1. (a) Every building designed for human occupancy shall be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe escape of occupants in case of emergency.
2. (b) There shall be at least 2 means of egress remote from each other in areas that are hazardous or where employees might be endangered by the blocking of any single means of egress due to fire, smoke, or active shooter threats.
3. (c) Exits shall be permanent parts of the building.
4. (d) Exits and the way of approach and travel from exits shall be maintained so that they are unobstructed and are always accessible.
5. (e) All exits shall discharge directly to the street or other open space that provides safe access to a public way. Each exit discharge area shall be large enough to accommodate the building occupants using the exit route.
6. (f) Exit doors serving more than 50 people, or at high hazard areas, shall swing in the direction of exit travel.
7. (g) Exit doors shall be unlocked from the inside and free of any device that restricts use of the exit if the device fails.
8. (h) Exits shall be marked by clearly visible, suitably illuminated exit signs to a surface value of 75 lumens by a reliable light source . Exit signs shall be distinctive in color and provide contrast with the surroundings. The word “EXIT” shall be of plainly legible letters, not less than 6 inches high.
9. (i) Any door, passage, or stairway which is neither an exit nor a way of exit access, and which is so located or arranged as to be likely mistaken for an exit, shall be identified by a sign reading “Not an Exit”.
10. (j) Exit routes shall be kept free of flammable furnishing, explosives, or other obstruction.
11. (k) Exit routes shall be free and unobstructed, without locked doors within the exit route, or material or equipment placed permanently or temporarily within the exit route.
12. (l) Exit doors shall be unlocked from the inside and free of any device that restricts use of the exit if the device fails.
13. (m) Each exit route shall be sufficiently lighted by a light source with a surface value of 75 lumens such that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route.
14. (n) Exit routes shall have emergency lighting that automatically switches on in the event of an outage or other emergency.
15. (o) Emergency lighting shall be powered by battery backup for a minimum of 90 minutes in the event of power or other outages.

16. (p) Employers shall perform functional testing of emergency lighting systems as follows:

    1. (1) Functional testing of not less than 30 seconds shall be conducted monthly with a minimum of 3 weeks and a maximum of 5 weeks between tests;
    2. (2) Functional testing of the emergency exit and egress lighting system’s battery power shall be performed annually for a minimum of 1 ½ hours;
    3. (3) Emergency lighting equipment shall be fully operational for the duration of functional testing; and
    4. (4) A written record of functional testing shall be kept by the employer and provided to the New Hampshire department of labor on request to demonstrate compliance with the functional testing requirements at (l) above.
17. (q) Employers who comply with exit requirements in the New Hampshire fire code, as defined at N.H. RSA 153:1, VI-a, as amended pursuant to RSA 153:5, shall be deemed in compliance with Lab 1403.20. Compliance shall be demonstrated by proof of written approval from the public official certifying compliance with the New Hampshire fire code.

Source. #4118 eff 8-22-86, EXPIRED: 8-22-92 New. #6684, eff 2-4-98, EXPIRED: 2-4-06 New. #8606, INTERIM, eff 4-12-06, EXPIRED: 10-09-06 (formerly Lab 1403.25) New. #8796, eff 1-11-07; ss by #10809, eff 4-9-15; ss by #14431, eff 11-22-25, EXPIRES: 11-22-35