Transcript
Page 1: ADA Compliant Signage What is Required

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was created in the 1990‘s with the goal to reduce thedifficulties that people with disabilities face. When it comes to signage, the law ensures thathandicapped individuals have access to goods and services and aren’t put in a dangerous situation byrequiring certain standards as to size, location, identification standards, content, and tactile readability.

Signs that require ADA compliancy:

signs located in all permanent rooms and spaces

Directional or identification signs

Life safety signs are also required to have raised characters and Braile. Safety signs are thosesigns which identify…

o exit passage ways

o discharge

o Stairwells: stairwell signage should be located next to each door inside a stair well andshould identify the floor level, level of exit, roof access, and stair well. In somemunicipalities it is required that these signs be photoluminescent, so verify with yourlocal municipality to ensure that you meet all regulations.

Overhead signs

Flag-mounted signs

Wall-mounted signs

Signs exempt from ADA compliancy:

Building addresses

Page 2: ADA Compliant Signage What is Required

Company names and logos

Menus

Occupant names

Seat and row assignments

Signs in parking facilities except those in accessible parking spaces

Signs in detention and correctional facilities which are not located in public areas

Temporary signs (7 days or less)

Height

Hanging overhead signage must be 80 inches above the floor.

Wall mounted signs must be mounted at least 27 inches from the floor and no more than 80 inches fromthe floor.

Location

The ADA classifies location requirements in relation to door type, its swinging path, and its size. Theregulations are as follows:

Single door: sign next to the door on latch side.

Double doors with one active leaf: sign placed next to the inactive leaf.

Double doors with two active leaves: sign places to the right of the right handed door.

Push doors: on the push side of the doors with closers and without hold-open devices.

Doors without required wall space: Signs should be mounted on the nearest adjacent wall.

Signs should be mounted so that people can approach within 3 inches of the sign withoutencountering protruding objects being within the swing of the door.

Color

As per the new 2010 Standards, characters must contrast with their background. This means either alight color on a dark background, or a dark color on a light background. In the original edition of the law,there was a requirement of 70 percent color contrast. While this is no longer mandated, it’s a good ruleof thumb to insure that there is good contrast and readability.

Finish

Page 3: ADA Compliant Signage What is Required

The background of all ADA signs must be non-glare finish (with the exception of parking lot signage) asreflections can cause difficulties for individuals with vision impairments.

Regulations for Raised Characters

Characters and braille may not have sharp edges; remember, people are going to be touching these, soaside from a general safety hazard, you want to take special care to make sure that no one is going to behurt reading your sign.

Lettering must be in uppercase, sans serif (cannot be expanded, extended, italic, bold, etc.). The lettersmust have a minimum height of 5/8 inch and a maximum height of 2 inches, and must be raised at least1/32 inch above their background.

There are two types of Braille; for ADA compliancy, companies should use Grade 2 Braille, whichcontains 189 contractions in addition to the standard full spelling of Grade 1 Braille. Braille dots must berounded/domed and located 3/8 of an inch below the corresponding text and be the same color as theback ground.

Pictograms

Possibly one of the most common pictograms seen is the wheelchair accessible symbol that’s located onramps, parking lots, and doorways in nearly any establishment you can imagine. However, there is alsoseveral other symbols that are required in some situations.

Ear: This is the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss, which represents the availabilityof an assistive listening system.

Keyboard: Stands for the availability text telephone (TTY),

Phone with sound waves: Represents the availability of a volume controlled phone.

For a full copy of the 2010 ADA Standards click here.

Tags: ada compliance, ada compliant, ada compliant signage, ada office signs, ada signs, digitalsignage, handicapped signage,handicapped signs, industrial ada signs, safety signs


Top Related