The short answer: Table D-1 in 29 CFR 1926.51(c)
Federal OSHA's construction sanitation standard, 29 CFR 1926.51(c), requires employers to provide toilets at the job site according to a short table known as Table D-1. A crew of 20 or fewer needs at least one toilet. A crew of 20 or more needs one toilet seat and one urinal per 40 workers. Once the crew reaches 200 or more, the ratio becomes one toilet seat and one urinal per 50 workers. On a typical commercial job, superintendents often simplify this to one portable toilet per 40 workers, recognizing that many standard units include both a seat and a urinal.
This guide summarizes the rule as published and how it plays out in the field. It is not legal advice. Confirm the current requirement with OSHA, your State Plan agency or your company's safety manager before relying on it.
Table D-1 at a glance
| Number of employees | Minimum facilities under Table D-1 |
|---|---|
| 20 or fewer | 1 toilet |
| 20 or more | 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 40 workers |
| 200 or more | 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 50 workers |
Count everyone who works on site on a given day, including subcontractor crews, not just your own payroll. On multi-employer sites the general contractor usually provides sanitation for everyone, but the responsibility should be written into the subcontract so nobody assumes someone else ordered the units. Peak manpower matters more than the average. A site that runs 30 workers most weeks but surges to 90 during drywall and finishes needs a plan for that peak. Our job-site toilet calculator handles the arithmetic for changing crew sizes.
The mobile crew exception and temporary field conditions
The standard includes an exception for mobile crews. The toilet requirements do not apply to mobile crews that have transportation readily available to nearby toilet facilities. Think of a pavement-striping crew moving several miles a day, a utility locate team or a survey party working from a truck. The key words are "readily available" and "nearby": a crew that would need to drive a long way, or that only has one vehicle shared among several workers, may not fit the exception in practice. Many safety managers place a unit on a trailer or at a staging yard for these crews anyway, because it removes the question entirely.
Remote utility corridors, pipeline spreads and highway projects are common places where the exception gets debated. When in doubt, provide a unit near where the crew actually works for most of the day.
Handwashing: 29 CFR 1926.51(f)
Toilets alone do not complete the picture. Section 1926.51(f) addresses washing facilities, and employers are expected to provide handwashing where toilets are provided and where workers handle materials such as paints, coatings, herbicides or other harmful contaminants. In practice that means a portable handwashing station with fresh water, soap and paper towels near each restroom bank. Sanitizer is a useful supplement but is not a substitute for washing visibly dirty hands, particularly on concrete, demolition and painting jobs.
A job-site handwashing station is typically serviced on the same visit as the toilets, with water refilled and gray water removed. In freezing weather, stations with water need to be drained, heated or adjusted, which our cold-weather sanitation guide explains.
General industry: 29 CFR 1910.141
Not every temporary toilet need is a construction project. Warehouses, plants, distribution centers and agricultural operations fall under general industry sanitation rules at 29 CFR 1910.141, which use their own table and detailed requirements. Separate standards also apply to agricultural field sanitation. If a plumbing outage at a facility or a seasonal operation leaves workers without restrooms, check which standard applies before sizing a temporary setup; our emergency and long-term rental page covers those situations.
Federal OSHA or a State Plan
Twenty-one states run OSHA-approved State Plans that cover private employers, and six more run plans that cover only state and local government workers. State Plans must be at least as effective as federal OSHA and can differ in detail, so sanitation expectations in some states go further than the federal text.
- State Plans covering private and public employers: Alaska (AKOSH), Arizona (ADOSH), California (Cal/OSHA), Hawaii (HIOSH), Indiana (IOSHA), Iowa (Iowa OSHA), Kentucky (KY OSH), Maryland (MOSH), Michigan (MIOSHA), Minnesota (MNOSHA), Nevada (Nevada OSHA), New Mexico (NM OHSB), North Carolina (NC DOL OSH), Oregon (Oregon OSHA), South Carolina (SC OSHA), Tennessee (TOSHA), Utah (UOSH), Vermont (VOSHA), Virginia (VOSH), Washington (DOSH, part of the Department of Labor & Industries) and Wyoming (Wyoming OSHA).
- State Plans covering only state and local government workers: Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Private employers in these states are under federal OSHA.
- All other states: private employers are under federal OSHA, and rules for public-sector workers vary.
Contractors working in California or Washington in particular should read the state rule directly rather than relying on the federal table, and check the state-specific notes on our state pages.
Simple habits that keep a site covered without extra paperwork
Compliance with the sanitation standard is mostly a matter of routine rather than documentation. A few habits make it hard to fall short:
- Recount toilets whenever the daily sign-in sheet or manpower forecast crosses a threshold such as 20, 40 or 80 workers.
- Add a sanitation line to the weekly superintendent walk: units clean, stocked, upright and reachable.
- Note the service day on the site schedule so deliveries, crane picks and concrete pours do not block the truck that morning.
- Ask subcontractors bringing large crews to flag the start date ahead of time so units arrive before the people do.
- When a phase moves to a different part of the site, move the restroom bank with it.
None of this requires a formal log, and it keeps the job ready for an inspector's walk-through or an owner's site visit on any given day.
Placement and servicing that keep units usable
A unit that meets the ratio but sits behind a locked gate a quarter mile from the work area does not do its job. Field practice that holds up to a site walk:
- Place units within a reasonable walk of where crews actually work, and move them as the work moves.
- Set them on firm, level ground with a clear lane for the service truck.
- Stake or anchor units in windy areas and on upper-level decks; use crane-liftable models for high-rise floors under the site's pick plan.
- Schedule servicing to match load. Weekly is the common baseline; large crews and hot weather call for more frequent pump-outs.
- Keep paper and sanitizer stocked between visits, and report damage promptly so units can be swapped.
- Provide privacy and a working door latch, and give some thought to separate facilities for women on large crews.
A construction porta potty rental plan is easier to manage when the count, locations and service day are reviewed at each phase change. When you call us, share peak crew size, the site address and any gate or crane logistics, and we will build the order around them.
Last updated November 9, 2026. General planning information, not legal, engineering or regulatory advice. Confirm requirements with the authority that applies to your site.