How to specify bollards
What a bollard clause has to say, from the job the bollard does to its impact rating, foundation and visual contrast, the standards to cite, and how to write it in CAWS and in Uniclass.
Photo: Phillip Williams, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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How do you specify bollards?
To specify bollards, start with what they must stop: a parked car straying onto a footway, a low-speed vehicle in a car park, or a deliberate vehicle attack. Only the last needs a crash-tested rating to ISO 22343-1, set by a security adviser and applied to the bollard and its foundation together. For every bollard, state the type (fixed, removable, telescopic or rising), height, diameter, foundation, finish and the visual contrast needed for people with impaired sight.
The same word covers very different products. A cast iron bollard on a conservation area pavement, a removable post across a fire path and a crash-rated bollard in front of a stadium entrance look alike on a plan, and are often given the same symbol. The clause is where the difference has to be made clear, because the price, the foundation and the legal consequences of getting it wrong are not alike at all.
This guide uses Uniclass Pr_20_76_08_10 Carbon steel bollards, the common fixed steel bollard. Removable and moving types have their own codes, such as Pr_20_76_08_09 Carbon steel removable bollards and Pr_20_76_08_12 Carbon steel rising bollards, and the same decisions apply to each.
What does a bollard clause need to cover?
Some properties are specific to bollards. Others belong in every product clause. A clause that leaves either out gives the contractor room to substitute.
Properties of bollards
- FinishPowder coat or paint colour over galvanizing.
- FoundationRoot-fixed depth, base plate or tested shallow foundation.
- AccessoriesReflective bands, locks, keys, sockets and lids.
- Light reflectance valueContrast band against the surrounding paving.
- Impact performanceNever guessCrash-tested rating only where the security adviser sets one.
- OperationFixed, removable, telescopic, hinged or rising.
What every product clause needs
- Manufacturer and product referenceNamed bollard range, or a performance description if open.
- Product standardImpact test standard if rated; otherwise material standards.
- Installation methodManufacturer's foundation detail; tested detail if rated.
- Technical submittalsTest certificate, foundation drawing and coating data.
- Operation and maintenance informationKeys, lifting tools, rising bollard servicing records.
- Nominal sizeDiameter or section and height above ground.
- Material gradeSteel tube grade, or cast iron or stainless grade.
- MaterialSteel, stainless, cast iron, timber or concrete.
Uniclass Pr_20_76_08_10 Bollards. Not every property applies to every project; where one does not, say so rather than leaving it blank.
Fields marked Never guess (impact performance) depend on the project and should never be filled from a default or a previous job. If the information is not available yet, the clause should say so with a TBC and a reason.
Which decisions does the clause depend on?
Most properties follow from the product you choose. These depend on the project, so they need a decision from the designer before the clause is written.
- 01
Does it need an impact rating
Never guessMost bollards are visual and physical guides, not barriers, and no test standard applies to them. A bollard meant to stop a deliberately driven vehicle is a vehicle security barrier, and its performance is a test result for a stated vehicle mass and speed. ISO 22343-1:2023 has superseded PAS 68 and IWA 14-1, and NPSA guidance names it the default standard from 2024, although products tested to the older standards remain acceptable and are still widely sold. The rating belongs to the tested bollard and foundation together. Whether one is needed, and at what level, is a security decision based on a hostile vehicle mitigation assessment.
How to decide
- No security brief: say so, and specify a non-rated bollard with a sensible foundation.
- Hostile vehicle risk: get the vehicle, speed and penetration limits from the security adviser's assessment.
- Require the test certificate for the exact product and foundation, and accept older PAS 68 or IWA 14-1 results only if the adviser agrees.
- Car parks and service yards: a low-speed rating to PAS 170-1 may be enough to protect plant, columns or shopfronts.
Write it asImpact performance: Not rated. Bollard is a visual and physical guide only, not a vehicle security barrier. - 02
Fixed, removable, telescopic or rising
OperationEvery moving bollard brings keys, sockets and someone who has to operate it. Removable bollards are cheap but are often left out, lost or stored badly, and their sockets fill with grit. Telescopic bollards drop into a ground cassette, so they cannot be lost, but the cassette needs drainage. Rising bollards are automated, need power, controls and maintenance contracts, and are machinery in their own right. Fire service and refuse vehicle access across a line of bollards is a common reason for a moving bollard and needs agreeing with the people who will use it.
How to decide
- Permanent separation of vehicles and people: fixed.
- Occasional access, such as maintenance or events: removable or telescopic, with the key type agreed with the client.
- Frequent controlled access: rising, specified with its controls, safety devices and maintenance.
- Emergency access routes: agree the bollard type and how it is released with the fire strategy and the client.
Write it asOperation: Fixed, root-fixed. Removable bollards at fire path only, see clause 196. - 03
Height, contrast and spacing for pedestrians
Visual contrastBollards are a trip and collision hazard for blind and partially sighted people. Approved Document M does not address bollards directly; it asks for access routes free of obstructions and refers hazards on access routes to Approved Document K. BS 8300-1 covers obstacles and street furniture on external routes, including visual contrast, and inclusive design and highway guidance commonly recommends bollards at least 1000 mm high and never linked with chains or ropes. Spacing has to stop the vehicle you mean to stop while still letting wheelchairs, buggies, mobility scooters and cycles through.
How to decide
- Use a height of around 1000 mm on pedestrian routes, avoiding low posts that are hard to see.
- Add a contrasting band or choose a bollard colour that stands out from the paving, and ask for LRV values to check it.
- Set clear gaps for wheelchairs and adapted cycles, then check they still stop the vehicle intended.
- Do not link bollards with chains or ropes.
Write it asVisual contrast: Bollard to contrast visually with surrounding paving to BS 8300-1, with a contrasting band near the top. Submit LRV of bollard, band and paving. - 04
Foundations and services
FoundationA root-fixed bollard is set into a concrete pocket, and a base-plated one is bolted to a slab or footing. For non-rated bollards the manufacturer's standard detail is usually enough. For rated bollards the foundation is part of the tested product, and changing its depth or reinforcement on site because of a cable or a drain can invalidate the rating. Footways are full of shallow services, so the bollard line has to be checked against the utility survey before it is fixed on the drawings.
How to decide
- Overlay the bollard line on the utility survey and trial holes before tender.
- For rated bollards over shallow services, look for a shallow-mount system tested in that configuration.
- Over basements, podiums or bridges, involve the structural engineer: the impact load goes into the structure.
- Ask for the foundation drawing with the submittal, not after the bollards arrive on site.
Write it asFoundation: Root-fixed in concrete to manufacturer's standard detail. Do not alter depth or position without approval. - 05
Material and finish
MaterialSteel bollards are usually tube, galvanized and then powder coated or painted. Stainless steel needs no coating but shows dirt and scratches, and low grades stain near the coast or on gritted streets. Cast iron and cast aluminium suit heritage settings, and the local authority often has a standard pattern for its highways. Timber and recycled plastic suit parks. Many councils have a street furniture palette, and bollards on or next to the adopted highway may have to follow it.
How to decide
- On or near adopted highway: check the highway authority's palette and adoption requirements.
- Public realm in a town centre: galvanized and powder coated steel, or stainless with a grade suited to the exposure.
- Conservation areas: cast bollards to the local pattern, if the conservation officer expects it.
- Parks and soft landscape: timber or recycled plastic, with the durability stated.
Write it asMaterial: Carbon steel tube, hot-dip galvanized to BS EN ISO 1461, polyester powder coated.
The values under "Write it as" are examples. The right value depends on the location, the use and the fire strategy.
Photo: Andy Farrington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Which standards should the clause cite?
Cite the product standard the declaration of performance refers to, the code of practice for installation, and the test method behind each value you set. A value without its test method cannot be checked against a submittal.
- ISO 22343-1
- Security and resilience. Vehicle security barriers. Part 1: Performance requirement, vehicle impact test method and performance rating
The current vehicle impact test and rating method for vehicle security barriers, including bollards. It supersedes PAS 68 and IWA 14-1, and NPSA guidance names it the default standard from 2024.
In the clause "Impact performance: Rated to ISO 22343-1 for the vehicle and speed in the security adviser's report. Submit test certificate."
- ISO 22343-2
- Security and resilience. Vehicle security barriers. Part 2: Application
Guidance on selecting and applying vehicle security barriers by type and operational suitability.
In the clause Usually cited by the security adviser: "Selection and layout: As HVM assessment, to ISO 22343-2."
- PAS 68
- Impact test specifications for vehicle security barrier systems
The former UK impact test specification, withdrawn by BSI in October 2023. Products tested to it remain acceptable, and many installed and catalogued bollards are rated to one of its editions.
In the clause Only where the security adviser accepts an existing rating: "PAS 68:2013 rating acceptable as alternative, subject to approval."
- PAS 170-1
- Vehicle security barriers. Low-speed impact testing. Trolley impact test method for bollards
A low-speed impact test for bollards, for sites where the risk is accidental or low-speed impact rather than a deliberate attack at speed.
In the clause "Impact performance: Tested to PAS 170-1. Submit test report."
- BS 8300-1
- Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. External environment. Code of practice
Accessible external routes, including the height and visual contrast of bollards and the need to keep routes clear.
In the clause "Visual contrast and height: To BS 8300-1."
- BS EN ISO 1461
- Hot dip galvanized coatings on fabricated iron and steel articles. Specifications and test methods
Galvanizing of steel bollards and sockets after fabrication.
In the clause "Bollards: Hot-dip galvanized to BS EN ISO 1461 before powder coating."
Confirm the current edition of each standard at every issue. Avoice's State of UK Specifications 2026 found a withdrawn standard cited in 40% of specifications at contract issue.
For the regulations behind these choices, see Approved Document M explained, or search the Avoice Regulations library.
How do you write it in CAWS?
Bollards are written in CAWS section Q50 as product clauses, one for each bollard type on the project. NBS uses separate clauses for fixed, removable, collapsible or telescopic and retracting bollards, so a scheme with fixed bollards along a footway and removable ones across a fire path has two clauses. Each names the product, size, finish, accessories and fixing.
The execution clauses later in Q50 apply to all site furniture: concrete foundations generally, setting components in concrete, repairing damaged galvanizing and site painting. A rated security bollard is the exception. Its foundation is part of its tested performance, so the bollard clause should require the manufacturer's tested foundation detail rather than relying on the general clauses.
- Description
- Fixed footway bollard, non-rated
- Manufacturer
- Submit proposals
- Product reference
- Submit proposals
- Material
- Carbon steel tube
- Diameter
- 168 mm
- Height above finished paving
- 1000 mm
- Top
- Domed cap, welded
- Corrosion protection
- Hot-dip galvanized to BS EN ISO 1461
- Finish
- Polyester powder coated, colour RAL 7016
- Contrast band
- TBC Band colour depends on final paving colour, awaiting planning approval of materials. Resolve before ordering.
- Impact performance
- Not rated
- Fixing
- Root-fixed in concrete, as clause 515
- Spacing
- As external works layout drawing
Illustrative, not from a real project. One property is left as a TBC with a reason so it can be tracked and closed before issue.
Clauses the type clause relies on
- Q50/510
- Concrete foundations generally Concrete mix, excavation and the condition of the bottom of holes.
- Q50/515
- Setting components in concrete Plumbing, setting heights and supporting bollards while concrete cures.
- Q50/550
- Damage to galvanized surfaces Repair of galvanizing damaged during handling or installation.
- Q50/560
- Site painting Touching up finishes after installation.
Clause numbers vary between NBS versions and practice masters. The 190 number follows NBS Source listings for bollards and the 500s follow a published NBS landscape specification; check each referenced clause exists in your Q50.
How do you write it in Uniclass?
In Uniclass a line of bollards is a system. Ss_25_36_95_85 Static bollard systems covers fixed bollards and holds the layout, spacing, foundation and any performance requirement. Moving bollards have their own systems, Ss_25_36_95_50 Movable bollard and car park post systems and Ss_25_36_95_72 Rising bollard systems.
The bollard itself is a product clause, here Pr_20_76_08_10 Carbon steel bollards, which holds the size, material, finish and contrast band. Where the same bollard is used in a static line and as a removable post, the product clause can be shared, but the removable version needs its socket and lock written in the product clause for that type.
- Description
- Fixed bollards separating footway and service yard
- Bollards
- Pr_20_76_08_10 Carbon steel bollards (BL01)
- Layout and spacing
- As external works layout drawing
- Foundation
- Root-fixed in concrete to manufacturer's detail
- Impact performance
- Not rated
- Accessibility
- Height and visual contrast to BS 8300-1, no linking chains
- Manufacturer
- Submit proposals
- Product reference
- Submit proposals
- Diameter
- 168 mm
- Height above finished paving
- 1000 mm
- Material
- Carbon steel tube
- Corrosion protection
- Hot-dip galvanized to BS EN ISO 1461
- Finish
- Polyester powder coated, colour RAL 7016
- Contrast band
- TBC Band colour depends on final paving colour, awaiting planning approval of materials. Resolve before ordering.
- Light reflectance value
- Submit LRV of bollard, band and adjacent paving
Illustrative. Performance of the finished system sits in the system clause; properties of the product sit in the product clause.
In NBS Chorus the product clause also carries the NBS reference 45-25-15/303 for carbon steel bollards. Use one classification throughout and do not mix CAWS and Uniclass references in one specification.
What goes in the spec, and what goes in the schedule?
The specification defines each type once. The schedule and drawings say where each type goes.
In the specification
What the product is and how it performs and is installed. Written once per type.
In the schedule or drawings
Where each type goes and how much of it. Changes with every plan revision.
Give each bollard type a mark (BL01, BL02) and show every bollard on the external works plan, with removable and rated ones clearly distinguished. If a security adviser has set the layout, reference their drawing rather than redrawing it.
What are the common mistakes?
Most problems are a missing property, a property filled with the wrong kind of value, or a decision left silently open.
- "Security bollard" with no rating. A catalogue name is not a performance. If the bollard must stop a vehicle, cite the impact test, vehicle and speed from the security assessment.
- Rated bollard on an unrated foundation. The rating only holds for the tested foundation. A shallower base cut to miss a cable can make the rating meaningless.
- Chains between bollards. Chains and ropes are a trip and neck-height hazard for people with impaired sight. Space the bollards instead.
- Removable bollards with no keys plan. Sockets without lids fill with grit, and keys go missing. Say who holds the keys and where the bollards are stored.
- No contrast with the paving. Grey bollards on grey paving are hard to see. Add a contrasting band or choose a contrasting colour, and check the LRVs.
- Bollard line drawn over services. Shallow cables and pipes under the footway move bollards on site. Check the line against the utility survey before tender.
How Avoice helps
Avoice drafts bollard clauses from the external works plan and furniture schedule, and keeps rated and non-rated bollards clearly apart.
- Drafts from your drawings and schedules
It picks up bollard marks such as BL01 and BL02 from the plan and street furniture schedule, writes the Q50 clauses or the Uniclass system and product pair, and fills in type, size and finish.
- Leaves a TBC with a reason
If the contrast band colour depends on paving still awaiting approval, or the security adviser has not set a rating, the clause says TBC with the reason, and it joins the project TBC register to close before tender.
- Works from your own masters
Choose CAWS or Uniclass. Avoice adapts your practice's Q50 clauses rather than replacing them with generic text.
- Checks the clause against the drawings
QA/QC flags a BL03 on the plan that the specification never defines, a bollard called a security bollard with no rating, or a citation of a withdrawn test standard.
- Keeps product data and regulations linked
Test certificates and foundation drawings sit in the Product Room against the clause, and the Avoice Regulations library holds Approved Document M for the access route guidance.
Related guides: How to specify cycle stands, How to specify tactile paving, How to specify block paving.
Software can draft and check. The designer still chooses the product and is responsible for the specification.
Draft your bollard clause in Avoice
Upload your drawings and schedules. Avoice drafts the clause in CAWS or Uniclass, cites the standards and flags anything your information does not settle.
This guide is for general education and is not professional advice. Check current editions of standards and Approved Documents, the manufacturer's data, and the requirements of your project before relying on any clause.