Rugby Changing Rooms: RFU Requirements and Sizes

RFU Facilities Guidance Note 5 sizes rugby changing rooms per player rather than per team: allow a minimum of 1.1 square metres per player, including a mandatory bench space of 650mm width x 400mm depth per player, measured on the changing space alone and excluding showers, toilets, drying areas and circulation. For a squad of 20 that is a minimum of 22 square metres of clear changing space before any wet areas. This guide sets out the RFU figures, the shower and toilet ratios, the officials’ provision and what it all means for a typical club building. The wider UK standards are collected in our changing room dimensions guide.

How Big Does a Rugby Changing Room Need to Be?

The RFU works from space per player, so the room size scales with the squad the room serves.

Guidance Note 5 also requires layouts to flex between different proportions of male and female use, sight screens to all changing areas, and extra floor area where clothes storage lockers are added.

How Many Showers and Toilets Does a Rugby Changing Room Need?

For new builds and extensions the RFU’s minimum requirement is en-suite provision, with each changing room having its own showers and toilets. Communal facilities are only considered for upgrades and refurbishments of existing buildings.

The layout rules that sit behind the table:

What Provision Do Match Officials Need?

Guidance Note 5 requires a minimum of one self-contained changing room for officials, and on new builds or extensions the RFU recommends a second so male and female officials can change separately.

What Does This Mean for a Typical Club Building?

For a two team clubhouse serving squads of around 20, the RFU minimums stack up to two changing rooms of at least 22 square metres of clear changing space, each with five showers, three WCs and two basins en-suite, plus at least one self-contained officials’ room with its own shower and WC, an accessible changing and shower room to Approved Document M, and a cleaners’ store. That pushes a compliant rugby building noticeably larger than its football equivalent, where the FA asks for 18 square metres per team; see our football changing rooms guide for the comparison. Our floor plans page lists room by room dimensions for each layout, our guide to accessible changing room sizes covers the Approved Document M figures, and our cost guide and the individual plan pages carry the current guide prices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Space Does the RFU Require Per Player?

RFU Facilities Guidance Note 5 requires a minimum of 1.1 square metres of changing space per player, including a mandatory bench space of 650mm width x 400mm depth. The figure excludes showers, toilets, drying areas and circulation space.

How Many Showers Does a Rugby Changing Room Need?

Allow a minimum of one shower point per four players. For a room serving 19 to 20 players that means five showers as the RFU minimum, with outlets at 750mm intervals and opposing shower walls 2.3m apart.

Do Rugby Changing Rooms Have to Be En-Suite?

For new builds and extensions, yes. The RFU’s minimum requirement is en-suite showers and toilets to each changing room, and communal facilities are only considered for upgrades and refurbishments of existing buildings.

What Changing Provision Do Rugby Match Officials Need?

A minimum of one self-contained officials’ changing room with space for three officials at no less than 0.85 square metres clear floor area each, plus one WC, one basin and one shower with an adjacent drying space of at least 0.85 square metres. A second room is recommended on new builds for mixed gender officiating teams.

How Big Should a Changing Room Be for a Squad of 20?

At 1.1 square metres per player, a squad of 20 needs at least 22 square metres of clear changing space, plus en-suite showers and toilets on top. That is why rugby layouts run larger than the FA’s 18 square metre football minimum.