An accessible dining table needs 30 inches of clear width and 17 inches of toe depth under its base

A dining position counts toward the accessible seats under the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design only if the table leaves knee and toe clearance under its top, and section 306 sets the dimensions. The clear space under the table has to be at least 30 inches wide. Toe clearance, the space from the ground up to 9 inches, has to reach at least 17 inches under the table. Knee clearance, the space from 9 to 27 inches above the ground, has to reach at least 11 inches under the table at 9 inches high and 8 inches at 27 inches high.

Worked through the standards, a 22-inch round pedestal foot under a 36-inch top leaves 7 inches of toe depth, and a 30-inch square table on four legs leaves 24 inches between them. The rules quoted here are from the U.S. Access Board’s text of the standards, checked October 10, 2026.

The examples below use round numbers and describe no maker’s product. The ADA guide covers how many accessible positions a patio needs, and the article on counting patio seats works through the count.

Knee clearance can get shallower as it rises. Section 306.3.4 allows the depth to shrink by 1 inch for each 6 inches of height, which takes it from 11 inches at the 9-inch line to 8 inches at 27. The Access Board’s guide to the standards adds that where the knee and toe space goes deeper than 17 inches, the added depth needs full knee clearance at least 27 inches high, and depth past 25 inches does not count.

“Clearances are measured in relation to the usable clear floor space, not necessarily to the vertical support for an element.”

That note says how to measure. A slim column can clear the knee zone while the foot at its bottom sits in the toe zone, so each part of a base gets measured at its own height.

The same figures hold at the middle of a round top of the same diameter, where the gap is narrowest.

The column above the foot is a separate measurement. A 4-inch column under a 30-inch top stands 13 inches back from the edge, which clears the 11-inch knee minimum.

A freestanding umbrella base set under a table with a center hole works the same way as a pedestal foot. A 24-inch base under a 42-inch top leaves 9 inches of toe depth.

The 36-inch table meets the 30-inch width with no margin. Section 104.1.1 allows conventional industry tolerances on dimensions, and the Access Board’s advisory note says those tolerances are not intended to apply to design work. A leg that ends up set in a little further than the drawing shows takes the table under the minimum.

An apron, the rail that runs under the edge of the top, sets the knee height. Knee clearance needs 27 inches of height for the first 8 inches under the table. A top 29 inches high and 1 inch thick, with a 3-inch apron, leaves 25 inches under the apron. The same top with no apron leaves 28. At the low end of the height range the thickness of the top matters too: a 1.5-inch top set at 28 inches leaves 26.5 inches even without an apron.

A trestle base has an upright at each end joined by a stretcher, a bar that runs the length of the table. On a 30 by 72 inch trestle table, the middle of the long side has no upright in the way, and the stretcher decides the result. A stretcher 4 inches off the ground and 15 inches back from the edge cuts the toe depth to 15 inches. Raised to 12 inches off the ground, the same stretcher leaves the toe space clear underneath. At that height the knee minimum is 10.5 inches, and 15 inches meets it.