Swedish Stair Rules: No Fixed Rise or Going, One Fixed Headroom Figure

The requirement

Since 1 July 2025, Sweden fixes no rise, going, pitch, handrail height or general guard height for a stair. One number is fixed: headroom of at least 2.00 m. Everything else is a safety judgement under BFS 2024:9. The old 180 mm maximum riser is gone.

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. The old BBR (2011:6) did fix a maximum riser of 180 mm, plus fixed handrail and guard heights. Those figures were removed when BFS 2024:9 took over on 1 July 2025.

Headroom is the one fixed number. 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. The figure survives untouched from the old rules. It applies to every stair.

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 a must anywhere a person could fall. 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 carried through unchanged from the old BBR into 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.

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 only lawful basis for a new dwelling stair today. The old BBR (2011:6) fixed different, now-superseded numbers, including a 180 mm maximum riser; those figures are no longer a current requirement. Like every Boverket regulation, BFS 2024:9 is the deemed-to-satisfy route, not the only legal one. Always confirm the current, in-force text on boverket.se before you build to it.