What is ADA Door Clearance?

While keeping up to date with commercial building codes, including ADA standards, can be confusing, it’s essential to know these regulations as it relates to your home or business to minimize liability and improve user experience. These compliances may seem overly complex. at first, but you’ll be surprised how simple they are when clearly explained. That’s why we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions customers have about ADA door clearance.

FAQs about ADA Door Clearance

What are the ADA requirements for doors?
Where do you need ADA clearances?
What is the ADA door clearance for wheelchairs?
Which doors should be accessible?
Why do you need so much room in front of the door?
What is the ADA clearance for residential door width?
Can ADA clearances overlap?
What is the minimum ADA door clearance?
What requirements must be met to become ADA complaint?
What do landlords need to know about the ADA?
What is the most common ADA violation as it relates to doors?
What are some ADA compliance exemptions?

By following the standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act, you can ensure you remain compliant with federal law while promoting equal access to your business. As a business owner or landlord, it’s important to know that these aspects are critical to a successful and sustainable business.

However, before we dive into these common questions, it’s essential to understand what the ADA is, what ADA door clearance is, and why these laws are in place.

ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was established to ensure that people with disabilities are protected and have the same access to public buildings, services, and commodities as anyone else. This means that building structures, walkways, entrances, doors, and more have to be wheelchair or walker accessible, among other things.

ADA door clearance details the dimensions required for a door to meet ADA standards. The law outlines the standards for both manual doors and automatic doors. This includes standard door width, standard door height, ADA door swing clearance, ADA door opening clearance, the ability to access the entrance of a building, and door maneuvering clearance. It also outlines the closing speed of the door, the amount of force required to open the door (referred to as opening force), the height of the door window (if applicable), compliant hardware, and more.

According to the American with Disabilities Act, “Compliance is required for doors, doorways, and gates providing user passage on accessible routes. At least one accessible door, doorway, or gate serving each accessible room, space, and entrance must comply.”

ADA door clearance requirements are federal law, which means every commercial building or publicly accessible building must be ADA compliant. All new commercial and public building structures must have an accessible design, meaning all new building plans are designed with ADA requirements already in place. However, older buildings built before the 1990s may not meet ADA compliant codes. For these buildings, modifications are required to ensure the entrances and doors have ADA door clearance standards, among other ADA compliance requirements.

ADA door clearance and ADA requirements also apply to rental housing, so landlords need to be aware of their tenant's needs and the adjust door clearance, if necessary, to be ADA compliant. Again, these laws are in place to protect people with disabilities and grant them equal access to public spaces and commodities. This ultimately serves the business as well, for it is fully accessible to all.

Frequently Asked Questions about ADA Door Clearances

1. What are the ADA requirements for doors?

There are many different parts of a door, and the ADA provides guidelines for everything from door clearance to threshold, hardware to opening force. This includes:

Clear Width and Vertical Clearance

Whether it’s manually-operated doors, sliding doors, or automatic doors, the ADA requires a minimum of 32 inches of clear width (door width) for each door. For swinging doors, the clear width is measured when the door is opened at 90 degrees, from the door stop to the face of the fully opened door. If it’s a sliding door or folding door, the clear width is measured to the leading edge of the door. However, if the doorway is deeper than 24 inches, the clear width must be a minimum of 36 inches.

The ADA standard door height (also known as vertical clearance) is a minimum of 80 inches. A minimum of 78 inches of vertical clearance is required from the door stop to the top door closers.

According to the ADA, “No projection into the clear width is permitted below 34 inches.” This means that the door handle or any other object on the door can’t be below 34 inches.

Furthermore, any projection above the 34-inch threshold allows for a four-inch max projection on both sides of the door into the clear opening width.

Maneuvering Clearances

Along with the clear width and vertical clearance requirements, the ADA also has door clearance requirements for the space around the door. These requirements ensure there is enough space for opening and proceeding through doors, doorways, and gates while using wheelchairs and other mobility aids. This means there must not be anything around the door that would prevent someone in a wheelchair from being able to maneuver around the door. It also means there must not be anything to prevent the door from fully swinging open. ADA maneuvering clearances are required on both sides of doors, except those that can only be used in one direction.

No specific measurement is given for the exact amount of space required for the maneuvering clearance, other than, “Maneuvering clearances must be free of protrusions to the full height (80 inches minimum) and changes in level (other than thresholds.)”

If a door opens into a hallway and leads to another door, the door maneuvering clearances can overlap. If it’s a door or gate in a series, there must be a separation between the two doors of at least 48 inches, plus the width of the doors swinging into the space. In other words, there must be a minimum of 48 inches from the edge of the opened door to the face of the next closed door.

If a recessed door has a thick wall or other type of protrusion, such as casework or shelving, within 18 inches of the latch side and protrudes out more than eight inches from the face of the door, a forward approach must be provided for maneuvering clearance. While the maneuvering clearance is measured from the wall, it cannot be offset more than eight inches from the face of the door.

Door Threshold

Sometimes, doors have thresholds in place at the bottom of the door to create an air-tight seal when the door is closed. However, to accommodate those in a wheelchair or using other mobility assistance devices, the ADA door clearance requirements limit the height of the threshold to one-half inch in new construction. For existing thresholds, a maximum height of three-quarter inch is allowed if the threshold also has a beveled edge on each side with a slope no steeper than 1:2. The vertical edge of the threshold must not be greater than one-quarter inch, and the vertical edge must be located below the bevel, not above.

ADA Door Hardware Requirements

The ADA also has certain standards set in place for door hardware, specifically for the door handle or latch and lock. These standards ensure that the door is accessible to everyone, including those with impaired mobility in their hands. Because of this, the ADA requires that door and gate hardware must allow for one-hand operation, and not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist.

Handles, such as round door knobs, require tight grasping and twisting of the wrist, so they do not comply. Rather, the ADA requires hardware that can be operated with a loose grip or closed fist, such as U-shaped pulls and lever-shaped handles, which accommodate the greatest range of users. Any sort of bars, pulls, or similar handle hardware should provide sufficient knuckle clearance (1½ inches minimum) to facilitate gripping.

Handles with thumb latches are also acceptable, though not advised due to the ADA’s caution against simultaneous actions. The ADA recommends avoiding hardware that requires hand or finger dexterity, fine motor movement, or simultaneous actions.

Handles and locks have to be operable with five one-pound force maximum, and must be located 34 inches to 48 inches above the ground surface.

Lastly, any latches or locks that require pinching do not comply with ADA standards. Keys and access cards that are not part of the lockset are not required to comply. However, the ADA recommends locks and keys that do not require pinching, don’t have small parts, or do not require turning to provide better access to those with disabilities and limited mobility.

Opening Force

It’s noted above that ADA door clearance standards require a maximum opening force of five one-pound force. However, there are exceptions to this standard, including fire doors, exterior hinged doors, latch bolts, and other devices that keep doors or gates closed.

According to the ADA Guide, Chapter 4, section 404.2.9, The five one-pound force maximum applies to the continuous application of force necessary to fully open a door, not the initial force needed to overcome the door’s seal resulting from unequal pressure. You can measure your door opening force with a pressure gauge.

Exterior hinged doors are exempted from the ADA’s Opening Force standard because the opening force is impacted by wind loading and other external conditions including, HVAC systems, energy efficiency, gaskets, and the weight of the doors.

The minimum force needed for the door to properly latch and close usually exceeds the accessible limit of five pounds of force required at other interior doors. Because of this, the ADA highly recommends automated exterior doors, as difficulty opening manual entry doors is a common access complaint.

2. Where do you need ADA clearances?

All public entrances and interior doors need to have ADA clearances for universal accessibility. The ADA Standards Guides states, “requirements for doors, doorways, and gates apply to those that provide “user passage.” Public doors also include employee-only do