SANS 10400 Part S explained
Part S is the part of the National Building Regulations that deals with facilities for persons with disabilities, and SANS 10400-S is the deemed to satisfy standard for it. It applies to every building except the ones regulation S1(1) exempts: a building whose whole ground storey is B1, B2, D4, H4, J1 or J2 occupancy, which takes a dwelling house out; a hotel with fewer than 25 bedrooms where it can reasonably be proven that wheelchair access cannot be included in certain aspects of the design; and any storey above ground in a block of flats that has no lift. Where it applies, the figures that decide a design are a ramp no steeper than 1:12 and at least 1,100 mm wide with 1.2 m landings, doorways with a clear opening of at least 750 mm and 900 mm at an accessible toilet, a 1.5 m turning circle, and controls between 900 mm and 1.2 m above the floor.
Last updated 26 October 2026. Written against SANS 10400-S:2011 edition 3 and Part S of the National Building Regulations as reproduced in its Annex A.
What Part S is, and what SANS 10400-S is
Two documents share the name. Part S of the National Building Regulations is law, made under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977. It is short, it is functional, and it is free. It says what a building must achieve for persons with disabilities and leaves the how to you.
SANS 10400-S is the South African National Standard that sets out one way of achieving it. Comply with SANS 10400-S, and with SANS 10400-T for escape in a fire, and regulation S3 deems Part S satisfied. Do something else and you are into a rational design by a competent person who takes responsibility for showing that it works. The edition in use is SANS 10400-S:2011, edition 3, published in April 2011, which superseded the corresponding parts of SABS 0400:1990 and SABS 0246:1993.
Which buildings Part S applies to
Regulation S1(1) requires facilities for persons with disabilities in any building, with three exemptions. The occupancy classes it uses are the A20 classes from Part A.
| Exemption | What it means on site |
|---|---|
| S1(1)(a): a building whose whole ground storey is B1, B2, D4, H4, J1 or J2 | High and moderate risk commercial service, plant rooms, dwelling houses, and high and moderate risk storage. The one that matters for most builders is H4, a dwelling house. A house for one family is exempt. A block of flats is H3 and is not. |
| S1(1)(b): an H1 hotel with fewer than 25 bedrooms | Only where it can reasonably be proven that wheelchair access cannot be included in certain aspects of the design. The burden is on the applicant to prove it. |
| S1(1)(c): any storey above the ground storey of an H3 building with no lift | The ground floor of a walk-up block of flats must comply. The upper floors need not, because the lift is what makes them reachable. Put a lift in and they are back in scope. |
Everything else is in: shops, offices, schools, places of worship, clinics, restaurants, every class of factory (D1 to D3; only a D4 plant room is exempt), hotels of 25 bedrooms or more and smaller hotels unless the S1(1)(b) proof is made, and the ground floor of any block of flats. A change of use that moves a building out of an exempt class brings Part S with it.
What regulation S2 requires
S2(1) is the functional requirement, and it is written from the point of view of the person using the building rather than the drawing. A person with a disability must be able to:
- safely enter the building, use all of its facilities, and leave it, subject to the limits in subregulation (3);
- reach the ground storey from the main approach and any ancillary approach, through the main entrance and any secondary entrance;
- get to a place of safety in an emergency;
- use any lift the building has, which means every lift must be capable of serving persons with disabilities;
- move along the commonly used paths of travel without obstacles, with any obstruction made evident to a person with impaired vision;
- get into any auditorium or hall, with open space for wheelchair users in proportion to the seating.
S2(2) adds the car park: where parking is provided for more than 50 vehicles, accessible bays are required. The standard turns that into a number below.
The figures in SANS 10400-S, by clause
These are the dimensions that decide a design. Each one is cited to its clause so you can check it against the edition you hold. Where the standard gives both a minimum and a recommendation, both are shown.
| Clause | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 3.33, definitions | A ramp is a walkway with a slope between 1:20 and 1:12. Flatter than 1:20 is a walkway and the ramp clauses do not apply to it. |
| 4.2, signage | The international symbol of access to SANS 1186-1, with lettering at least 50 mm high. Table 1 relates lettering height to viewing distance. |
| 4.3, parking | At least one accessible bay for employees. Where parking for more than 50 vehicles is provided, at least one accessible bay for every 25 bays or part of 25, and at least 20% of the bays at rehabilitation and medical facilities. |
| 4.4.1.4, walking surfaces | Clear width of at least 900 mm. Where the surface is narrower than 1.5 m, passing spaces of 1.5 m by 1.5 m at intervals of not more than 5.0 m. |
| 4.4.2, turning space | A circle of 1.5 m diameter. |
| 4.4.3.7, kerb cuts | Slip resistant, no steeper than 1:12, and adjacent to the accessible parking bay. |
| 4.5, surfaces | Stable, firm and slip resistant under wet and dry conditions (clause 4.5.1, which refers to SANS 784). |
| 4.6.1.1 and 4.6.1.2, doorways | Clear opening of at least 750 mm, with 800 mm recommended. In a two-leaf door the leading leaf alone must give 750 mm. Figure 7 relates passage width to door width for the turn into the doorway. |
| 4.7, changes in level | Exposed sides of a raised surface need a kerb at least 75 mm high or a rail not more than 300 mm above the surface. |
| 4.8, ramps | Recommended only where level access cannot be achieved, normally with stepped access alongside (clause 4.8, note 2). Clause 4.8.2: gradient no steeper than 1:12 along the centre line, clear width at least 1,100 mm, surface to clause 4.5, landings at least 1.2 m long at the top and bottom. |
| 4.9, stairways | Read with SANS 10400-M and SANS 10400-T. Width at least 900 mm, straight landings at least 1,100 mm, and a uniform rise. |
| 4.10, handrails | Elliptical about 50 mm by 40 mm or circular 35 mm to 50 mm in diameter, 900 mm to 1,000 mm to the top of the rail from the stair nosing or ramp surface. Both sides on a stairway (4.9.1) and on a ramp steeper than 1:15 (4.8.2). |
| 4.11, lifts | Where a passenger lift is provided it must serve every storey the stairway reaches. The clause sets the conditions under which a through-floor lift may serve a partial storey of more than 100 m². |
| 4.12, toilets | The first toilet provided must be a unisex wheelchair accessible toilet, with one in each group of toilets and no further to travel than the others. Its door needs a clear opening of at least 900 mm. |
| 4.13, auditoriums | Wheelchair spaces in proportion to the seating capacity. |
| 4.14, controls | Switches, handles and controls between 900 mm and 1.2 m above the floor, with 1,000 mm recommended. |
| 4.15, warning signals | Audible and visible, so that neither a hearing nor a sight impairment leaves a person without the alarm. |
| 4.16, lighting | To SANS 10400-O and SANS 10389-1. |
Ramps: the mistake that costs the most
Clause 4.8 recommends a ramp only where level access cannot be achieved, normally with stepped access alongside for people who find ramps hard to use. The common failure is the reverse: a site that could have been graded to a level entrance gets a ramp because the ramp was drawn first. The second failure is gradient. 1:12 is the maximum along the centre line, not the average over the run, so a ramp that steepens through a curve fails even if the ends measure. The third is the landing: 1.2 m at the top and bottom, which on a tight entrance is the dimension that gets stolen for the door swing.
Work the geometry backwards. A 150 mm kerb at 1:12 needs 1.8 m of ramp plus 2.4 m of landings, 4.2 m in all. A 450 mm change in level needs 5.4 m of ramp before the landings. If that length is not there, the answer is to lose the change in level, not to steepen the ramp.
Where Part S meets the other parts
- Part A supplies the occupancy classes the exemptions are written in, and the plan approval process the design goes through.
- Part M governs stairways; Part S adds the accessibility requirements on top and tells you to read them together.
- Part T, fire protection, sets the means of egress; S2(1)(c) requires that a person with a disability can reach a place of safety by it.
- Part O, lighting and ventilation, is the reference for the lighting in clause 4.16.
Keep the accessible dimensions on the drawing and on the site
Built Simple holds the approved drawings, the schedule and the defects list in one place, so the 900 mm toilet door and the 1.2 m landing are checked before the inspector measures them. Free to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SANS 10400 Part S apply to a house? Not to a dwelling house. Regulation S1(1)(a) exempts a building whose whole ground storey is H4 occupancy, which is a single dwelling. A block of flats is H3 and its ground floor must comply, with upper floors brought in once a lift serves them.
What is the maximum ramp gradient under SANS 10400-S? 1:12 along the centre line, with a clear width of at least 1,100 mm and landings of at least 1.2 m at the top and bottom, under clause 4.8.2. SANS 10400-S recommends a ramp only where level access cannot be achieved.
How wide must a door be for wheelchair access in South Africa? A clear opening of at least 750 mm under clause 4.6.1.1, with 800 mm recommended. The door to an accessible toilet needs 900 mm clear under clause 4.12.
How many accessible parking bays are required? At least one for employees. Where parking is provided for more than 50 vehicles, at least one accessible bay for every 25 bays or part of 25, and at least 20% of the bays at rehabilitation and medical facilities, under clause 4.3 and regulation S2(2).
Can I download SANS 10400-S free? No. It is sold by the SABS and protected under the Standards Act 8 of 2008. The regulation it satisfies, Part S of the National Building Regulations, is law and is free; the standard reproduces it in Annex A.
Related calculators and guides
- SANS 10400 explained, part by part
- SANS 10400 Part A: plans, approval and competent persons
- NHBRC registration explained
- All South African calculators
Sources
- SANS 10400-S:2011 edition 3, The application of the National Building Regulations, Part S: Facilities for persons with disabilities. South African Bureau of Standards, April 2011.
- National Building Regulations, Part S, made under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977.
- SANS 1186-1 (symbolic signs) and SANS 784 (tactile indicators), as referenced by SANS 10400-S.
- SABS store, for the current edition.
