Two different questions get mixed together constantly: what OSHA requires, and what a crew actually needs. They are not the same number.

The requirement: OSHA 1926.51(c)

For construction sites, OSHA sets minimum toilet facilities by the number of workers:

Workers	Minimum facilities
20 or fewer	1 toilet
21 to 199	1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 40 workers
200 or more	1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 50 workers

There is one exception: sites with fewer than five workers may provide a single toilet without separate facilities, provided it can be locked from the inside.

For general industry rather than construction, the governing standard is 1910.141, and the counts differ.

Hand washing is a separate requirement

This is the most commonly missed piece. OSHA 1926.51(f) requires adequate washing facilities where workers are exposed to substances that can be harmful. For most sites that means hand-wash stations, not just sanitizer.

Where the work involves lead, silica, asbestos, or similar exposures, the governing substance-specific standard applies and its washing requirements are stricter than the general rule.

Additional requirements worth knowing

Potable water must be provided, with single-use cups or a fountain. Shared dipping cups are prohibited.
Non-potable water outlets must be clearly marked as unfit for drinking.
Facilities must be accessible — a unit workers cannot reasonably reach during the workday does not count.
Facilities must be maintained in a sanitary condition, which is where service frequency becomes a compliance issue rather than a comfort one.

Where the minimum falls short

The table is a legal floor. Superintendents who have run crews know the practical number is closer to one unit per 10 workers.

Here is the arithmetic. One unit for 20 workers on a 40-hour week means every worker shares a single unit that gets serviced once. By Thursday it is in a state no one wants to enter, so crews start driving to the nearest gas station. Fifteen minutes each way, several workers a day, across a multi-month job — the labor cost dwarfs the rental.

The other failure mode: units placed technically on site but three hundred yards from where the work is happening. Compliant on paper, useless in practice.

Service frequency and compliance

"Maintained in a sanitary condition" has no fixed interval attached, which means inspectors judge the state of the unit, not your invoice.

Weekly service handles a standard crew. Move to twice weekly when:

More than 10 workers per unit
Shifts run longer than 8 hours
The unit sits near the break area
Summer heat in Texas, which accelerates everything

Practical setup for a typical site

A 30-person crew on a six-month commercial job:

3 standard units (one per 10 workers), placed near the active work zone
1 ADA-accessible unit if the site is publicly accessible
1–2 hand-wash stations near the break area
Weekly service, moving to twice weekly during peak crew size
Relocate units as the work zone moves — a unit at the old foundation pour location is not serving the framing crew

OSHA's minimum for that crew is two. Three plus washing is what keeps the crew on site.

Documentation

Keep your service records. If an inspector questions sanitary condition, a service log showing consistent scheduled visits is the fastest way to close the question. We provide service documentation on request for exactly this reason.

Need help sizing a site? Call with your crew count and duration — see our construction rentals page for how job-site accounts work.

What OSHA actually requires on a job site