NOTE Nº 0470 · REV B

Internal Door Sizes & Standard Widths: UK Guide

Standard UK internal door sizes, widths for wheelchair access, metric vs imperial dimensions, and how to measure an existing opening: 2026 guide.

By The Renovation Notes Team · 8 min read · Published 22 July 2026 · updated within the last month · Sources checked 2 October 2026

Stylish indoor space featuring a modern glass door with wooden frame and decorative slats.

In short

Standard UK internal door leaves are 1981 mm tall; widths run 457 mm, 533 mm, 610 mm, 686 mm, 762 mm, and 838 mm (1'6" to 2'9"). For new homes, Part M sets minimum clear opening widths from 750 mm, depending on the corridor, up to 850 mm in wheelchair user dwellings.

The UK’s internal door market uses metric nominal sizes that map directly to the old imperial measurements, a legacy of the industry transitioning from feet and inches without fully abandoning the traditional dimensions. Knowing the conventions prevents expensive ordering mistakes, particularly in older properties where openings were framed to imperial standards.

The standard door leaf height for UK internal doors in England and Wales is 1981 mm (6 ft 6 in); metric doors, more common in Scotland, are 2040 mm high.¹ Widths are less uniform and choosing the wrong one requires either cutting the door down or having a bespoke door made.

Standard Internal Door Sizes (UK, 2026)

Metric nominal	Imperial equivalent	Common use
1981 × 457 mm	6’6” × 1’6”	Cupboard doors, narrow airing cupboard access
1981 × 533 mm	6’6” × 1’9”	Cupboard doors, small utility access
1981 × 610 mm	6’6” × 2’0”	Larder, airing cupboard, small WC
1981 × 686 mm	6’6” × 2’3”	Bedroom, bathroom (tight, older property)
1981 × 762 mm	6’6” × 2’6”	Most common, bedroom, living room, bathroom
1981 × 838 mm	6’6” × 2’9”	Principal bedroom, hallway

The 762 mm (2’6”) wide door is the most common internal door size in England and Wales and the most widely stocked.¹ If you are ordering a door speculatively for a property you have not yet measured, this is the safest single-size guess, but always measure before buying.

For double doors (pairs), each leaf is typically 686 mm or 762 mm wide to give a combined opening of approximately 1372 mm or 1524 mm.¹

Non-Standard Heights

Older UK properties, particularly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, frequently have door openings that were framed taller than 1981 mm. Common non-standard heights include:

2032 mm (6’8”), usually paired with an 813 mm (2’8”) width¹
2040 mm, the metric height, made in 526, 626, 726, 826 and 926 mm widths and most common in Scotland¹
2083 mm (6’10”), found in some older houses
2134 mm (7’0”), high-ceilinged Victorian and Georgian properties

Many suppliers stock 2040 mm metric doors, but in the metric widths rather than the imperial ones, and 2032 mm doors mainly in an 813 mm (2’8”) width. Above 2040 mm, you are typically into bespoke territory. Expect to pay a 20–60% premium over standard-sized equivalents for non-standard heights from specialist joinery suppliers, or to have a standard door extended by a joiner (add a head panel or frame extension, cost approximately £80–£200 per door).

Measuring an Existing Opening

Always measure the structural opening (the masonry or studwork opening) rather than the existing frame or the door leaf itself, then work backwards:

Measure the structural opening width in three places: top, middle, and bottom. Use the smallest dimension.
Subtract the frame thickness: linings are typically 25–32 mm thick each side, so deduct roughly 50–64 mm from the structural width, then allow for the fitting gaps in step 4 and a few millimetres of packing each side.
Account for reveal depth: door linings are sold in standard widths to suit common stud walls, and solid walls often need a wider lining, so specify the reveal depth (wall thickness including plaster) when ordering.
Allow 2–3 mm clearance between door leaf and lining on each side. At the bottom, Approved Document F asks for an undercut of 10 mm above the fitted floor finish, or 20 mm above the bare floor if the finish is not yet down, so measure from the finished floor, including any carpet.²

A quick rule of thumb: structural opening width minus about 90–100 mm = approximate door leaf width; one manufacturer’s doorsets, for example, need an 852 mm structural opening for a 762 mm leaf.³

Wheelchair Access and Part M

Building Regulations Approved Document M (Access to and Use of Dwellings) sets minimum door widths for accessibility:

Property category	Minimum clear opening width
M4(1), Visitable dwellings (all new homes)	750 mm clear, more with a narrower corridor
M4(2), Accessible and adaptable (new build)	750 mm clear, more with a narrower corridor
M4(3), Wheelchair user dwellings	850 mm clear

For M4(1) and M4(2) the required width depends on the corridor outside the door: 750 mm with a 900 mm corridor approached head on or a 1200 mm corridor approached from the side, 775 mm with a 1050 mm corridor, and 800 mm with a 900 mm corridor approached from the side.⁴ A standard 826 mm door leaf up to 44 mm thick is deemed to give 775 mm.⁴ M4(3) asks for 850 mm at every door, whatever the direction of approach.⁴

Clear opening width is measured from the face of the open door to the frame or door stop on the opposite side, not the nominal door leaf width.⁴ One manufacturer’s published figures give about 700–710 mm clear for a 762 mm leaf, below the 750 mm minimum, and about 777–786 mm for an 838 mm leaf, enough for the 750 mm and 775 mm cases but not the 800 mm or 850 mm ones.³

Part M’s guidance for dwellings applies only to newly erected dwellings and to dwellings undergoing a material alteration, and not to extensions.⁴ Where a dwelling is materially altered, it should be no less compliant with M4(1) than it was before the work; check with Building Control if you are unsure which your project is.⁴

Door Thickness

Imperial-sized UK internal doors are almost always 35 mm thick.¹ Metric doors, 2040 mm high, are 40 mm thick, and fire doors and some solid hardwood doors are 44 mm.¹ Always check the door stop rebate in the frame if replacing a door without replacing the frame, a 44 mm door in a 35 mm rebate will not close properly.

FD30 fire doors (30-minute fire resistance) are typically 44 mm thick in solid-core construction, which is why they will not sit in a 35 mm rebate.⁵ In a house, Part B asks for a 30-minute smoke-sealed door between the house and an integral garage, fitted with a self-closing device.⁶ Doors enclosing a protected stairway in a house need only 20 minutes of fire resistance (E 20, or FD 20).⁶ Fire doors within a dwellinghouse need not be fitted with a self-closing device.⁶

Costs (2026 Supply Only)

Type	Price per door leaf (supply only)
Hollow-core moulded (MDF skin)	£35–£80⁷
Solid-core flush (white primed or paint grade)	£105–£210
Solid pine ledged and braced	£80–£180
FD30 fire door (standard)	£80–£200
Oak veneer, standard sizes	£120–£300⁸
Bespoke timber, non-standard size	£250–£800+

A white primed solid-core flush door is listed from £104.95, and a paint grade one from £210.55, both including VAT.⁹¹⁰ At one national merchant, a primed four-panel moulded door in the standard 1981 × 762 mm size, sold as hollow core, is listed at £50.38 including VAT.¹¹ The same merchant lists a flush paint-grade 30-minute fire door of that size at £80.62, and a white primed four-panel FD30 door at £122.58, both including VAT.¹²¹³ A solid pine ledged and braced internal door is listed from £164.95 including VAT at a specialist door supplier.¹⁴

Fitting by a joiner (hanging, trimming, hardware) typically adds £80–£180 per door depending on location and door weight.

The rules in this note are those that apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building standards and permitted development rights.

References (14)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 2 October 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

1technicalsupplier figureEmerald Doors, guidance.RN-SBVL57A door supplier's size guide; it gives 1981 mm as the usual internal door height in England and Wales and 2040 mm as the metric height common in Scotland.
2technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-QD1SFFTable 1.1 sets minimum intermittent extract rates: kitchen with a cooker hood extracting outside 30 l/s, kitchen without one 60 l/s, utility room 30 l/s, bathroom 15 l/s, sanitary accommodation 6 l/s. Extract terminals and fans other than cooker hoods should be as high as practicable and no more than 400mm below the ceiling; a cooker hood should sit between 650mm and 750mm above the hob if the manufacturer gives no figure. Table 1.7 requires background ventilators of at least 8000mm2 equivalent area in habitable rooms and kitchens for a dwelling, 10,000mm2 for a single-storey dwelling. Background ventilators should be at least 1700mm above floor level and at least 500mm from a fan in the same room. On replacement windows, paragraph 3.14 says new windows must carry background ventilators no smaller than the originals, and paragraph 3.15 gives the fallback minimums where the old size is unknown: 8000mm2 habitable rooms, 8000mm2 kitchen, 4000mm2 bathroom. Paragraph 3.32 confirms that replacing an extractor fan or cooker hood on existing cabling is not notifiable.
3technicalsupplier figureJELD-WEN UK, guidance.RN-73C2A7A door manufacturer's sizing table; for a 1981 x 762 mm leaf it gives an overall doorset of 2025 x 818 mm, a structural opening of 2045 x 852 mm and a clear opening of 701 to 710 mm.
4technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-5IVIKFParagraph 1645 of the M4(2) guidance requires a minimum 1,200 mm clear space in front of and between all kitchen units and appliances in living, kitchen and eating areas. Wall switches, socket outlets, stopcocks and controls must have their centre line between 450 mm and 1,200 mm above floor level (Diagram 1.5), consumer units are mounted with switches 1,350 to 1,450 mm above floor level, and boiler timer controls and thermostats between 900 mm and 1,200 mm. Communal approach routes and flights need a minimum clear width of 1,200 mm and every landing a minimum 1,200 mm clear of any door swing. Handrail guidance is measured 450 mm above the pitch line of the treads.
5technicalsupplier figureJELD-WEN UK, guidance.RN-RWELDWA door manufacturer's technical specification guide; it gives FD30 doors as 44 mm thick and FD60 as 54 mm.
6technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, guidance.RN-RCRF7VApproved Document B volume 1, the statutory guidance to Part B of the Building Regulations for dwellings in England. Paragraph 2.10 settles what an emergency escape window has to do: an unobstructed openable area of at least 0.33 square metres, at least 450mm high and 450mm wide, with the bottom of the opening no more than 1100mm above the floor, and the window able to stay open without being held. That is the requirement a replacement hinge has to keep intact.
7costsupplier figureWickes.RN-8OUNVDA price, true at 2026-09. Wickes's published price for the item the cost register files as "internal door, hollow core moulded panel, standard 1981 x 762 mm, supply only", which is the figure a cost footnote on this page points at.
8costsupplier figureLawsons (Whetstone) Ltd.RN-4YMAWVA price, true at 2026-09. A builders merchant's product page for a prefinished oak internal door, with prices by size. Prefinished means factory-lacquered, so there is no on-site finishing cost, which is the reason it sits at a different price point from an unfinished door of the same design. A published merchant price for a named door.
9costsupplier figureDoordeals.RN-O402RBA price, true at 2026-09. Retailer product page for a made-to-order paint grade solid-core flush internal door in standard sizes, priced from £210.55 including VAT; it sets the top of the supply-only range.
10costsupplier figureDoordeals.RN-N0H1NKA price, true at 2026-09. Retailer product page for a white primed, solid-core flush internal door in standard 1981 mm imperial and 2040 mm metric sizes, priced from £104.95 including VAT; it sets the low end of the supply-only range.
11costsupplier figureTravis Perkins.RN-477QDHA price, true at 2026-09. A builders' merchant's product page for a primed four-panel moulded hollow-core internal door, 1981 x 762 x 35 mm. It lists a retail price of £50.38 each including VAT.
12costsupplier figureTravis Perkins.RN-CEFWA9A price, true at 2026-09. A builders' merchant's product page for a white primed four-panel FD30 internal fire door, 1981 x 762 x 44 mm. It lists a retail price of £122.58 each including VAT.
13costsupplier figureTravis Perkins.RN-1GPYDGA price, true at 2026-09. A builders' merchant's product page for a flush paint-grade internal fire door with 30 minutes' fire rating, 1981 x 762 x 44 mm. It lists a retail price of £80.62 each including VAT.
14costsupplier figureInternal Doors.RN-DRM4XGA price, true at 2026-09. A door retailer's product page for a solid pine ledged and braced V-groove internal door. It lists the door from £164.95 including VAT, near the top of the note's pine range.