Where is safety glass required by code in the US?

In the hazardous locations of IRC R308.4: doors; glass within 24 in of a door with its bottom under 60 in; large windows (over 9 sq ft, bottom under 18 in, top over 36 in, next to a walkway); guards and railings; around baths, showers, spas and pools; and next to stairs and ramps.

Does glass next to a door have to be tempered?

In the US, if it is within a 24 in arc of the door's edge and its bottom is under 60 in above the floor. In England, if it is within 300 mm of the door's edge and below 1500 mm.

What are critical locations for glazing in the UK?

Approved Document K calls critical locations the zones where people are likely to hit glass: walls and partitions from the floor to 800 mm, and doors and side panels from the floor to 1500 mm. Glass there has to break safely, be robust or be in small panes.

Does a shower screen have to be safety glass?

Yes in both: the IRC lists glazing around tubs and showers with the bottom under 60 in as a hazardous location, and in Europe shower enclosures come under EN 14428, which calls for safety glass.

Glass · Safety

Where is safety glass required?

In the US, safety glazing is required in doors, next to doors, in large low windows by a walkway, around baths and showers, by stairs and in guards: the hazardous locations of IRC R308.4. In England, in any wall or partition up to 800 mm above the floor and in doors and the panels beside them up to 1500 mm: the critical locations of Approved Document K. Choose where the pane goes and type its heights; the page says whether it needs safety glass and which rule says so.

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US, IRC R308.4

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England, Approved Doc. K

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The hazardous locations, US (IRC R308.4)

Doors: glazing in swinging, sliding and bifold doors.
Next to doors: within a 24 in arc of either vertical edge of the door, closed, with the bottom of the glass under 60 in above the floor.
Windows and fixed panes: when all four apply: the pane is over 9 sq ft, its bottom under 18 in above the floor, its top over 36 in, and a walking surface within 36 in of it.
Guards and railings, whatever their size.
Wet areas: walls and enclosures of baths, showers, hot tubs, saunas and pools, with the bottom under 60 in above the standing surface.
Stairs and ramps: within 36 in of the walking surface with the bottom under 60 in, and near the bottom landing.

The critical locations, England (Approved Document K)

Walls and partitions: from the floor up to 800 mm.
Doors and side panels: from the floor up to 1500 mm; a side panel is glazing within 300 mm of either edge of the door.

Glass in those zones has to break safely (toughened or laminated, tested to BS EN 12600), be robust, or be in small panes; the document gives the details.

What this page does not do

It does not model every exception. Both documents exempt some cases (panes behind a protective bar, small panes, decorative glass, some doors in closets); the code text has them.
It is not your local code. US states and cities adopt and amend the IRC; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulations. For Spain, see the CTE page.
It does not size the glass. The thickness calculator and the balustrade calculator do.

Questions people ask

Where is safety glass required by code in the US?: In the hazardous locations of IRC R308.4: doors; glass within 24 in of a door with its bottom under 60 in; large windows (over 9 sq ft, bottom under 18 in, top over 36 in, next to a walkway); guards and railings; around baths, showers, spas and pools; and next to stairs and ramps.
Does glass next to a door have to be tempered?: In the US, if it is within a 24 in arc of the door's edge and its bottom is under 60 in above the floor. In England, if it is within 300 mm of the door's edge and below 1500 mm.
What are critical locations for glazing in the UK?: Approved Document K calls critical locations the zones where people are likely to hit glass: walls and partitions from the floor to 800 mm, and doors and side panels from the floor to 1500 mm. Glass there has to break safely, be robust or be in small panes.
Does a shower screen have to be safety glass?: Yes in both: the IRC lists glazing around tubs and showers with the bottom under 60 in as a hazardous location, and in Europe shower enclosures come under EN 14428, which calls for safety glass.