Spanish Ramp Gradients: General Ramp vs Accessible Itinerary (CTE DB-SUA)

The requirement

Spain sets two ramp limits, not one. A general ramp is capped at 12% (CTE DB-SUA 1, §4.3.1.1). A ramp on an accessible itinerary is banded by flight length instead: 10% under 3 m, 8% under 6 m, 6% for anything longer (§4.3.1.1(a)).

Both rules sit in the same Documento Básico, DB-SUA. Which limit applies depends on where the ramp is and what it connects. And the CTE has its own trigger: any path sloped over 4% counts as a “rampa”.

DB-SUA 1: the general ramp. This branch covers any ramp that is not part of an accessible itinerary. Think a change of level inside, or most ramps around a normal house. The slope is capped at 12% (§4.3.1.1). A general ramp also needs:

• A landing at the top and bottom of a same-direction run. It must be at least as wide as the ramp. And at least 1.50 m long on the line of travel (§4.3.2.3, §4.3.3).
• A landing where the ramp turns must not reduce the ramp’s width.
• A flight no longer than 15 m (§4.3.2.1).
• A handrail at 90–110 cm, once the ramp rises more than 550 mm at a slope of 6% or steeper (§4.3.4).

DB-SUA 9: the accessible itinerary. This branch is stricter. A scoping rule decides who has to meet it. SUA 9 §1(2) limits duties inside a dwelling and its private outdoor areas to dwellings that must be accessible. Section 1.1.1 separately covers the plot route and, for groups of single-family homes, a route to the entrance of each private area. Do not assume every private path inside a house plot must meet the accessible-ramp bands. The gradient is banded by flight length:

(§4.3.1.1(a).) An accessible ramp also needs:

• Cross-fall (pendiente transversal) of 2% max (§4.3.1.2).
• Clear width of at least 1.20 m (§4.3.2.3).
• A flight no longer than 9 m (§4.3.2.1).
• Extra handrails once the ramp rises more than 18.5 cm at 6% or steeper (§4.3.4). You then need continuous rails on both sides. Add a kerb of at least 10 cm on any open edge. And fit a second, lower handrail at 65–75 cm.

Which one applies? First establish whether the ramp forms part of a required accessible itinerary under SUA 9. If it does, apply the accessible length bands. A general ramp elsewhere on the job gets the steeper 12% limit instead. That covers ramps inside the house, into a shed, or a change of level in the garden. The two tests can give different answers for the same rise. Don’t assume they match.

Vehicle ramps are a separate case again. A car-park ramp that also carries people on foot, and is not on an accessible itinerary, is capped at 16% (§4.3.1.1(b)). It has no fixed limit on flight length.

Headroom uses the same rule as a stair. You need at least 2.10 m in restricted-use zones, and 2.20 m everywhere else. That figure sits in DB-SUA 2 §1.1, not in the ramp rules.

Work it out on site

You are building a route that the approved design identifies as accessible. The threshold sits 450 mm above the path. How long does the ramp need to be?

1. Try 10% first. The steeper bands only cover short flights, so check them first. The 10% band only covers flights under 3 m. At 10%, a 450 mm rise needs 450 ÷ 0.10 = 4500 mm (4.5 m) of run. That is over the 3 m limit, so 10% is out.
2. Try 8%. This band covers flights under 6 m. 450 ÷ 0.08 = 5625 mm (5.625 m). That fits under the 6 m limit, so 8% works.
3. Allow for level areas and landings. Provide the horizontal areas at both ends required by §4.3.2.3. A landing between same-direction flights needs at least 1.50 m under §4.3.3. Check door clearances too.

The horizontal run is 5.625 m, before level areas. A 6% alternative needs 7.5 m of horizontal run. Accessible flights remain limited to 9 m by §4.3.2.1, including in the 6% band. The calculator supplies geometry; check the length bands, landings, rails and access requirements separately.

Do it in 5 seconds

Related

• Part of the Spanish Building Regulations hub. The DBs that set the rules all live there.
• Building the stairs that ramp might replace? See Spanish stair & barrier rules.

Sources

• CTE DB-SUA — Seguridad de Utilización y Accesibilidad, §4.3.1.1 (general ramp gradient, accessible-itinerary bands, vehicle ramps), §4.3.1.2 (cross-fall), §4.3.2.1 (flight length), §4.3.2.3 / §4.3.3 (landings and width), §4.3.4 (handrails), and §1.1.1 (plot routes; also see SUA 9 §1(2) for private dwelling areas). Read it at the official DB-SUA PDF.

Read this first. These figures are from the current DB-SUA articulado (Real Decreto 450/2022, de 14 de junio, corrected BOE 02/02/2023). A further partial revision of the CTE affecting DB-SUA was in public consultation at the time these figures were checked, not yet adopted — always confirm the current DB-SUA text at codigotecnico.org before you build to it.