The ADA Standards require 5 percent of patio seats and standing spaces to be accessible, rounded up

Section 226.1 of the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design requires that at least 5 percent of the seating spaces and standing spaces at dining surfaces meet the technical rules in section 902. Section 104.2 tells you to round any fraction up to the next whole number.

A café patio with 40 seats needs at least 2 accessible dining spaces, a 120-seat restaurant patio needs 6, and a 300-seat hotel pool terrace needs 15. The count covers every seat and standing space at a dining surface, including bar-height tables and drink rails, so adding 30 standing spaces at a bar on that terrace raises the minimum to 17. The rules quoted here are from the U.S. Access Board's text of the standards, checked October 6, 2026.

The worked examples below use round numbers and describe no real property. The ADA guide covers the same sections in more detail, along with benches and federal picnic areas.

226.1Every seat and standing space counts, and 16.5 rounds up to 17

Section 226.1 counts seating spaces and standing spaces. 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 shall comply with 902." The Access Board's advisory note to section 902 says dining surfaces include bars, tables, lunch counters and booths.

The Department of Justice explains the choice in its guidance on the 2010 standards. Commenters asked it to go back to counting fixed tables, as the 1991 standards did. The Department kept the count of seats and standing spaces because tables vary in size, and it says counting tables could limit the choices open to people with disabilities.

Section 104.2 sets the rounding. When a percentage leaves a fraction, the standards call for the next greater whole number. A count of 6.6 becomes 7, and a count of 16.5 becomes 17.

Standing spaces at a drink rail or a standing-height bar raise the total. Section 226.1 does not say how much rail length makes one standing space, so the person who designs the patio has to settle on a number per foot of rail and use it for the count. Write that figure into the seating plan so the count can be checked later.

902The 6 accessible spaces have to come from the 80 seats at 29-inch tables

A space counts toward the 5 percent only at a surface that meets section 902. The top of the table has to be 28 to 34 inches above the ground. The position needs a clear ground space of 30 by 48 inches for a forward approach, with knee and toe clearance under the table. Section 305.4 lets the clear space include the knee and toe clearance, so part of the 48 inches can sit under the table.

That rules out any bar-height table with a top above 34 inches. Seats at those tables still count in the total, so the accessible spaces have to come from the lower tables.

In this example, all 120 seats go into the count, and the result is 6. The 40 seats at bar-height tables cannot supply any of the 6. They have to be at the 25 dining tables, and only at tables whose bases leave the clearance below.

Section 226.2 adds dispersion: the accessible dining surfaces must be spread throughout the space or facility that has dining surfaces. On a patio with a shaded section, a section by the railing and a section near the bar, the seating plan can place accessible positions in each of the three, as Sheet A at the top of this page does.

206.2.5The route to every dining area is at least 36 inches wide

Section 206.2.5 requires an accessible route to all dining areas in restaurants and cafeterias, and names raised, sunken and outdoor dining areas among them. The Access Board's guide says this applies to newly built restaurants and cafeterias. In alterations, an exception says the route need not reach all parts of an existing outdoor dining area where the same services and decor are provided in an accessible space open to the public. The standards' examples of the same decor include seating at or near windows and railings with views.

The walking surface of the route must be at least 36 inches wide, with a running slope no steeper than 1:20 and a cross slope no steeper than 1:48. The ground under the clear space at each accessible table position may slope no more than 1:48. Section 302.1 requires floor and ground surfaces to be stable, firm and slip resistant, which matters on a patio of gravel, pavers or decking.