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Stairway Lighting requirements (C) Carson Dunlop AssociatesStair & Railing Codes & Standards

Codes for designing & building
stairs, railings, guardrails

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about about the design requirements and code specifications for building stairs, landings, railings, and guard railings.

Stair, railing, guardrail, handrail, landing & platform building codes & design specifications:

Provides citations of stair and railing code & design specifications quoted from model building codes.

For each stair specification & code citation we include links to in-depth articles providing more details.

Page top illustration, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, report writing & educational firm.

This article series lists all major building code specifications for stairs, railings, landings, and guardrails - information useful for constructing or inspecting indoor or outdoor stairs, railings, landings, & treads, and for evaluating stairways and railings for safety and proper construction.

We compare stair and railing code requirements for various model, national, state and local building codes and we include explicit text & specifications from those building codes.

This page provides free PDF downloads of various model and adopted building codes & Standards for stairs, handrails, guardrailings, and landings.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

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Model Building Code Citations for Stairs & Railings + Full Code Texts, Dangers, Safety

Exterior stair extravaganza (C) Daniel FriedmanStair Ramp & Rail Codes by Major Topic

See the page-end RECOMMENDED ARTICLES list

See the page-end INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES for the full index

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Canadian Stair & Railing Code & Occupational Safety Regulations

Stairways & Fall Prevention

Canadian Stair Codes

Why do we need to worry so much about falls on stairs?

Stairs of all types have been used since ancient times, and because they are inherently hazardous, people have been falling on them, getting hurt or even killed in the process.

In North America tens of people die and tens of thousand people get injured every year from the falls on stairs.

The American National Council on Compensation Insurance estimated in 2001-2002 that the cost of such fall injuries was second only to those caused by motor vehicles.

The vast majority of stairway falls result from a loss of balance, just as falls are on the level.

A very common contributing factor is neglecting to use handrails. The consequences can be quite nasty.

Because stairway accidents can cause severe injury and even death, building codes for stairs and ramps are justifiably very rigorous.

Good design can substantially reduce the potential for missteps by providing us with the means to retrieve our balance, but even the best design cannot eliminate falling hazards entirely.

The need for proper design also applies to ramps. The fact is that some incidents can be caused by inattention and unsafe behaviour.

The best approach to minimize the hazard of falling down stairs is to encourage the building of well-designed stairways, combined with training focused on raising our awareness of the potential for disaster.

Details about inspecting for stair hazards likely to cause a slip, trip, or fall injury are at

our RECOMMENDED ARTICLES list at the end of this page.

What factors must we consider in designing safer stairs?

Stair dimensions - Canadian Rules

Figure 1 shows the recommended dimension ranges for all the important elements of stairways.

Figure 1: Legend

* Values are from the National Building Code of Canada (2005). Always check with your local jurisdiction as requirements are different in each area.

The maximum range for a stair slope is 20º-50º. However, because the majority of people prefer a slope of 30º-35º, this is the recommended range.

Steeper stairs change the way you climb them because the steeper they are the more effort you exert. The ratio of riser height and tread depth has to be adjusted accordingly. (See Figures 2 and 3)

Stair dimensions

From: Kodak's ergonomic design for people at work. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2004. p.244

The dimension of risers or treads in a stairway should not vary more than 1 cm. When doors open directly into the stairwell, a 50 cm-wide platform should be provided beyond the swing of the door.

Stair Dimensions

The recommended maximum number of steps between landings is 18, with no more than two flights without a change of direction. The depth of any landing should be at least equal to the width of the stairs.

Stair surface - Canadian Rules

To reduce the risk of slipping on stairs, non-slippery surface on the whole steps or at least on the leading edges is crucial.

Such a surface can be made of rubber, or metal or painted with special slip-resistant paint. Regular maintenance of the stairs in good repair plus good housekeeping can reduce hazards for tripping.

Stair handrails - Canadian Requirements

Attempts to design aesthetically pleasing stairways including handrails must not compromise functionality.

The prime function of the handrail is for holding as support while going up or down stairs.

It is therefore crucial to be able to grasp it quickly, easily and firmly if you should start losing your balance.

Figure 4 above shows the recommended cross-section and dimensions of a good handrail. Ideally the cross-section should be round (diameter 4-5 cm, with circumference of 12-14 cm) to allow for a good firm grip.

You should be able to run your hand smoothly along the entire length without having to adjust your grip. You should apply the so-called "tennis-racket grip" at all times when possible.

Guardrails of at least 40 cm above the surface of the stairs are needed to prevent falls off the side of the stairs that are not equipped with a banister.

Visibility on stairs

Improving visibility on stairs significantly reduces the risk for common mishaps caused by misjudging distances. Otherwise you can trip on a step or miss it completely. You can catch a heel on the edge of a step.

Such mishaps are a routine cause of twisted ankles, sprained knees or more serious injuries incurred by a total fall.

Work activity on stairs

Housekeeping Requirements for Stairways

Good housekeeping is also vital to stair safety:

Question: Canadian NBC / BC code for 1990 stair (riser and tread) code requirements.

The current 2015 Canadian model stair code from NRC Canada is available at www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/advisory/codes_centre/presentations/2010/stairs.html

and in a live link below we provide comments and excerpts from the 2015 Canadian NRC Stair Code.

Earlier Canadian building code adoptions are dated as follows:

The first National Building Code of Canada (NBC) was published in 1941; subsequent editions were published in 1953, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995.

You can probably buy a copy of the earlier 1990 code by contacting

Email: codes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Telephone: 1-613-993-9960 Fax: 1-613-952-4040 Mail: Codes Canada National Research Council Canada 1200 Montreal Road, Building M-20 Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6

Or you can order (if available) these earlier Canadian building code editions directly, online, in one volume at

nrc.canada.ca/en/certifications-evaluations-standards/codes-canada/codes-canada-publications/historical-editions-codes-canada-publications-1941-1998

The Historical Editions of Codes Canada publications on-line is a single collection of the English and French editions of all Code documents published between 1941 and 1998. The first National Building Code of Canada (NBC) was published in 1941;

subsequent editions were published in 1953, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995.

The first National Fire Code of Canada was published in 1963; subsequent editions were published in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995.

Plumbing requirements were included in all editions of the NBC up until 1970 when they were published as a separate Code. The first National Farm Building Code of Canada (NFBC) was published in 1960.

Subsequent editions were published in 1965, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1990, and 1995. The Model National Energy Codes for Buildings and Houses were published in 1997..


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