The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design require that where dining surfaces are provided for eating or drinking, at least 5 percent of the seating and standing spaces at them comply with section 902. That section sets the table height at 28 to 34 inches and requires a clear floor space and knee and toe clearance under the table. The bench requirements in section 903 apply where the standards call for a bench, such as a locker room, and the Access Board says they do not apply to benches used for sitting in an outdoor developed area such as a picnic ground or trail.
This page summarizes the standards as published by the U.S. Access Board and the Department of Justice, checked October 3, 2026. State and local codes can add to them. For a specific project, the architect of record, the local building official or an accessibility consultant should confirm what applies.
How many seats
Section 226.1 counts seats and standing spaces, not tables. Where dining surfaces are provided for the consumption of food or drink, at least 5 percent of the seating spaces and standing spaces at the dining surfaces must comply with 902. The same 5 percent applies to work surfaces used by people other than employees. Sales counters and service counters are exempt from 902 and have their own rules.
Section 226.2 adds dispersion: the accessible dining surfaces must be dispersed throughout the space or facility that contains dining surfaces.
The Department of Justice explains the change from the 1991 standards in its guidance. Commenters asked it to return to counting fixed tables. The Department kept the count of seats and standing spaces, because tables vary in size and counting tables could limit the choices open to people with disabilities.
As a worked example in round numbers, a restaurant patio with 120 seats would need at least 6 seating spaces that meet 902, located in different parts of the patio.
What a compliant table position needs
Section 902 sets two requirements, and both refer to other sections.
| Requirement | What the standard says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Height | Top of the dining surface 28 inches minimum and 34 inches maximum above the finish floor or ground | 902.3 |
| Clear floor space | 30 by 48 inches minimum, positioned for a forward approach | 902.2, 305.3 |
| Ground surface | No changes in level; slopes up to 1:48 allowed | 305.2 |
| Approach | One full unobstructed side of the space adjoins an accessible route or another clear space | 305.6 |
| Knee clearance | 30 inches wide minimum; 27 inches high for at least 8 inches of depth, and 11 inches deep minimum at 9 inches above the ground | 306.3 |
| Toe clearance | 30 inches wide minimum; at least 17 inches deep under the element, measured in the space up to 9 inches above the ground | 306.2 |
| Maximum depth | Knee and toe clearance count up to 25 inches under the element | 306.2.2, 306.3.2 |
For children’s dining surfaces, 902.4 allows tops 26 to 30 inches high and knee clearance of 24 inches. Surfaces used mostly by children 5 and younger can use a parallel approach instead.
The base of an outdoor table decides most of this. A pedestal or trestle base, a center umbrella pole with a wide foot, or a crossbar between legs can sit inside the 30-inch width or the 17-inch toe depth. When you compare tables, ask the manufacturer for a drawing that shows the clear width between legs and the knee height under the apron, and check them against the table above.
Benches
Section 903 sets the details for a bench: a seat at least 42 inches long and 20 to 24 inches deep, a seat height of 17 to 19 inches, back support at least 42 inches long reaching from 2 inches or less above the seat to at least 18 inches above it, a clear floor space at the end of the bench, resistance to a 250-pound force, and a slip-resistant seat that does not hold water in wet locations.
The 2010 standards call for a 903 bench in specific rooms: accessible dressing, fitting and locker rooms (803.4), saunas and steam rooms (612.2), and holding and housing cells with mobility features (807.2.2). They do not set a general count of accessible benches for a plaza, a pool deck or a park path.
The Access Board’s guide to outdoor developed areas says the section 903 requirements apply only to benches used for dressing and undressing in fitting and locker rooms, and not to benches used for sitting in an outdoor developed area.
Federal outdoor recreation areas
The Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Standards, which cover facilities built or altered by federal agencies, have rules for picnic tables and benches in picnic and camping areas, at viewing areas and along trails. The Access Board added them in 2013, and the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and the Postal Service have adopted them. The Access Board says they are not part of the Department of Justice’s 2010 ADA Standards and have no legal effect on state and local governments or private entities. Those entities may use them as guidance.
What the ABA Standards and the Access Board’s guide say:
- Picnic tables need at least one wheelchair space for each 24 linear feet of usable table perimeter. Each space is at least 30 by 48 inches, positioned for a forward approach, with knee and toe clearance under the table as in section 306. The guide says this usually means one space at a table up to 9 feet long and two at a table 10 to 20 feet long.
- Picnic table tops follow the same 28 to 34 inch height as other dining surfaces.
- A clear ground space 36 inches wide is required on all usable sides of a picnic table, measured from the back edge of the seats.
- When more than two picnic units are provided, at least 20 percent of them, and no fewer than two, must have mobility features.
- A bench needs a clear ground space of at least 36 by 48 inches beside it, with one side adjoining the outdoor recreation access route or trail. The ABA Standards set no technical requirements for the bench itself. The guide suggests back support along the full length and one armrest, placed in the middle or at the end away from the clear space, so a person can transfer from a wheelchair.
- Where benches, picnic tables or similar features are provided along a trail, at least 20 percent of each type at each location, and no fewer than one, must comply.
Furniture and the standards
The Department of Justice’s guidance on the 2010 standards says they prescribe requirements for fixed or built-in elements in new or altered facilities. Once construction is finished, the operation of the facility falls under the ADA regulations’ other requirements, and the Department says it may use the standards as a guide when it decides how equipment and furnishings should be made accessible.
Whether a given table or bench counts as fixed can change which rules apply to it, and that is a question for the project’s architect or counsel. Naming sections 902 and 306 in the purchase specification for each dining table model gives the vendor a requirement it can measure against.
What to ask before you order
- The table height, measured to the top of the surface, for each table model.
- A dimensioned drawing of the base showing clear width, knee height and toe depth.
- For benches in a locker room, pool changing room or sauna, a drawing showing the 903 seat size, height and back support.
- For a park or campus project on federal land or for a federal agency, which picnic tables and benches will count toward the ABA scoping.