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Building Official Determination 16-02: All-Gender Restrooms

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Building Code Guides (BCGs) and Building Official Determinations (BODs) provide answers about the application of building codes and outline optional alternates. BODs are typically smaller in scope and address simpler questions. Code Guides provide a comprehensive alternative to a complicated set of code requirements.

BOD 16-02: All-Gender Restrooms 

Current building code no longer requires separate facilities for each sex. The required minimum number of plumbing fixtures may be provided in rooms having water closets and lavatories designed for use by all genders. Since this is a recent change in the building code, there are a variety of questions on how to apply requirements for fixture count and privacy.

QUESTION 1: OSSC Chapter 12 requires each water closet to have a separate compartment with “walls or partitions and a door enclosing the fixtures to ensure privacy.” What does this mean for all-gender facilities?

RESPONSE 1: Each water closet must be enclosed with full height floor to ceiling partitions or walls. The bottom edge of the door shall be located less than or equal to 1" off the finished floor. The top edge of the door must extend at least 84" above the finished floor but may leave up to a 4” gap above that height. The door jamb must overlap the door in the closed position for the full height of the door to prevent any visual observation from the outside of the partition enclosure. Each water closet must have locking hardware that functions with an indicator showing whether it is occupied or vacant. Each water closet must have separate ventilation. 


QUESTION 2: Are urinals allowed in all-gender restrooms?

RESPONSE 2: Urinals may be provided in multi-user all-gender restrooms, but do not count towards the total required number of plumbing fixtures. Each urinal within multi-user all-gender restrooms must be enclosed in a separate compartment meeting the standards outlined in Question 1 with the exception that a urinal may share a compartment with a single water closet.


QUESTION 3: How are the number of required accessible fixtures calculated?

RESPONSE 3: The total number of accessible fixtures in a multi-user all-gender restroom shall be determined based on the requirements for water closet compartments in a multi-user facility in 1110.2.4.


HISTORY: Implemented September 2016. Revised August 2, 2024.

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