Under OSHA 1926.51(c), a construction site with 20 or fewer workers needs 1 toilet. Add a second facility once you cross 20 workers, scaling up from there. San Rafael contractors bidding public and private jobs both fall under this rule, and getting the count wrong can stall an inspection, so it pays to check porta potty permit requirements before delivery.
OSHA 1926.51(c) sets the baseline: 1 toilet seat for a crew of 20 or fewer. Between 20 and 199 workers, you need 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 40 people. Past 200 workers, that ratio drops to 1 seat and 1 urinal per 50 people. This is the same math whether you are running a framing crew in downtown San Rafael or a bigger job near San Anselmo, 4.3 miles west. Cal OSHA portable toilet requirements construction crews follow are built on the same federal ratios, so if your headcount changes week to week, plan for the peak, not the average. Our how many porta potties do I need guide walks through the math with real crew examples. For agricultural crews doing hand labor, a different rule applies: OSHA 1928.110 calls for one facility per 20 employees, reachable within a quarter mile walk, plus potable water. If you are staffing a vineyard job or seasonal harvest crew outside the city core, that distance limit matters more than the headcount ratio. Most contractors renting a standard porta potty rental size their order to the worst week of the job, not the first week, and many compare a porta potty rental per day rate against a weekly rate before committing.
Cal OSHA portable toilet requirements generally follow the federal toilet-count structure in 1926.51(c) for construction sites, so the ratios above apply the same way in San Rafael as anywhere else in the state, and OSHA portable toilet distance requirements come down to reasonable walking access rather than a published number of feet. What often trips up crews is water and washing, not toilet count. OSHA 1926.51(a)(1) requires an adequate supply of potable water at every place of employment, full stop, no exceptions for short jobs. Separately, OSHA 1926.51(f)(1) requires washing facilities specifically where workers apply paints, coatings, herbicides or insecticides, or handle other harmful contaminants. That is not a general handwashing mandate. If your crew is just pouring concrete and framing, that clause does not apply. But painting crews and pesticide applicators need it. Pair a handwashing station rental or a portable sink rental with your toilet order rather than assuming a jug of hand sanitizer covers it. Under 29 CFR 1910.141(d)(2), washing facilities need actual soap and towels or a hand-drying device. Sanitizer alone does not satisfy that standard, and inspectors know the difference.
OSHA does not publish a hard distance number for portable toilet placement, so it comes down to reasonable access. Units need to sit somewhere workers can reach without a long detour, on ground firm enough that the unit will not tip once loaded with 60 to 70 gallons of holding tank capacity. If your job includes any workers with mobility limitations, ADA Standards section 403.5.1 calls for a 36 inch clear route to reach the unit, and section 213.2 requires that at least 5 percent of clustered single-user units be accessible, with a minimum of one no matter how small the cluster. An ADA accessible porta potty rental has a wider door and interior turning space to meet section 304.3.1's 60 inch turning circle, and our ADA restroom requirements page covers the rest of the checklist. Our porta potty placement guide covers ground conditions, delivery truck clearance, and keeping units clear of overhead lines. Roll-off deliveries and larger restroom units both need roughly 60 feet of straight clearance behind the truck, which matters on tight downtown San Rafael lots, and it applies whether you are placing a restroom trailer rental or a standard unit.
Yes. OSHA 1926.51(c) does not have a minimum job size exemption. A two-person crew doing a home renovation still needs a toilet on site, same as a 200-person commercial build. Homeowners doing a remodel through a licensed contractor should ask whether the home renovation porta potty is included in the bid or billed separately. Contractors juggling several small jobs at once sometimes rent one unit and move it between sites, but that only works if the unit is on-site whenever workers are, and a storage container rental on the main lot can hold tools between moves. For general industry workplaces, not construction, OSHA 1910.141(c)(1)(i) sets a different toilet ratio by employee count, so an office trailer or permanent shop building falls under that standard instead of 1926.51(c). If you are unsure which standard applies to your setup, our OSHA portable toilet requirements page cluster and the broader construction site services page break down which rule fits which job type.
| Duration | Typical Price |
|---|---|
| Day | $150 |
| Week | $200 |
| Month | $200 |
For jobs running past a few months, check monthly porta potty rental pricing directly, since longer contracts sometimes bundle service visits, and crews asking about portable toilet rental oshawa style long-term contracts elsewhere should still confirm San Rafael terms locally, along with storage container rental oshawa comparisons if the job needs both units. Weekly servicing follows the ANSI/PSAI Z4.3 baseline of one visit per week for up to 10 users across a 40-hour week, though busier sites need more frequent pumping. If your project also needs a dumpster, San Rafael Porta Pros can coordinate a roll-off dumpster rental delivery on the same trip, and a temporary fence rental can secure the site perimeter at the same time.
At 30 workers, you are past the 20-worker cutoff in OSHA 1926.51(c), so you need 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal, sized to the 1-per-40 ratio. Round up if your crew count fluctuates. See our standard porta potty rental options for crew-sized units.
Not automatically. General potable water is required under 1926.51(a)(1) on every job. Washing facilities under 1926.51(f)(1) apply specifically to painting, coating, herbicide or pesticide work. Check our handwashing requirements page for which jobs trigger it, or see the full portable restroom rental lineup for units that pair with a wash station.
Yes, if it is physically present whenever workers are on site. Moving a unit between jobs works for staggered schedules but fails an inspection if a crew is working with no toilet on site that day.
No. 29 CFR 1910.141(d)(2) requires soap and towels or a hand-drying device where washing facilities are mandated. A hand sanitizer station rental supplements this but does not replace it.
Inspectors can cite the site under 1926.51(c) for insufficient toilet count or missing water access. Request a quote through San Rafael Porta Pros before your start date to avoid a scramble mid-project.
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