Swedish Stair Rules: No Fixed Rise or Going, Headroom, Guards and Safe Geometry

Transitional projects: check the older-rule eligibility note.

The requirement

Since 1 July 2025, Sweden fixes no rise, going, pitch, handrail height or general guard height for a stair. Headroom is at least 2.00 m. Opening limits and some door-clearance rules are fixed too. Geometry needs a safety check under BFS 2024:9. Confirm the project’s applicable rule set before using these figures.

The rule is BFS 2024:9, Säkerhet vid användning av byggnader (Safety in use of buildings). It took over from that chapter of the old BBR. Kap 2 §5 says only that a stair (and a ramp) must be designed so people can move safely. Boverket’s own guidance spells it out: no measurements are given. You weigh up the risk on each job instead. There is no “2R+G” comfort formula either. None appears anywhere in the current text.

This change was made on purpose. It is not a gap in this page’s research. Historical numerical claims need their own source and scope check. This page does not independently verify the often-quoted 180 mm riser figure under old BBR.

Headroom. BFS 2024:9, Kap 2 §25 asks for at least 2.00 m of clear height. That covers escape passages, stairs, doors and other communication spaces. Check the applicable project scope and any permitted change to an existing building.

Guards & handrails

A stair must have a handrail. One side is enough if the stair’s use and design make a second one needless. Otherwise fit both sides. A guard is needed where falls pose a particular injury risk. Neither has a fixed height under BFS 2024:9, Kap 2 §§11–13. For the guard, Boverket’s guidance says it straight: no figure is given for the minimum guard height. A risk check of the situation decides instead.

The child-safety opening rules are still fixed. They appear in BFS 2024:9, Kap 2 §11. They apply anywhere a young child (under 6) could be there without an adult:

An open-riser (plansteg) stair has its own matching figure. The gap between treads must not let a child’s head pass through. It is capped at ≤ 100 mm (Kap 2 §6).

There is no fixed minimum stair width either. BFS 2024:9 and Boverket’s guidance give no width figure. Width, like rise and going, comes down to the same safety judgement.

Section 7 also requires a safe level area between a door and a downward stair or ramp, unless needless. In an escape passage, that clearance must be at least 0.8 m.

Work it out on site

With no fixed rise or going, sizing a comfortable stair is your call. It is still worth working through. A step that is too tall or too shallow is unsafe, performance clause or not. Say your floor-to-floor height is 2700 mm.

1. Pick a rise. Try 175 mm, a familiar figure even with no fixed maximum. 2700 ÷ 175 = 15.4, so round up to 16 risers. 2700 ÷ 16 = 169 mm per rise.
2. Set the going. A going of 280 mm is a common, comfortable choice. Sixteen risers means 15 goings. The stair runs 15 × 280 = 4200 mm along the floor. Check it fits the space.
3. Check the headroom. Whatever rise and going you pick, keep at least 2.00 m clear over the flight. That part is fixed.

These are worked example numbers, not code minimums. Swap in your own rise and going. The stair calculator does the rounding for you.

Do it in 5 seconds

Related

• Part of the Swedish building regulations hub: why 1 July 2025 changed so much of what is fixed, and what survived.
• Setting out a ramp on the same job? See Swedish ramp gradients.

Sources

• BFS 2024:9 — Boverkets föreskrifter om säkerhet vid användning av byggnader, Kap 2 §5 (performance-only stair/ramp requirement), Kap 2 §25 (headroom), Kap 2 §§6, 10–13 (guard/handrail requirement and child-safety opening figures). Read it at boverket.se.

Read this first. These figures reflect BFS 2024:9, in force since 1 July 2025 and — since the one-year transition window for old BBR expired 1 July 2026 — the basis for new cases outside the transitional provisions. The old BBR provisions may still matter to eligible transitional projects. Distinguish binding regulations from guidance and confirm the applicable compliance method. Always confirm the current, in-force text on boverket.se before you build to it.