How is occupant load determined?

• A. Subtracting area for exits
• B. Dividing the floor area by the occupant load factor for the occupancy type
• C. Adding area
• D. Multiplying floor area by occupant density

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that occupant load is found by using an occupancy-specific factor that expresses area per person. The floor area is divided by that factor to yield the number of people the space can safely accommodate. In practice, you look up the occupant load factor for the occupancy type (in square feet per person) and compute: occupant load = floor area ÷ occupant load factor. For example, 5,000 sq ft with an factor of 100 sq ft per person gives 50 occupants.

Why the other options don’t fit: subtracting area for exits is used in calculating egress capacity, not the basic count of people. Adding area has no relation to determining how many people fit. Multiplying floor area by occupant density could work if density were defined as people per area, but the standard code method uses the area-per-person factor and division, not multiplication.