BS 8300-2:2018 for furniture

At a glance

Millimetres. Column 2 is topic names from a catalogue listing, not clauses: the standard was not read. Column 3 is Approved Document M vol. 2 (2015, with 2020 and 2024 amendments), England.

Where BS 8300-2 sits: from the Equality Act to your drawing

Four documents can set a number for a counter, a chair or a bedroom wardrobe, and they do not carry the same weight. The drawing stacks them. The two at the top are law. The two below are guidance and a code of practice. The last is yours.

Two points from Approved Document M are worth carrying into a brief. It says that following Part M does not necessarily equate to complying with the Equality Act duties, because service providers and employers have duties of their own, and that it is for applicants, not building control bodies, to consider how those are met (printed pages 6 and 7). And it says there is a ten year provision under the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010 for physical features built strictly to the guidance in the Approved Document, which it calls “not a blanket exemption”. That provision is written in terms of the Approved Document, not of BS 8300. Whether a feature built to a BS 8300 recommendation that differs from Part M gets the same protection is a question for your legal adviser.

What the standard is, and what we have not read

BS 8300-2:2018, Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. Buildings. Code of practice, is a BSI standard. BSI lists it as current, published on 31 January 2018, replacing BS 8300:2009 (the 2009 edition had a 2010 amendment). BSI lists no amendments to the 2018 edition. It is the second of two parts: BS 8300-1:2018 covers the external environment.

• Scope. BSI says it gives recommendations on designing buildings to accommodate users with the widest range of characteristics. It applies largely to new buildings and can also be used to assess existing ones. It does not apply to individual dwellings or to residential buildings designed for people with complex or multiple impairments. Egress and fire escape are for other standards (listings name BS 9999 and BS 9991).
• Topics. A UK listing of BSI's contents names, among others: entrances and reception areas; horizontal and vertical movement; surface finishes; signs; lighting; building facilities (seating, storage, windows, services); counters and reception desks; audience and spectator facilities; sanitary accommodation; and individual rooms (kitchens, bedrooms, quiet spaces). It gives no clause numbers, and we have none to give.
• Status. A code of practice makes recommendations. It is not law, and Approved Document M says compliance with the standard “is not necessarily equivalent to compliance with the guidance in AD M”.
• What we did not read. The standard is paywalled and BSI's free preview was not reachable. We did not read one clause of it. Where the sheet says what it covers, the source is a catalogue listing, not the text.

That limit is the point of the sheet. A specifier who writes “to BS 8300” into a brief has not named a figure; the workshop will ask which. The sections below say how to get that answer from the consultant and write it down.

Furniture against the standard and Part M

The table at the top sets each furniture item against the two documents. The drawing shows the idea for a reception counter: the Part M figures we read, and a blank beside each for the BS 8300-2 figure, to be filled in from your copy once the consultant has said which document governs.

• Counters. BS 8300-2 has a topic for counters and reception desks. Approved Document M gives the figures in the drawing (3.6(d) and (e)). Whether the two agree is not something we can say. Approved Document M says in a few cases its guidance differs from BS 8300, so do not assume.
• Bars. Part M asks for part of the working surface to be accessible at not more than 850 mm, and gives no width, depth or knee space for it. The BSI topic list does not name bars, so ask whether the counters topic is meant to apply.
• Seating. Part M gives no seat height, depth or width except for wheelchair spaces in audience seating. The BSI topic list names seating under building facilities. Ask the consultant for the recommendations and which seats they apply to: fixed, loose, with arms.
• Tables and desks. Part M has no height for them, and the BSI list does not name them as a topic. For a table to be used from a wheelchair, the knee space under it is part of the question: see table heights and desk and workstation dimensions, which carry no figure from this standard either.
• Bedrooms and storage. Part M gives the 180 degree wardrobe door, accessible and convenient storage, and space to transfer to a bed. The BSI list names bedrooms. For bed, wardrobe rail and drawer figures see bed and headboard dimensions, hotel guestroom furniture clearances and wardrobe rail and drawer dimensions, and ask the consultant what the standard recommends beyond them.

For the Part M figures with every paragraph number, see Approved Document M for furniture and joinery.

Recommendation, not requirement: making one number

The standard recommends; the Approved Document guides; the Act imposes a duty. On a drawing they have to become one number per dimension, with one source. Three rules make that work.

• One governing figure. Where Part M and BS 8300-2 give different figures for the same dimension, the access consultant says in writing which governs, for example the more onerous, and the drawing carries that figure with its source and clause.
• A recommendation is a design target, not a tolerance. “Should” in a code of practice means the figure is the target. Ask the workshop to work to the safe side, and to state its working tolerance (see furniture dimensional tolerances).
• Name the edition and the date. Standards are revised. Write BS 8300-2:2018 with the date you checked it and record the edition of Approved Document M. Approved Document M's own note still refers to BS 8300:2001, and its standards list names the 2001, 2009+A1:2010 and 2018 editions, so a project should say which edition its consultant follows.

What to ask the access consultant

Questions for the access consultant, in the order a workshop will need the answers:

1. Which documents govern this project: Part M, BS 8300-2:2018, a brand standard, a client policy? Which edition of each?
2. For each item (reception counter, bar, seats, tables, wardrobes, bedroom), which clause or paragraph gives the figure, and what is the figure?
3. Where Part M and BS 8300-2 differ, which governs, and is that written into the access strategy?
4. Does the standard give figures for loose furniture, and are they requirements for this project or recommendations?
5. What datum is each height taken from, and what build-up (carpet, raised floor, rug) is allowed for?
6. Which items need a full-size mock-up, and who signs it off?
7. Is any recommendation in the standard one the client has chosen not to follow, and is that recorded?

What to tell the workshop

• Send the answers, not the standard. The standard is copyright; the workshop needs the figure, its source and the datum, not the clause text.
• Mark each dimension on the shop drawing with the document, edition and clause or paragraph, so a reviewer can check it against the source.
• Ask for a mock-up of the one or two items where reach, knee space or door swing decides success, checked by the consultant before anything is cut. See prototype and mock-up approval.
• Keep the record. A one-line entry in the specification for each item: figure, source, who confirmed it and when.

[Reception counter / bar / seating / bedroom storage] is to comply with Approved Document M volume 2, [2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments], paragraph [3.6(e)], and with the recommendations of BS 8300-2:2018 clause [ ] to the extent confirmed in the access strategy dated [ ] by [access consultant]. Where they differ, [the more onerous / the consultant's written direction] governs. The governing dimension is [ ] mm, with its source on the shop drawing.

Each accessibility dimension is to be annotated with its source document, edition, clause or paragraph, and datum ([finished floor level / finished surface]). The workshop is to state its working tolerance and work to the safe side of each limit. A full-size mock-up of [the lowered counter section / wardrobe door swing] is to be accepted by [access consultant] before production.

References to BS 8300-2 are to the edition current on [tender date], being BS 8300-2:2018 [with amendments, if any]. No dimension is to change without written instruction.

Standards and sources

• BS 8300-2:2018: BSI Knowledge, read 6 Nov 2026: current, published 31 Jan 2018, supersedes BS 8300:2009, no amendments listed. NOT read; no figure quoted. Confirm the current edition.
• Approved Document M, Volume 2 (2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments), England: read 6 Nov 2026 (gov.uk page last updated 1 Oct 2024). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence.
• Equality Act 2010, sections 20 and 29: legislation.gov.uk, read 6 Nov 2026.

Questions we are asked

Is BS 8300-2 a legal requirement?

No. It is a British Standard code of practice, which gives recommendations. The legal requirement for England is Requirement M1 of the Building Regulations 2010, Approved Document M is guidance on it, and the Equality Act 2010 is a separate duty to make reasonable adjustments. Which of them applies to a project is for the access consultant and building control.

Does BS 8300-2 give a height for tables, counters or seats?

We have not read it, so we cannot say. A UK listing of BSI's contents names counters and reception desks, seating, storage and bedrooms as topics, and does not name tables or desks. Approved Document M gives counter and shared worktop figures but no height for dining tables, desks or ordinary seating. Take BS 8300-2 figures from your own copy.

How does BS 8300-2 differ from Part M?

Approved Document M says its guidance is based on and complementary to BS 8300, that the standard contains much more material, and that in a few cases the guidance differs from the recommendation. So complying with the standard is not necessarily the same as complying with the Approved Document. We could not compare them line by line without the text.

Which edition applies?

BSI lists BS 8300-2:2018 as current, replacing BS 8300:2009. Approved Document M's own note still refers to BS 8300:2001, and its standards list names the 2001, 2009+A1:2010 and 2018 editions. Ask the consultant which edition the project follows, and write it into the brief.

Does it cover loose furniture?

The Equality Act treats furniture and other chattels as a physical feature, so loose furniture can fall within the duty to make reasonable adjustments. Approved Document M does not mention loose furniture. Whether BS 8300-2 gives recommendations for it is a question for the consultant, who has the text.

Does this apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

We have not checked. Approved Document M volume 2 is for use in England. The other nations have their own building regulations, and the Equality Act applies in England, Wales and Scotland. Check the local guidance for the project.