Norwegian Stair & Guard Rules: Going, Headroom, Handrails (TEK17)

The requirement

A Norwegian stair needs a going of at least 0.25 m on the walking line. Riser and going must fit 2R + G = 0.62 m ± 0.02 m. Headroom is 2.1 m, or 2.0 m inside a single dwelling unit. Stair guards need 0.9 m. It all sits in TEK17: §12-14 for stairs, §12-15 for guards.

TEK17 is the Byggteknisk forskrift, the building rule for all of Norway. Direktoratet for byggkvalitet writes the veiledning to those sections. It holds the numbers a kommune accepts without argument. Build to them and you are safe.

TEK17 does not fix a riser height or a pitch angle. §12-14(1)(c) only asks for “jevn stigning”, an even rise through the whole flight. What it does fix is the going, plus a formula that ties going and riser together.

Going (inntrinn). At least 0.25 m, measured along the walking line. A straight flight must hold that depth on every step.
The 2R+G stair formula. Twice the riser plus the going must land between 0.60 m and 0.64 m (0.62 m ± 0.02 m). Pick a going that clears 0.25 m. Then solve the riser that keeps you in the band.

TEK17 §12-14

Two more numbers finish the flight.

Headroom. A straight flight needs at least 2.1 m clear. Inside a single dwelling unit, it may drop to 2.0 m (§12-14(1)(h)–(i)).
Width. A straight flight is at least 0.90 m wide, or 0.80 m inside a single dwelling unit. A winding (non-straight) flight adds 0.10 m to whichever applies. A main or shared stair serving more than one dwelling unit needs 1.10 m (§12-14(1)(h)–(i), §12-14(2)(a)).

Handrail — private stair vs shared stair

Check this figure before you build to it. Inside a single house, §12-14(1)(b) asks for one handrail. Its top edge sits 0.8–0.9 m above the floor or tread.

The two-level handrail is a different rule, §12-14(2)(b). That one means rails at 0.9 m and 0.7 m, or a single rail at 0.8 m. It applies to a main or shared stair serving more than one dwelling unit. Both are real TEK17 figures. They just answer different questions. Don’t fit a two-level rail to a private house stair. And don’t fit a single rail to a shared block stair.

Guards & barriers — TEK17 §12-15

Guarding sits in its own section, §12-15, not §12-14. The height depends on which edge you are guarding.

Where	Guard height
Stair, ramp or their landings (incl. return guard around a stair opening)	0.9 m minimum
Balcony, terrace or floor edge, level difference ≤ 10.0 m	1.0 m minimum
Balcony, terrace or floor edge, level difference > 10.0 m	1.2 m minimum

A level difference under 3.0 m to the ground or terrain gets one let-out. §12-15(4) lets you secure it by another suitable means instead of a guard. A fixed planter box is the classic one.

The gaps in the guarding matter too. A small child must not get through.

Gaps stay at 0.10 m or less, up to a height of at least 0.75 m.
On a guard taller than 1.0 m, gaps stay at max 0.10 m within 0.25 m below the top.
The sideways gap between the guard and the next building part is capped at 0.05 m. Think a stair string or a balcony edge. That gap stops a foot getting caught.

These gaps are sized to stop a sphere 0.11 m across. If that sphere cannot pass, a child’s head cannot either.

Work it out on site

Say the floor-to-floor height is 2.70 m. The stair sits inside a single dwelling.

Pick the going. Try the 0.25 m minimum.
Solve the riser from 2R+G. Aim for the middle, 0.62. So 2R + 0.25 = 0.62, and R = 0.185 m.
Pick the riser count. 2.70 ÷ 0.185 = 14.6. Round up to 15 risers. 2.70 ÷ 15 = 0.18 m per riser.
Check 2R+G with the real riser. 2 × 0.18 + 0.25 = 0.61 m. That sits inside the 0.60–0.64 m band, so the stair is comfortable.
Check headroom and width. For this stair the limits are 2.0 m and 0.80 m.

The calculator does the rounding and the 2R+G check for you. It keeps every riser even.

Do it in 5 seconds

The Norwegian Building Regulations hub explains how the one national rule and its veiledning work.
Norwegian ramp gradients covers the same regulation, §12-16, but for ramps.

Sources

TEK17 §12-14 (Trapp) — going, the 2R+G stair formula, headroom, width and the private/shared handrail split. Read it at dibk.no.
TEK17 §12-15 (Utforming av rekkverk) — guard heights, the ≤3.0 m exemption and the opening-gap rule. Read it at dibk.no.

Read this first. TEK17 is amended section by section, on its own schedule — check the “Endringshistorikk” on each page at dibk.no for the current wording before you rely on a figure. And remember the scope split above: the two-level 0.9 m/0.7 m handrail is a shared-stair figure, not the default for a private house stair.

Frequently asked questions

What's the minimum going for a stair in Norway?

TEK17 §12-14(1)(d) sets the minimum going (inntrinn) at 0.25 m, measured along the walking line. A straight flight must keep the same going on every step. That way the stair climbs evenly.

What is the 2R+G stair formula?

TEK17 sets no single fixed riser height. The veiledning to §12-14(1)(c)–(d) gives a comfort formula instead: 2R + G = 0.62 m ± 0.02 m, measured on the walking line. Pick a going of at least 0.25 m. Then solve for the riser that keeps 2R + G inside that band.

How much headroom does a Norwegian stair need?

TEK17 §12-14(1)(h)–(i) sets 2.1 m minimum headroom for a straight-flight stair. Inside a single dwelling unit, a straight-flight stair may drop to 2.0 m.

How high should the handrail be — and is it different for a shared stair?

Inside a single house, §12-14(1)(b) asks for one handrail with its top edge 0.8–0.9 m above the floor or tread. The two-level handrail is a different rule, §12-14(2)(b). It means rails at 0.9 m and 0.7 m, or one rail at 0.8 m. It applies only to a shared stair serving more than one dwelling unit.

How high do stair and balcony guards need to be?

Stair, ramp and landing guards need 0.9 m minimum under §12-15(2). That includes the return guard around a stair opening. Balcony and floor-edge guards follow §12-15(3): 1.0 m minimum up to a 10.0 m level difference, and 1.2 m minimum over 10.0 m. A level difference under 3.0 m to the ground may use another suitable means instead of a guard (§12-15(4)).