)(4) and (c), alterations and compliance date for state and local government facilities, as printed with the 2010 Standards (ADA.gov)
- 28 CFR 36.402(b), alterations, as printed with the 2010 Standards (ADA.gov)
- 28 CFR 36.403(c)(2), alterations and path of travel, as printed with the 2010 Standards (ADA.gov)
- 28 CFR 36.304, removal of barriers, ADA Title III regulations (ADA.gov)
- 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 4.13 doors: 4.13.9 to 4.13.11 (ADA.gov)
- US Access Board, Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, chapter 4: entrances, doors and gates
- US Access Board, Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, chapter 3: operable parts
- Norton Rixson Surface Closers catalog, 8000 Series features, page 89 (43506-07/26, AADSS1193131)
- Rockwood accessories catalog, ASSA ABLOY (AADSS1014778): door pulls page B14, metal door plates pages C1 to C3
- US Access Board, Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, Chapter 1: Using the ADA Standards (how the Standards are enforced; state and local access codes)
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