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Building Standards in Scotland: The Technical Handbook
Scotland runs its own building code — the Technical Handbook — with a deeper stair going (225 mm) and lower handrail and guarding heights than England. Here's how it differs.
Scotland doesn’t use England’s Approved Document K. It has its own code — the Building Standards Technical Handbook (Domestic), currently the April 2026 edition — backing the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Section 4 “Safety” covers stairs, ramps and barriers.
For a private house stair, most numbers match England, but a few are tighter or lower:
| Figure | Scotland | England |
|---|---|---|
| Min going | 225 mm | 220 mm |
| Handrail height | 840–1000 mm | 900–1000 mm |
| Guarding on a stair within a home | 840 mm | 900 mm |
Max rise (220 mm), max pitch (42°), headroom (2 m), the 600 mm guarding trigger and the 100 mm gap all match England. For the shared figures see the England stair & guarding rules — just swap in Scotland’s going and handrail/guarding heights above, and confirm against the current Technical Handbook before you build.
Adoption status
Adopted- Current code in force
- Technical Handbook - Domestic (April 2026)
- Next edition
- —
- Adoption / transition
- Scotland has its own code, the Building Standards Technical Handbook (Domestic). It matches England on rise, pitch and headroom but requires a deeper going (225 mm) and allows lower handrails and in-dwelling stair guarding (840 mm).
Last verified 2026-07-28
State variations
- Approved Document K
Scotland's Technical Handbook requires a deeper going (225 mm) and allows lower handrails and in-dwelling stair guarding (840 mm) than England's Doc K.