standards and codes
PHTA-4 Standard for Aboveground/Onground Residential Swimming Pools - Now Available!
A new revision of this standard was recently published.
The newly revised ANSI/PHTA/ICC-4 2025 American National Standard for Aboveground/Onground Residential Swimming Pools provides recommended minimum guidelines for the design, equipment, operation, and installation of aboveground/onground residential swimming pools. This is an essential document for the pool and hot tub industry, and especially for manufacturers and producers of aboveground/onground residential swimming pools. Consumers who own or are considering installing a pool of this type will find vital safety requirements within.
The newly revised PHTA-4 standard explains certain criteria for the design, manufacturing, testing, care, and use of aboveground/onground residential (Type O) non-diving swimming pools and their components. Aboveground/onground residential (Type-O) non-diving swimming pools are defined as pools with a shallow area water depth of 36 in. (914 mm) minimum at the wall and a water depth of 48 in. (1,219 mm) maximum at the wall. This includes portable pools with flexible/non-rigid or rigid side walls which achieve their structural integrity by means of uniform shape, support frame, or a combination thereof, and can be disassembled for storage or relocation.
The changes to the standard include several new requirements which were added with safety features in mind. Pools with a reinforcing strap or belt around the outside must not be designed in a way that it could be used as a foothold for a child to climb into the pool. Detailed content about barriers around the swimming pool was added to correspond with requirements in the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC). Another new safety-related requirement restricts openings and gaps at a certain level below the water surface to avoid underwater entrapment.
Stakeholders: Manufacturers and producers of aboveground/onground residential swimming pools, as well as consumers who use this type of pool.
Current Version: ANSI/PHTA/ICC-4 2025 American National Standard for Aboveground/Onground Residential Swimming Pools
Learn more about pool safety and read other publications related to the PHTA-4 standard:
- Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA)
- Consumer & Water Safety Brochures
- The Sensible Way to Enjoy Your Aboveground/Onground Swimming Pool
- Children Aren’t Waterproof
- Layers of Protection
- Pool and Spa Emergency Procedures for Infants and Children
- Consumer & Water Safety Brochures
- International Code Council (ICC)
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
- Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools Preventing Child Drownings
- Pool Safely Campaign with Educational Materials Catalog
- U.S. Government Publishing Office Free Publication Library, where a request for paper publications can be made
- National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA)
- Safe Kids Worldwide
Interested in this standard or other PHTA standards work? We would love to hear from you! Contact us at standards@phta.org or sign up here to receive email updates.
