Firm, stable, slip resistant
The Access Board's advisory explains it: a stable surface returns to normal after force is removed, and a firm one doesn't dent or shift underfoot. Loose gravel and wet turf are the usual misses.2
302.1Surface
There's no portable toilet chapter in the 2010 ADA Standards. A unit that has to be accessible is held to the same toilet room rules as a building: a 60 inch turning circle, grab bars at 33 to 36 inches, a 32 inch door, and a firm, level way to reach it.1 This page lists those numbers. Whether your site needs an accessible unit at all is covered in the ADA section of our OSHA guide.
Inside the unit
Section 603 covers the room and section 604 covers the toilet and its hardware. These are the figures that apply to a single-user unit.1
| Element | What the standard says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Room to turn around | A 60 inch circle, or a T-shape inside a 60 inch square with 36 inch arms, inside the room. The door may swing into it. | 603.2.1, 304.3 |
| Clear space at the toilet | 60 inches out from the side wall by 56 inches out from the rear wall. No other fixture inside it. | 604.3 |
| Where the toilet sits | Wall behind it and on one side, centerline 16 to 18 inches from that side wall | 604.2 |
| Seat height | 17 to 19 inches to the top of the seat, and the seat can't spring back up | 604.4 |
| Side grab bar | 42 inches long at least, starting no more than 12 inches from the rear wall and reaching at least 54 inches out | 604.5.1 |
| Rear grab bar | 36 inches long at least, running 12 inches past the toilet centerline on one side and 24 on the other | 604.5.2 |
| Grab bar height | 33 to 36 inches to the top of the gripping surface, mounted level | 609.4 |
| Grab bar size and gap | Round bars 1¼ to 2 inches across, with 1½ inches between bar and wall | 609.2.1, 609.3 |
| Grab bar strength | Bar, fasteners and mounting hold 250 pounds at any point | 609.8 |
| Flush control | On the open side of the toilet, hand operated or automatic | 604.6 |
| Toilet paper | Dispenser 7 to 9 inches in front of the toilet, outlet 15 to 48 inches up, not behind a grab bar | 604.7 |
| Sink, if there is one | Rim or counter 34 inches high at most | 606.3 |
| Mirror, if there is one | Bottom edge 40 inches up at most over a sink, 35 inches anywhere else | 603.3 |
| Coat hook and shelf | Hook inside the reach range of 15 to 48 inches, shelf 40 to 48 inches up | 603.4, 308.2.1 |
| Door swing | The door can't swing into the clear space at the toilet | 603.2.3 |
| Marking | The International Symbol of Accessibility | 703.7.2.1 |
2010 ADA Standards, chapters 3, 6 and 7.214 Footprints of the accessible units providers actually stock are on the portable toilet types guide.
The door
A unit can be roomy inside and still fail at the door. Section 404 asks for a 32 inch clear opening, measured from the face of the open door to the stop, and a threshold no taller than ½ inch.3
Outside a door you pull open, someone in a wheelchair needs ground that's level and clear: 60 inches deep in front of the door, plus 18 inches beside the latch. If a delivery pallet or a fence panel sits there, the unit stops working even though nothing about it changed.3
Getting to it
An accessible unit dropped on soft grass behind a trailer isn't accessible. Chapter 3 and 4 set the rules for the surface and the path to the door.23
The Access Board's advisory explains it: a stable surface returns to normal after force is removed, and a firm one doesn't dent or shift underfoot. Loose gravel and wet turf are the usual misses.2
302.1Surface
An edge up to ¼ inch can be square. From ¼ to ½ inch it has to be beveled no steeper than 1:2. Over ½ inch, it needs a ramp.2
303.2 to 303.4Changes in level
The walking route is 36 inches wide, with a running slope no steeper than 1:20 and a cross slope no steeper than 1:48. Steeper than 1:20 makes it a ramp.3
403.3, 403.5.1Route
When the floor sits up off the ground
A ramp can't be steeper than 1:12, so each inch the floor sits above grade needs 12 inches of slope. A run tops out at 30 inches of rise, needs a 60 inch landing at each end, and needs handrails once the rise passes 6 inches. Clear width is 36 inches.3
| Floor above grade | Shortest ramp run | Run length | Handrails? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ½ inch | None | No ramp needed; bevel it per 303.3 | |
| 2 inches | 24 inches | No | |
| 4 inches | 48 inches | No | |
| 6 inches | 72 inches | Not yet; required above 6 inches | |
| 8 inches | 96 inches | Yes | |
| 10 inches | 120 inches | Yes |
Run is rise times 12, from the 1:12 limit in 405.2.3 Add the 60 inch landings at the top and bottom on top of the run. The landing at the top can share space with the door's maneuvering clearance under 405.7.5.
How they're ordered
Over the past two years our provider network delivered 1,971 ADA portable toilets on 1,477 orders in 49 states, through 628 local providers.5
Of the mixed orders, 578 also had standard event units and 256 had standard construction units. Orders with 10 to 19 other toilets (42 of them) had a median of 2 ADA units. Orders with 20 to 49 others (23) had a median of 4.
| Service schedule on the unit | ADA units | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No service visit (dropped and picked up) | 1,254 | |
| Weekly | 513 | |
| Twice a week | 102 | |
| Daily | 47 | |
| Three times a week | 20 | |
| One service visit | 16 |
No-service units were short stays: of 1,129 with a pickup date, 1,107 were gone within a week, median 3 days. Bars are scaled to the largest group.
Setting it on site
Tell us the address, how many people, and where it'll sit. We'll match a unit from a local provider and note the door side and setting surface on the order.
Questions
Enough for a 60 inch turning circle, or a T-shaped turn inside a 60 inch square, plus a clear area at the toilet 60 inches from the side wall by 56 inches from the rear wall. The two areas can overlap.
33 to 36 inches above the floor, measured to the top of the bar. The side bar is at least 42 inches long and the rear bar at least 36 inches.
The standard asks for 32 inches of clear opening with the door open 90 degrees, and a threshold of ½ inch or less.
Only if the floor is more than ½ inch above the ground outside. Then the ramp can't be steeper than 1:12, so a 4 inch rise needs at least 48 inches of ramp, plus landings.
No. Some placements are exempt and some clusters only need a share of units to comply. That's explained in the ADA section of our OSHA guide. A contract, a permit or a local code can still require one.
In our provider network, orders with 10 to 19 other toilets had a median of 2 ADA units, and orders with 20 to 49 others had a median of 4.
Read next
Sources