Approved Document M for furniture and joinery

At a glance

Millimetres, heights above the floor. 'Affects' is our reading, not the document's. Table and seat heights are not in it: see the sister sheets.

Which document, which edition, which projects

This sheet reads Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, the 2015 edition incorporating the 2020 and 2024 amendments. The cover says "For use in England". The gov.uk page lists the volume as last updated on 1 October 2024 and shows no newer edition or consultation; we read the PDF and that page on 5 November 2026. Paragraph, table and diagram numbers are those printed in that edition.

The document supports Requirements M1, M2 and M3 of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010. Requirement M1 asks that reasonable provision is made for people to gain access to, and use, the building and its facilities. The Approved Document is guidance on how to meet it, and says there is "no obligation to adopt any particular solution contained in an Approved Document" if you meet the requirement some other way. Following it does not settle duties under the Equality Act 2010 either: the document says compliance with Part M "does not necessarily equate to compliance with the obligations and duties set out in the EA".

When it applies. Paragraph 0.1 says Requirements M1 to M3 apply if a non-domestic building is newly erected; if an existing non-domestic building is extended or undergoes a material alteration; or if an existing building, or part of one, undergoes a material change of use to a hotel or boarding house, institution, public building or shop. Paragraph 0.10 notes that "shop" includes use as a restaurant, bar or public house. Paragraph 0.9 says that, in a material alteration, new features relevant to compliance with Part M must also comply with Requirement M1.

What it does not cover. Part M is about access to, into and use of a building. The document says it "does not extend to means of escape in the event of fire", which is for Approved Document B. It also says its guidance is based on BS 8300 but differs from it in a few cases, so compliance with that standard "is not necessarily equivalent to compliance with the guidance in AD M".

Reception counters

Paragraph 3.3 says that where a service building has a reception or sales counter, part of it "should be at a level suitable for a wheelchair user or a seated person", and that any lower section "should also be wheelchair-accessible on the reception side". Paragraph 3.6 then lists the provisions by which an entrance hall and reception area will satisfy Requirement M1 or M2. The ones that touch the joinery:

• 3.6(e), the counter: "any reception desk or counter is designed to accommodate both standing and seated visitors such that at least one section of the counter is at least 1500mm wide, with its surface no higher than 760mm, and a knee recess, not less than 700mm, above floor level".
• 3.6(d), the space in front: the clear manoeuvring space in front of any reception desk or counter is 1200 mm deep and 1800 mm wide if there is a knee recess at least 500 mm deep, or 1400 mm deep and 2200 mm wide if there is no knee recess.
• 3.6(f), hearing: any reception point is provided with a hearing enhancement system, for example an induction loop. Paragraph 4.36(b) adds provision "at service or reception counters when they are situated in noisy areas or they are behind glazed screens".
• 3.6(g), the floor: the floor surface is slip resistant. Paragraph 3.6(a) to (c) also asks that the reception point is easily identifiable, the approach direct and free from obstructions, and that space is allowed for wheelchair users to reach it.

Paragraph 3.4 is a design note for counter screens and back panels: glazed screens in front of the reception point, or light sources or reflective wall surfaces behind it, "could compromise the ability of a person with a hearing impairment to lip read or follow sign language".

Our reading, not in the document. The volume draws no diagram for the reception counter, so the shape of the knee recess is not shown. We read "a knee recess, not less than 700mm, above floor level" as a clear height of at least 700 mm under the lowered section, which is how the same distance is used for the shared worktop in paragraph 4.16(c). If that reading is right, the 60 mm between a surface no higher than 760 mm and a clear height of at least 700 mm is all the depth the top, and any rail or apron across the recess, can occupy. The 500 mm depth appears only in 3.6(d). Ask the accessibility consultant or building control to confirm the reading before the shop drawing is fixed.

Bar counters and refreshment worktops

Paragraph 4.13 says refreshment facilities such as restaurants and bars "should be designed so that they can be reached and used by all people independently or with companions", and paragraph 4.3 says bars and counters, "or sections of them", should be at a level suitable for wheelchair users. Paragraph 4.16 gives the provisions:

• 4.16(b), bar or serving counter: "part of the working surface of a bar or serving counter is permanently accessible to wheelchair users, and at a level of not more than 850mm above the floor and, where necessary, part at a higher level for people standing".
• 4.16(c), shared worktop: the worktop of a shared refreshment facility (the document's example is tea making) is at 850 mm above the floor with a clear space beneath at least 700 mm above the floor. Diagram 16 shows an example.
• 4.16(d), threshold: a wheelchair-accessible threshold (see 2.7(e)) is located at the transition between an external seating area and the interior of the facility.

Paragraph 4.15 matters for hospitality joinery that steps the floor, such as a raised banquette platform: "Changes of floor level are acceptable provided the different levels are accessible."

The document does not give a width, a depth or knee clearance for the accessible part of a bar, or any height for the higher part. Those are for the project's accessibility consultant, with BS 8300-2:2018 as the detailed code of practice (we have not read it).

Hotel bedrooms: wardrobes, handles, controls and the bed

Paragraph 4.4 says a proportion of the sleeping accommodation in hotels, motels and student accommodation should be designed for independent use by wheelchair users. The provisions in 4.24 split into those for all bedrooms and those for wheelchair-accessible bedrooms.

• All bedrooms, 4.24(b): "swing doors, where provided for built-in wardrobes and other storage systems, open through 180°". Paragraph 4.20 adds that in all bedrooms "built-in wardrobes and shelving are accessible and convenient to use".
• All bedrooms, 4.24(c) and (d): handles on hinged and sliding doors are easy to grip and operate and contrast visually with the surface of the door; openable windows and window controls are between 800 and 1000 mm above the floor and easy to operate without using both hands simultaneously.
• All bedrooms, 4.24(a): the effective clear width of the door from the access corridor complies with Table 2.
• Wheelchair-accessible bedrooms, 4.24(g) and (l): at least one for every 20 bedrooms, or part thereof; and the size allows a wheelchair user to manoeuvre at the side of a bed, then transfer independently to it. Paragraph 4.19 says the room should be "sufficiently spacious to enable a wheelchair user to transfer to one side of a bed, with or without assistance".
• Balcony, 4.24(o) and (p): where a balcony is provided to a wheelchair-accessible bedroom, its door has a level threshold and no horizontal transoms between 900 and 1200 mm above the floor, and there are "no permanent obstructions in a zone 1500mm back from any balcony doors". Fixed joinery is likely to count as a permanent obstruction, so ask before placing any in that zone.
• Switches, outlets and controls, 4.30: wall-mounted socket outlets, telephone points and TV sockets 400 to 1000 mm above the floor, "with a preference for the lower end of the range" (a); switches for permanently wired appliances 400 to 1200 mm unless needed higher for particular appliances (b); controls needing precise hand movements 750 to 1200 mm (c); simple push button controls not more than 1200 mm (d); light switches for general public use with large push pads, aligned horizontally with door handles within 900 to 1100 mm (h).

Diagram 17. The document's own example of a wheelchair-accessible hotel bedroom is drawn in plan with 1500 mm minimum beside the first bed, 700 mm minimum between two beds, a 1500 by 1500 mm wheelchair turning space and 300 mm minimum beside the door. Its title calls it "one example". Of those figures only the 300 mm appears in the text of 4.24 (in 4.24(j)). Treat the others as the example's figures, not as requirements, until your consultant confirms.

Door widths, space beside the door and thresholds

Table 2 gives the minimum effective clear width of doors by the direction of approach. It is called up for doors to accessible entrances (2.13(b)), internal doors (3.10(b)), bedroom doors from the access corridor (4.24(a)) and doors to an en-suite bathroom or shower room in a wheelchair-accessible bedroom (4.24(k)).

The table's note defines the effective clear width as the width of the opening, measured at right angles to the wall, from the outside of the door stop on the door closing side to any obstruction on the hinge side: projecting door opening furniture, a weather board, the door or the door stop (Diagram 9). So the figure a door achieves depends on the stop, the open leaf and the ironmongery, not only on the size of the leaf. The document gives clear widths, not leaf or frame sizes: ask the door supplier to state the achieved effective clear width on the door schedule.

Beside the door. Paragraph 3.10(c) asks for an unobstructed space of at least 300 mm on the pull side of the door between the leading edge of the door and any return wall, "unless the door has power-controlled opening or it provides access to a standard hotel bedroom". Paragraph 2.17(b) asks for the same space at manually operated entrance doors (unless powered), and 4.24(j) at the door to a wheelchair-accessible bedroom. Fitted joinery beside a door, such as a wardrobe end, a console or a reception return, is where this gets lost.

On the door itself. Paragraph 3.10 also asks that the opening force at the leading edge is not more than 30 N from closed to 30 degrees open and not more than 22.5 N from 30 to 60 degrees (a); that latch furniture can be operated with one hand using a closed fist, for example a lever handle (d); that door furniture contrasts visually with the door and the frame with the wall (e, f); and that, where appropriate, vision panels in leaves or side panels wider than 450 mm cover at least the zone from 500 to 1500 mm above the floor, if necessary interrupted between 800 and 1150 mm (h).

Thresholds. The 15 mm figure is in paragraph 2.7(e) for accessible entrances: the threshold is level or, if a raised threshold is unavoidable, "a total height of not more than 15mm, a minimum number of upstands and slopes, with any upstands higher than 5mm chamfered or rounded". Paragraph 2.6 adds that a level threshold is preferred, especially for doors in frequent use. The same threshold is called up at the transition between an external seating area and the interior of a refreshment facility (4.16(d)), and 4.24(o) asks for a level threshold at a balcony door to an accessible bedroom. We found no threshold height in the volume for ordinary internal doors: do not carry 15 mm across without asking.

Seating

Paragraph 4.5 says the guidance on audience and spectator facilities "relates mainly to seating": lecture and conference facilities, entertainment facilities such as theatres and cinemas, and sports facilities. Where the volume gives seating numbers, they are about wheelchair spaces in that audience seating: the minimum clear space for access to a wheelchair space is 900 mm (4.12(f)); the clear space allowance for an occupied wheelchair in a parked position is 900 mm wide by 1400 mm deep (4.12(g)); and standard seats at the ends of rows and next to wheelchair spaces have detachable, or lift-up, arms (4.12(j)). Table 3 sets the minimum number of wheelchair spaces by seating capacity.

Nothing in the volume gives seat heights, depths or widths for restaurant, bar, lobby or bedroom seating. Those are on seat height, depth and width and, for banquettes, banquette dimensions; table heights are on table heights.

What the document does not say

We searched the text of the volume on 5 November 2026 for beds, tables, desks, chairs, stools, banquettes, seat heights, shelves, hanging rails and handles. It gives no figure for any of the following, so a specification must not attribute one to Part M:

• Beds: no bed or mattress height. Paragraph 4.19 and Diagram 17 deal with space to transfer, not the bed itself.
• Tables and desks: no height for dining, meeting, coffee or side tables, desks or dressing tables. The only table mentioned is a demonstration table in a lecture facility (4.9).
• Seating outside audience facilities: no seat height, depth, width or arm height for restaurant, bar, lobby, banquette or bedroom seating.
• The standing part of a counter: no height for the higher part of a reception counter or bar, and no width, depth or knee clearance for the accessible part of a bar.
• The width of the reception knee recess: 3.6(e) gives 1500 mm for the section and 700 mm "above floor level"; 3.6(d) gives 500 mm depth for the manoeuvring space.
• Wardrobe interiors: no hanging rail, shelf or drawer heights. Only the 180 degree swing and "accessible and convenient to use" (4.20, 4.24(b)).
• Cabinet handle heights: door furniture is dealt with for doors (3.10(d), 4.24(c)), not for cabinets or drawers.
• Internal thresholds: no height for ordinary internal doors (see above).
• Fire: no fire-performance requirement for joinery or doors. Paragraphs 3.10(k) and (l) mention fire doors only as to how they are held open and closed; Approved Document B covers fire.
• Loose furniture: the volume does not mention it. Whether a fitted counter, bar or wardrobe is a feature "relevant to the compliance of a building with Part M" (0.9) is for the project's building control body.

Where BS 8300-2:2018 fits. The Approved Document lists BS 8300-2:2018 (Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment, Buildings, Code of practice) among its standards, and BSI lists it as current, published 31 January 2018, superseding BS 8300:2009. The Approved Document also says that in a few cases its guidance differs from BS 8300. We have not read the standard, so no figure on this sheet comes from it. If a project calls for it, the accessibility consultant says which governs.

What to tell the workshop

• Name the edition and the approving body. State "Approved Document M volume 2, 2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments" in the brief and say who will accept the drawings: the building control body, the access consultant, or both.
• Fix the datum. The document's heights are above "the floor" or "floor level". Give the workshop the finished floor level and any build-up at the counter, so a carpet or raised floor does not move a limit.
• Treat each figure as a limit. "No higher than" is a maximum and "not less than" is a minimum. Ask the workshop to state its working tolerance and to work to the safe side of each limit rather than on it.
• Say what runs through the counter. Induction loop, sockets and switches change the recess, the top and the back panel. Settle them before the shop drawing.
• Ask for dimensioned shop drawings that mark each figure from this sheet with its paragraph number, and have them accepted before anything is cut. A full-size mock-up of the recess, checked by the consultant, is the safest test.

Reception counter with one section not less than [1,500] mm wide, surface not higher than [760] mm above finished floor level, knee recess beneath (Approved Document M volume 2, 2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments, paragraph 3.6(e)). Clear space in front [1,200 x 1,800] mm, recess at least [500] mm deep (3.6(d)). Dimensions on the shop drawing, accepted by [building control body / access consultant] before manufacture.

Bar counter with a section of the working surface permanently accessible to wheelchair users at not more than [850] mm above finished floor level, and a higher section for standing where needed (Approved Document M volume 2, 2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments, 4.16(b)). Width, depth and knee clearance of that section: [per access consultant].

Built-in wardrobe and storage swing doors to open through [180] degrees (Approved Document M volume 2, 2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments, 4.24(b)); handles easy to grip and contrasting (4.24(c)). Rail and shelf heights: [per access consultant]. [300] mm unobstructed beside the door's leading edge where required (3.10(c)).

Standards and sources

• Approved Document M, Volume 2 (2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments), for use in England: Buildings other than dwellings, HM Government. Read as the gov.uk PDF on 5 November 2026 (page last updated 1 October 2024). Crown copyright 2024, Open Government Licence.
• BS 8300-2:2018: Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment, Buildings. BSI listing read; the standard has not been read, no figures quoted.

Questions we are asked

What height must a reception counter be under Approved Document M?

Volume 2 (2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments) says in paragraph 3.6(e) that at least one section of a reception desk or counter is at least 1500 mm wide, with its surface no higher than 760 mm and a knee recess, not less than 700 mm, above floor level. It gives no height for the standing part of the counter.

Does Part M give a bar counter height?

Paragraph 4.16(b) asks that part of the working surface of a bar or serving counter is permanently accessible to wheelchair users and at not more than 850 mm above the floor, with part at a higher level for people standing where necessary. It gives no height for the higher part and no width, depth or knee clearance for the accessible part.

What does Part M say about hotel wardrobes?

Paragraph 4.24(b) asks that swing doors to built-in wardrobes and other storage open through 180 degrees, and paragraph 4.20 that built-in wardrobes and shelving in all bedrooms are accessible and convenient to use. It gives no hanging rail, shelf or drawer heights.

Does Approved Document M give heights for beds, dining tables or desks?

No. We searched the text of volume 2 for them and found none. Paragraph 4.19 and Diagram 17 deal with space for a wheelchair user to transfer to a bed, not the bed's height. BS 8300-2:2018 is the detailed code of practice, but we have not read it.

Is Approved Document M a legal requirement?

The legal requirement is Requirement M1 of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010, which asks for reasonable provision for access to and use of the building. The Approved Document is guidance and says there is no obligation to adopt any particular solution in it. Duties under the Equality Act 2010 are separate. Check with your building control body.