Changing Places Toilets: Which Buildings Need One and How Visitors Find It

A Changing Places toilet is the one accessibility feature with a clear legal trigger, a national campaign behind it and a public map of where they are. Since 1 January 2021 certain new buildings in England must have one, and the government has funded hundreds more in existing ones. This guide covers which buildings the rule catches, what the room must contain, and the part most venues forget: telling visitors where it is.

Which buildings must have one

The requirement sits in the 2020 amendment to Approved Document M (volume 2, paragraphs 5.6 and 5.7), which took effect on 1 January 2021 for building work in England. At least one Changing Places toilet is required in new buildings of these types:

• Assembly, recreation and entertainment buildings with a capacity of 350 people or more, including a group of smaller buildings on one site, such as a zoo, theme park, sports or exhibition venue, with a combined capacity of 2,000 or more
• Shopping centres, malls and retail parks with a gross floor area of 30,000 m² or more
• Retail premises of 2,500 m² or more
• Sport and leisure buildings over 5,000 m²
• Hospitals and primary care centres, with no size threshold
• Crematoria and cemetery buildings

The amendment does not apply where plans were deposited before that date and work started within the following two months. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building standards; Northern Ireland adopted an equivalent requirement in its statutory guidance.

What the room must contain

Approved Document M points to BS 8300-2:2018 (section 18.6, diagram 48 and annexes F and G) for the layout. In practice that means a room of at least 12 m² with a ceiling height of 2.4 m, a height-adjustable adult changing bench, a ceiling track hoist, a peninsular toilet with transfer space on both sides, a privacy screen or curtain, a wide paper roll, a non-slip floor and a large waste bin. It is provided in addition to the wheelchair-accessible toilets, the separate-sex facilities and baby changing, because it serves a different group: the quarter of a million people in the UK who need an assistant and a bench, for whom a standard accessible toilet means lying on the floor or going home early.

Existing buildings

The regulations bite on building work, so an existing hall or hospital is not compelled to retrofit. Two things push them anyway. The Equality Act anticipatory duty asks what adjustment is reasonable for a venue of that size, and for a large venue with a government grant available the answer is usually yes. And the Changing Places Consortium's national map and the Department for Levelling Up's funding rounds have made the absence of one visible.

Telling people where it is

A Changing Places toilet that nobody can find is a very expensive cupboard. Visitors plan around it: the Euan's Guide survey puts toilets among the top four barriers (41%). It should be on the venue's own map as a named place with a photo of the door, its hours, whether a RADAR key or a staff member is needed, and whether it is open right now; the national map should be updated; and the route to it from the entrances should be step-free and drawn. On a Signposted page it is a pin in the accessible category, filterable in one tap, with a route from wherever the visitor is standing and a live status that staff can set when it is closed for cleaning. The accessible wayfinding page shows how that works on a stadium and a hospital.

Figures and thresholds are from Approved Document M as amended; always check the current edition at GOV.UK and the building standards for your nation before relying on them.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between an accessible toilet and a Changing Places toilet?

A standard accessible (wheelchair-accessible) toilet is for someone who can transfer themselves. A Changing Places toilet is for people with complex or multiple impairments who need up to two assistants: it has a height-adjustable adult changing bench, a ceiling hoist, a peninsular toilet with space both sides, a privacy screen and much more room. Approved Document M says it is provided in addition to, not instead of, the accessible toilets.

Does an existing building have to add one?

The 2020 amendment applies to building work: new buildings of the listed types and, in some cases, material changes and extensions. An existing building is not forced to retrofit by the regulations, though the Equality Act duty and the government's Changing Places fund have both prompted many to.

How do visitors find the nearest one?

The Changing Places Consortium keeps a national map, and a venue should show its own on its site map with a photo of the door, opening hours and whether it is open right now. On a Signposted page it is a place in the accessible category with a step-free route to it.