ADA mounting heights for restroom accessories

ADA mounting heights for restroom accessories: the chart

Heights are from the finished floor. For towel and soap dispensers, the Standards’ advisory to 606.1 says they go within the reach ranges and where a person at the accessible sink can use them. Hand dryers aren’t named: their controls are operable parts, which have to meet 309 in an accessible room (205.1).

The reach range, drawn

The reach range is where a person seated in a wheelchair can reach. Both a forward reach and a side reach run from 15 in to 48 in above the floor when nothing is in the way (308.2.1, 308.3.1). Something in between, like a counter, lowers the top of the range:

• Reaching forward over a counter: 48 in max when the reach is 20 in deep or less, and 44 in max when it is 20 to 25 in deep; the clear floor space has to continue under the counter (308.2.2).
• Reaching sideways over something: it can be 34 in high and 24 in deep at most. The top of the reach is 48 in when it is 10 in deep or less, and 46 in when it is deeper (308.3.2).

Only the parts you operate have to be in the range. The Access Board’s guide says the range applies to handles, controls, switches, buttons and similar parts; the rest of the unit, like the top of a towel dispenser, can sit higher. Those parts must also work with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist, and with 5 lb of force or less (309.4).

Dispensers near grab bars

Grab bars sit with their tops 33 to 36 in above the floor (609.4). Anything that sticks out from the wall has to stay at least 12 in above a grab bar and 1½ in below it and at its ends; only shower controls, shower fittings and other grab bars may come within 1½ in above (609.3). The Access Board’s guide points out what that does to a soap dispenser over a grab bar: with the bar at 33 to 36 in and the 48 in reach limit on top, its controls end up in a narrow band from 45 to 48 in.

The toilet paper dispenser has its own rule: its center 7 to 9 in in front of the toilet, its outlet 15 to 48 in high, and never behind a grab bar (604.7). The details and a placement tool are in toilet paper holder height.

Hand dryers and anything else that sticks out

A wall-mounted object whose front edge is more than 27 in and no more than 80 in above the floor may stick out 4 in at most into a walkway (307.2). The rule protects people with low vision, who often follow walls: a cane sweeping the floor finds anything lower than 27 in, and 80 in is the minimum headroom. The Access Board’s guide lists the ways to mount something deeper than 4 in:

• recess it into the wall so it sticks out 4 in or less;
• put it above something a cane can find, like a counter or a fixture, and stick out no more than 4 in past that;
• add a side panel or wing wall whose bottom edge is 27 in high or lower.

The guide says the rule covers every circulation path, any interior or exterior walk as well as hallways, so it reaches dispensers and hand dryers along the walking space of a restroom.

Mirrors, hooks and shelves

• Mirrors. Over a sink or counter, the bottom of the reflecting glass is 40 in or lower; anywhere else, 35 in or lower. The Standards advise a top edge at least 74 in high, so one mirror suits both seated and standing users (603.3). Only one mirror per room has to comply (213.3.5), and the Standards’ advisory notes that a single full-length mirror can serve more people, children included.
• Coat hooks go within one of the reach ranges, and shelves 40 to 48 in high (603.4). Inside a toilet stall the same numbers apply (604.8.3). Where a room has hooks or shelves, at least one of each kind has to comply (213.3.7).
• Baby changing tables count as work surfaces, with the top 28 to 34 in high (226.1, 902.3), and as protruding objects when they fold down into a walkway.

Heights for children

For accessories meant mainly for children, the Standards give advisory reach ranges by age (Advisory 308.1):

Advisory only. Accessories meant for adults stay within the adult range of 15 to 48 in.

Where these apply

The 2010 ADA Standards cover new and altered buildings of state and local governments, public accommodations and commercial facilities. Private homes aren’t covered: the Access Board’s guide says private residential housing isn’t covered by the ADA. At home, the usual heights come from the NKBA’s planning guidelines instead; see towel bar height and toilet paper holder height. To check a whole accessible room, the door, turning space, toilet and sink included, use our ADA bathroom requirements checker; rooms drawn to these rules are in ADA bathroom layouts, and the rules for tubs in ADA bathtub requirements.

Questions people ask