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ADA Door Maneuvering Clearance Calculator

The landing a door needs on the side you are standing, set by the direction of approach and by whether the door is being pushed or pulled.

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The direction someone arrives at the door from in a wheelchair.

Approach is decided by the geometry you have built, not by what you would prefer. A door at the head of a ramp reached along a wall is a latch or hinge approach whatever the drawing says, and those cases demand more space alongside the opening than a square-on arrival does.

Whether the door swings toward the person or away from them.

The pull side always needs more room, because the user has to reach past the leaf, draw it open and then travel around the arc it sweeps. Both sides of a door need checking: a landing that works for someone leaving may not work for someone arriving.

Whether the door has a self-closing device.

A closer adds required depth on the latch-side approaches, because the user is working against the device while manoeuvring. Fire and smoke doors nearly always have one, which is why the doors that most need generous landings are the ones that get them least often.

Whether the door has a latch that must be released to open it.

The latch matters where it appears together with a closer: the front push and hinge push cases both grow when a door has both, because the user must hold the latch retracted and overcome the closer at the same moment.

The clear width through the doorway with the door open ninety degrees.

Clear width is measured between the face of the door and the opposite stop, not between the frame rebates, so the leaf, its hardware and any projecting closer arm all reduce it. The standard sets a floor of 32 in for this dimension, and the total maneuvering width below is built on whatever you enter.

Required clear depth at the door

60 in

High confidence

The clear opening entered is at or above the 32 in minimum. The space alongside is measured beyond the latch side for front and latch approaches; for a hinge-side approach, check the figure in 404.2.4.1 for which jamb it is taken from before setting out. The maneuvering space must be level, within a slope of 1:48 in any direction, and must be clear of the door's own swing. Matching the figures quoted is not compliance. The rest of the requirement, and the installed work, are outside what this page can see.

Clear space required alongside the doorway
18 in
Total clear width of the maneuvering space
50 in
Minimum clear opening width at the door
32 in
Then change the inputs to see how far the answer moves.

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How this was calculated

Formula source(s)

  • 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 404.2.4.1 and Table 404.2.4.1, maneuvering clearances at manual swinging doors and gates
  • ICC A117.1, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, carries an equivalent table; confirm which document your jurisdiction has adopted, since editions differ in places
  • 2010 ADA Standards 404.2.3 sets the minimum clear opening width at 32 in with the door open ninety degrees, and 404.2.4.4 requires the maneuvering space floor to be level within a slope of 1:48

Inputs used

Approach Direction
From the front, square on to the door
Side of the Door
Pull side — the door swings toward you
Door Closer Fitted
No closer
Latch Fitted
Latch fitted
Hinge-Side Pull Arrangement
Deeper space, less width alongside
Clear Opening Width
32 in

Intermediate steps

Clear space required alongside the doorway
18 in
Total clear width of the maneuvering space
50 in
Minimum clear opening width at the door
32 in
Final result60 in

Confidence note: The clear opening entered is at or above the 32 in minimum. The space alongside is measured beyond the latch side for front and latch approaches; for a hinge-side approach, check the figure in 404.2.4.1 for which jamb it is taken from before setting out. The maneuvering space must be level, within a slope of 1:48 in any direction, and must be clear of the door's own swing. Matching the figures quoted is not compliance. The rest of the requirement, and the installed work, are outside what this page can see.

What this calculation does not cover

  • Manual swinging doors and gates only. Sliding, folding, automatic and power-assisted doors are covered by different provisions, and doorways without doors different again.
  • Does not cover doors in series, recessed doors, or the additional clearance a recess deeper than 8 in (203 mm) imposes on the approach.
  • Says nothing about opening force, closing speed or hardware operability, which are separate requirements a compliant landing does not satisfy on its own.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 60 in — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

2.67 ft
Schematic, drawn to the proportions you entered — not to scale on screen.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Sources checked 2026-08-30 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.0

Regulatory standards & verification citations3
  1. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 404.2.4.1 and Table 404.2.4.1, maneuvering clearances at manual swinging doors and gates
  2. ICC A117.1, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, carries an equivalent table; confirm which document your jurisdiction has adopted, since editions differ in places
  3. 2010 ADA Standards 404.2.3 sets the minimum clear opening width at 32 in with the door open ninety degrees, and 404.2.4.4 requires the maneuvering space floor to be level within a slope of 1:48

Which documents these citations point at

Standards referenced: ICC A117.1 (International Code Council, United States).

Cite this page

Your workspace

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Now that you have the number

These guides cover the work this quantity is for — the first ones run this calculator inside the section that raises the question.

  • Hanging a Fire Door to the Gap Tolerancesuses this calculator

    The inspector arrives with a gap gauge rather than a spirit level, so the millimetres round the leaf, the seal runs and the latch are the whole job.

  • Laying Out a Doorway That Worksuses this calculator

    Moving a door means rebuilding a hole: the leaf sets the frame, the frame sets the opening, and the floor either side decides where it can go.

  • Planning a Revolving Door Entranceuses this calculator

    A revolving door is four different diameters and a reserved circle, tested against the lobby before the storefront around it is drawn.

Called something else where you work? Fire door — the term in each market, how close the equivalence really is, and the standard that governs it.

Already gone wrong? A door sticks, binds or will not close properly

How to calculate ADA door maneuvering clearance in 7 steps

  1. Approach DirectionThe direction someone arrives at the door from in a wheelchair.
  2. Side of the DoorWhether the door swings toward the person or away from them.
  3. Door Closer FittedWhether the door has a self-closing device.
  4. Latch FittedWhether the door has a latch that must be released to open it.
  5. Hinge-Side Pull ArrangementWhich of the two permitted hinge-side pull arrangements you are building to.
  6. Clear Opening WidthThe clear width through the doorway with the door open ninety degrees.
  7. Required clear depth at the doorThe tool computes the required clear depth at the door from those figures and shows the formula, its sources, and a confidence rating alongside it.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the pull side need so much more room than the push side?
Because the person has to get out of the way of the door they are opening. On the pull side a wheelchair user reaches the handle, draws the leaf toward themselves, and must then reverse and travel around the arc the door sweeps before going through. On the push side the door moves away and the user follows it, so the space needed is close to the depth of the chair itself.
Does the maneuvering space have to be level?
Yes — the standard allows a slope of no more than 1:48 in any direction across it, which is a drainage fall rather than a usable gradient. This is the detail that most often defeats a door at the head of a ramp: the landing is the right size on plan, but it has been given the ramp's own fall, and the user cannot hold position while working the door.
The door has no latch. Does that change anything?
It does, on two cases. The front push and hinge push clearances grow only where a door has both a closer and a latch, because that combination requires the user to release the latch and overcome the closer at the same time. A push-plate door with a closer and no latch stays at the smaller dimension.
Can the door swing into the maneuvering space?
No. The space has to be clear of the leaf's arc through its full travel, which is what makes a door in a corridor recess so difficult: the clearance and the swing compete for the same floor. Where the geometry will not resolve, the usual answers are to rehang the door, change the hand, or fit a power operator and take the door out of the equation.
Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.