Egress Capacity + Travel Distance Calculator

A plan set that clears occupant load and then fails on exit count, door width, or travel distance goes back for a redraw. Enter the occupant load, occupancy group, and what the layout provides — this tool runs the IBC 2021 §1005, §1006, §1007, §1017, and §1020 checks and shows the arithmetic. Don't know your occupant load? Use the Occupancy Load Calculator first.

Educational estimator. Not a substitute for a sealed code analysis. Exit count, egress width, and travel distance are checked here against IBC 2021 §1005, §1006, §1007.1.1, §1017, §1020.5 only — accessible means of egress, exit discharge, door swing and hardware, and occupancy-specific chapters (§407 for I-2, §1030 for assembly) are not evaluated. Texas jurisdictions adopt different IBC editions and local amendments govern. Final egress design must be signed by a registered design professional.

Occupant load of the space or story From the Occupancy Load Calculator or IBC Table 1004.5 (floor area ÷ factor, rounded up). For a story, use the cumulative load of every room that egresses through it (§1004.2).

Occupancy group IBC Chapter 3 classification of the space or story being checked. Mixed occupancies: check each occupancy separately using the most restrictive rows where a path is shared.

Sprinklered throughout? "Throughout" means the whole building, not just the tenant space. A partially sprinklered building uses the unsprinklered columns. Confirm the system type on the sprinkler drawings or the riser tag.

Emergency voice/alarm communication system per §907.5.2.2 provided? Only affects the result when the building is also sprinklered throughout — both are needed for the reduced 0.2 / 0.15 in-per-occupant capacity factors (§1005.3.1, §1005.3.2). Check the fire alarm drawings for speaker/strobe notification, not horn/strobe.

Number of exits or exit access doorways provided Count separate exits or exit access doorways from the space or story on the life-safety plan. Two doors side by side into the same corridor count as one.

Optional — widths provided

Total clear width provided — stairways (in) Sum of clear stair widths serving the story, measured between handrails per §1011.2 on the stair sections. Leave blank if the space is on the level of exit discharge.

Total clear width provided — doors, corridors, other level components (in) Sum of clear door opening widths (door schedule: a 36 in leaf gives roughly 32–34 in clear) or the narrowest corridor width along the path.

Optional — distances measured on the plan

Measured common path of egress travel (ft) Distance from the most remote point to where occupants first have a choice of two separate paths, measured along the natural walking path (around furniture and walls), not straight-line.

Measured exit access travel distance to nearest exit (ft) Most remote point in the space to the nearest exit door (§1017.3), along the walking path. Include the run down any open stair.

Maximum overall diagonal of the area served (ft) Longest straight-line dimension across the space or story the two exits serve — scale it off the floor plan.

Measured separation between the two required exits (ft) Straight-line distance between the two exit doors, measured to the nearest edge of each door opening (§1007.1.1).

Dead-end corridor length (ft) Longest corridor pocket where an occupant would have to turn around to reach an exit. Leave blank if there are no dead ends.

Egress Capacity + Travel Distance Calculator

Egress check

1. Number of exits

2. Required egress width

3. Common path of egress travel

4. Exit access travel distance

5. Exit separation

6. Dead-end corridor

7. Reminders the tool does not compute

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