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Each rule below links to its official text, so you can show a super, an inspector or a permit officer exactly where the requirement comes from.
Brooklyn Porta Johns keeps this page as its reference for the portable toilet rules behind porta potty rental in Brooklyn and across New York City. Federal OSHA sets the minimum toilet count on a construction site. The NYC Building Code and Plumbing Code make sanitary facilities part of every construction and demolition job in the city.
Events answer to different rules. New York State's Sanitary Code covers the largest, longest gatherings, and the federal ADA standards decide how many units in a cluster must be accessible. Most jobs touch one or two of these, not all four.
Every rule below names who it applies to and links the official text. Where a rule leaves a decision to an official, this page says so rather than guessing how that official will rule.
| Rule | Who it applies to | What it requires | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSHA 29 CFR 1926.51(c), Table D-1 | Employers on construction sites | A minimum number of toilets based on the number of employees | Official text |
| OSHA 1926.51(c)(4) | Mobile crews | Exempt from (c) when transportation to nearby toilets is readily available | Official text |
| OSHA 1926.51(f) | Employers whose crews apply paints, coatings, herbicides or insecticides, or handle harmful contaminants | Adequate washing facilities | Official text |
| NYC Building Code BC 3303.2.4 | Construction and demolition sites in New York City | Sanitary facilities, provided in accordance with the NYC Plumbing Code | Official text |
| NYC Plumbing Code section 311 | Construction sites in New York City | Toilet facilities for workers | Official text |
| 10 NYCRR 7-4.1(b) and 7-4.2 | Anyone holding or promoting a gathering likely to draw 5,000 or more people for 24 hours or more | A mass gathering permit, applied for well ahead of advertising and of the event | Official text |
| 10 NYCRR 7-4.7(d) and (e) | Mass gathering applicants | A map of every toilet and handwashing facility, installation 48 hours ahead, and minimum ratios | Official text |
| 2010 ADA Standards 213.2, Exception 3 | Clustered portable toilets at public events and facilities | A share of each cluster must be accessible | Official text |
| Number of employees | Minimum number of facilities |
|---|---|
| 20 or less | 1 |
| 20 or more | 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 40 workers |
| 200 or more | 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 50 workers |
Counts round up. The porta potty calculator runs the table for any crew size.
Section 1926.51(c) is the federal sanitation rule for construction. Table D-1 counts employees and sets toilet seats and urinals, not units, so ask whether each unit on a quote includes a urinal before you count it as covering both.
Under 1926.51(c)(2), even temporary field conditions must have at least one toilet facility available. A short job isn't a reason to skip it.
Where sanitary sewers aren't available, 1926.51(c)(3) allows privies, chemical toilets, recirculating toilets or combustion toilets, unless local codes prohibit them. That's the rule a standard porta potty meets.
Paragraph (c)(4) says the toilet requirements "shall not apply to mobile crews having transportation readily available to nearby toilet facilities." A crew that works one Brooklyn address for weeks doesn't fit that description. OSHA has also written about how close "nearby" has to be; high-rise porta potty rental explains that interpretation for upper-floor work.
Paragraph (f) adds washing facilities for crews using paints, coatings or other harmful contaminants, covered in the handwashing station requirements guide.
OSHA is federal and tied to employers. The city's rules are tied to the construction work itself, and they sit in the codes the NYC Department of Buildings applies to active sites.
NYC Building Code
Sanitary facilities must be provided during construction or demolition, in accordance with the New York City Plumbing Code. The section sits in Chapter 33, the part of the Building Code that deals with safeguards during construction or demolition.
Read BC 3303.2.4NYC Plumbing Code
This is the Plumbing Code section on toilet facilities for construction workers, the code the Building Code points to. Read it alongside OSHA's table: the stricter requirement is the one to plan around.
Read Plumbing Code 311Where the unit sits on a city sidewalk or roadway, a separate placement permit comes into play. The permits and placement guide covers that side.
Subpart 7-4 of Title 10 defines a mass gathering as one "likely to attract 5,000 people or more and continue for 24 hours or more" (7-4.1(b)). A one-day street fair, however big, doesn't meet the 24-hour test.
Under 7-4.2(a), no one may hold or promote a mass gathering, by advertising or otherwise, without a permit from the permit-issuing official. Section 7-4.1(c) lists who that official can be, including the health officer of a city of 50,000 or more. Whether and how a New York City event falls under Subpart 7-4 is that official's decision, so ask the city's health department early rather than assuming either way.
Latest date to apply for the permit, and at least 15 days before the first day of advertising (7-4.2(b)).
An engineering report including an outline map showing every toilet and handwashing facility (7-4.7(d)(3)), plus copies of all rental and service contracts (7-4.7(e)).
Water and sewage facilities constructed and operational (7-4.2(b)), and toilet and handwashing facilities installed (7-4.7(d)(6)).
Those rental and service contracts are why the rental company should know early that an event may be a mass gathering: the paperwork depends on its quote.
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 213.2 Exception 3, sets how many portable toilets in a cluster at one location must be accessible. The ADA porta potty requirements for events guide covers the percentage, the signage and the route to the unit.
Find the line closest to what you're planning. It names the rules to read first, not every rule that could ever apply.
OSHA Table D-1 for the count, and BC 3303.2.4 with Plumbing Code 311 for the city requirement. Add washing facilities if the crew paints, coats or handles harmful contaminants. Construction porta potty rental covers the rest of a jobsite order.
The mobile-crew exemption in 1926.51(c)(4) may apply, but only if transportation to nearby toilets is readily available. Once the crew settles at one site, the table applies.
None of the rules on this page sets a toilet count for it. Plan with the PSAI event chart, add accessible units under the ADA standards, and get the street permit first.
Subpart 7-4 may apply. Contact the permit-issuing official well before the 45-day application deadline, and plan to the 100-persons-per-seat ratio if it does.
These rules don't set a count. Size by guests and hours, and add an accessible unit if any guest needs one.
OSHA's construction standards are written for employers and their employees. Once you hire a contractor, that contractor's crew is covered and the contractor answers for the toilet. The city's Building Code requirement for sanitary facilities during construction or demolition is written around the construction work itself, not around who employs the crew.
Yes. Where sanitary sewers aren't available, 1926.51(c)(3) lets the employer provide chemical, recirculating, combustion toilets or privies, unless local codes prohibit them. A standard porta potty is a chemical toilet.
Not by itself. The rental company supplies and services the units; the count, the placement and a service schedule that keeps them usable are the employer's or organizer's job. Give the company your crew size or crowd and ask it to quote to the rule. The porta potty calculator gives you a number to check against.
Tell the rental company which rule you're working to, the crew or crowd size and the dates. A quote written against the rule is easier to defend on inspection day.
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