B-21 2020-Current: Required Exit Doors in Garages

The California Building Code requires that every portion of the building have a code complying means of egress. This bulletin is intended to clarify the requirements for minimum exiting from a residential garage.

Version: 04/01/2020
Revised: 12/31/2007
Effective date: 04/02/2006

The California Building Code requires that exit doors be openable from the inside without the use of a key, or any special knowledge or effort. Operating mechanisms must be installed 34 inches to 48 inches above the finished floor. Therefore an overhead garage door does not meet the requirements for an exit door.

An exterior key-operated deadbolt is often installed at the door between the garage and the residential portion of the building for security purposes. In this case, the door between the house and the garage cannot serve as a complying exit from the garage because the deadbolt on the garage side requires a key to open.

For the above reasons, it is often necessary to provide an additional door that opens directly to the exterior, which is openable from the garage side without the use of a key, or any special knowledge or effort.

California Residential Code R311