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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. Use the full Scottish stair guide and the current Technical Handbook. Width, landings and the scope of each stair type need a check too. Do not turn an English design into a Scottish one by swapping three numbers.
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.
Guides for this jurisdiction
- Scotland Stair Going & Pitch: 225 mm Going, 42° Max
Scotland's private stair numbers — 225 mm least going, 100–220 mm rise, 42° top pitch, 900 mm width, 840 mm handrail — and how they differ from England's Doc K.