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Source verifiedIBC 202422 occupancy groups

IBC Travel Distance
Calculator

Travel distance, common path, and dead-end corridor length are three separate bounded checks with separate governing provisions.

Who it's for: architects checking exit-access travel distance, common path, and dead-end corridor length against separate IBC 2024 limits for the same space, at construction documents or permit review.

Scope boundary
Model-code table values for all 22 occupancy groups. It reports each limit independently and returns “cannot determine” where required conditions are missing, such as the I-2 or I-3 condition for dead ends.
Inputs for this bounded check

What is the maximum travel distance for Group B?

For a Group B (business) occupancy the 2024 IBC limits exit access travel distance to 200 ft without an automatic sprinkler system and 300 ft with one (Table 1017.2). Two other limits apply to the same path and are checked separately: the common path of egress travel (Table 1006.2.1) and the dead-end corridor (§1020.5).

Group B checkWithout sprinklersWith sprinklers2024 IBC
Exit access travel distance200 ft300 ftTable 1017.2
Common path of egress travel, space with one exit (up to 49 occupants)100 ft if the load is 30 or fewer; 75 ft if it is over 30100 ftTable 1006.2.1
Dead-end corridor, where more than one exit is required20 ft50 ft, building sprinklered throughout under §903.3.1.1§1020.5

Other groups use other values; the calculator above returns them for all 22 groups. This page reads the 2024 tables. Searches for IBC 2021 values are not answered here, because we have not read the 2021 tables.

How to use this calculator

1
Choose the occupancy group, then enter the space's occupant load and sprinkler condition
The occupancy row and the sprinkler condition set the travel-distance limit; the occupant load also decides whether a single-exit common path is permitted at all.
2
State whether more than one exit is required
If so, also state whether the dead end is less than 2.5× its least width.
3
Read each of the three limits independently
Travel distance, common path, and dead-end corridor length are reported as separate implemented results or "cannot determine" — check the applicable path against each governing provision separately.

The formula

Exit access travel distance by IBC 2024 Table 1017.2 (unsprinklered / sprinklered, ft): A, E, F-1, M, R, S-1 200 / 250; B 200 / 300; F-2, S-2, U 300 / 400; I-4 150 / 200; I-1 not permitted / 250; I-2, I-3 and H-5 not permitted / 200; H-1 75, H-2 100, H-3 150, H-4 175 (sprinklered only). Footnote b rows accept §903.3.1.1 or §903.3.1.2; footnote c and d rows need §903.3.1.1. Common path of egress travel for a single-exit space follows Table 1006.2.1 by occupancy and occupant load; for Group B, unsprinklered: 100 ft at 30 or fewer occupants, 75 ft for 31–49 occupants; sprinklered (§903.3.1.1 or §903.3.1.2): 100 ft up to 49 occupants. Above the table's maximum occupant load for the group, a single exit is not permitted. Dead-end corridors are limited to 20 ft where more than one exit is required, 50 ft in Groups B, E, F, I-1, M, R-1, R-2, S and U with a §903.3.1.1 sprinkler system, and not limited where the dead end is shorter than 2.5 times its width (§1020.5 and its exceptions).

Worked example

Example
A Group B space with an occupant load of 30, unsprinklered, where more than one exit is required and the dead end does not meet the 2.5x-width ratio: exit access travel distance limit = 200 ft (Table 1017.2); common path limit = 100 ft (Table 1006.2.1, 30 or fewer occupants, unsprinklered); dead-end corridor limit = 20 ft (§1020.5, ratio exception not met).

When this estimate will be off

  • Table values only: the occupancy-specific sections in Table 1017.2 footnote a (malls, I-2, I-3, assembly seating, one-exit buildings and others), the exterior-balcony increase (§1017.2.1) and the one-story F-1/S-1 400 ft increase (§1017.2.2) are not applied.
  • Group H sprinklered values assume the §903.2.5.1 system is a §903.3.1.1 system; the R-3 common path applies only in a mixed-occupancy building (Table 1006.2.1 footnote e).
  • Returns "cannot determine" where required conditions are missing.
  • Measurement, geometry, special occupancies, local amendments, and complete compliance are outside scope — this does not measure or approve an egress path.

Frequently asked questions

Using the sprinklered travel distance when the system does not qualify. Most rows need an NFPA 13 system (§903.3.1.1); only the Table 1017.2 rows with footnote b (Groups A, E, F-1, I-1, M, R, S-1) also accept an NFPA 13R system (§903.3.1.2).

They are three separate provisions in IBC 2024 (§1017.2, §1006.2.1, §1020.5) with different inputs and thresholds; this calculator reports each one independently rather than collapsing them into a single number.

For Group B, §1006.2.1 sets the unsprinklered common-path limit at 100 ft for 30 or fewer occupants and 75 ft for 31–49 occupants, while a qualifying sprinkler system (§903.3.1.1 or §903.3.1.2) allows 100 ft up to 49 occupants — enter the occupant load and sprinkler condition to get the applicable figure.

The dead-end limit in §1020.5 applies where more than one exit is required from the space; uncheck that box and the calculator returns "cannot determine" for that check rather than assuming it applies. Leaving the ratio condition unmet does not skip the check — it applies the base 20 ft limit instead of the ratio exception.

No. Measurement, geometry, the occupancy-specific sections listed under Table 1017.2 footnote a, and local amendments remain outside this calculator's scope — it evaluates only the three table limits.

Table 1017.2 sets Group B exit access travel distance at 200 ft without an automatic sprinkler system, or 300 ft with one installed under §903.3.1.1.

Sources and review record

Sources and method basis

Limitations

  • Returns separate Group B model-code limits only; it does not measure a path or establish geometry, occupancy, local adoption, amendments, or complete compliance.

This free IBC Travel Distance Calculator is built and maintained by DataDrivenAEC, using the relevant codes and standards. It does not substitute for professional judgment.