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Egress Door & Hallway Width Code — 32 Inches Clear, 36-Inch Halls

Every dwelling gets one door the code cares about most: the required egress door. It has a clear-width spec, a height spec, an operability spec — and the hallway leading to it has a width of its own.

Requirement	Model Code Standard	Section
One required egress door	At least one side-hinged exterior door per dwelling providing direct access from the habitable portion to the exterior	IRC R311.2
Clear width	32 in. minimum clear opening, measured between the face of the door and the stop with the door open 90° — a nominal 36 in. door in practice	IRC R311.2
Clear height	78 in. minimum clear opening height	IRC R311.2
Operation	Openable from inside without a key, special knowledge, or effort — double-cylinder deadbolts fail this on the required door	IRC R311.2
Hallways	Minimum 36 in. wide	IRC R311.6
Continuous path	The egress path from the door to the public way runs over required landings, stairs and walks per the rest of R311	IRC R311.1

Worth knowing

Only one door must meet the spec — other exterior doors can be smaller, sliders, or Dutch doors, so long as the one designated door complies.
The 32 in. is clear width, not slab width: a 32 in. slab yields roughly 29.5 in. clear and does not qualify.
Garage-to-house doors are not eligible as the required egress door — the path must not pass through the garage.
Smart locks are fine on the egress door as long as the inside lever opens without codes or apps.

Sections cite the 2021 International Residential Code and 2023 National Electrical Code as model standards. This is BuildSpec’s own summary — not ICC or NFPA text; read the authoritative language at codes.iccsafe.org. Your state may be on a different edition with amendments — check your jurisdiction page or get an Address Report.

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