Bedroom egress code compliance
If a basement room is used for sleeping, it needs a way out other than the stairs. Here's what that takes.
Bismarck's building inspection answers are direct about it: every sleeping room needs at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. A basement room with a closet and a door is not a legal bedroom in the code's eyes unless it also has a window, or a door to the outside, that meets the escape requirements.
When does this come up?
- Basement finish permits. The plan review checks that each bedroom has an escape opening, and that there's one even if no bedroom is planned.
- Home sales. Appraisers, buyers' agents and home inspectors often question basement rooms listed as bedrooms that lack egress.
- Rentals and roommates. Renting out a basement room makes a code-size way out especially important.
- Insurance. Bismarck notes that projects not built to code can affect a home's insurability and sale.
Checklist for a basement bedroom window
| Item | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Net clear opening | 5.7 square feet |
| Clear height | 24 inches |
| Clear width | 20 inches |
| Sill height above floor | 44 inches or less |
| Well area | 9 square feet, 36 inches each way |
| Ladder or steps | Required if well is deeper than 44 inches |
| Covers and bars | Open from inside without a key, tool or special knowledge |
Fixes for a room that fails
- Enlarge the existing window opening and install a bigger well
- Cut a new opening on a different wall
- Replace a shallow or cramped well with a code-size one
- Add a ladder or a well with built-in steps
- Replace a locked or heavy cover
Bismarck's answers also say the main-floor bedroom rule is slightly different, allowing 5 square feet for openings at grade. Your permit reviewer will confirm what applies to your house.
The installer prices the job after seeing the wall, the yard and what's on the other side of the foundation. We don't quote prices, and any figure given over the phone is only a rough starting point until someone has measured.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Can I call a basement room a bedroom without an egress window?
Not under the code Bismarck enforces. Every sleeping room needs at least one emergency escape and rescue opening.
My home inspector flagged the basement bedroom window. What now?
Have an installer measure the clear opening, sill height and well. Often the fix is enlarging the opening or replacing the well, rather than starting from scratch.
Related services
- Basement egress window installation
- Enlarging an existing basement window
- Window wells, ladders and drainage
- Window well covers
More background: Bismarck egress window guide.
Finishing the basement or adding a bedroom down there?
Call now and a local egress installer will look at the wall, the yard and the code requirements, then quote the job.