Did you know that ADA restroom signs height is one of the areas where a business can be non-compliant with ADA signage needs? There are at least 7.5 million Americans that are legally blind or that are visually impaired, and this group of people is the reason that ADA regulations exist. With noncompliance comes avoidable signage fees that most businesses will want to avoid having to pay.
Some regulations centered around ADA compliance can result in fines, unhappy customers, or concerned customers that may have a disability. Individual ADA restroom signs may be the most recognized symbols for accessible restrooms. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant, hotel, or other public place (with accessible restrooms), you may have noticed that almost every single one of them has specific restroom signs.
But what do you know about ADA compliant signs and their requirements? Here is a quick guide to learn everything you need to know about ADA signs’ height, the regulations around them, and potential fees you can avoid having to pay.
What Are ADA Restroom Signs and Why Are They Important?
ADA restroom signs and ADA restroom signs height are universally recognizable symbols that inform customers and those passing that the restrooms within the building are all accessible. Although you may not realize it, those signs are crucial to the accessibility of your restrooms and other areas.
If there are no ADA restroom signs, customers with disabilities essentially won’t have usable facilities. This is important to avoid because it could show that your facility is not compliant with regulations of the American Disabilities Act.
What’s more, is that this can lead to a poor experience and a negative overall outlook for anyone with a disability who might be a customer at your business. ADA Restroom Signs are also important in that they are the primary way for someone to know for certain that a restroom is accessible.
Other accessibility indicators can be used at the building level, such as tactile warnings, a pathway for wheelchair access, and lifts in the case of a second-floor business. While these forms of access are not necessarily ADA signage, they are good examples of making your facility accessible to those that may have certain impairments or disabilities.
ADA Restroom Signs Height Requirements
You might think that the ADA signage regulations for restroom signs would only apply to the text on the sign itself. That’s not the case, though. ADA signage regulations are quite thorough and cover a variety of details and for good reason.
For example, the height of your ADA restroom signs is as important as the language itself. Even the width of the text and the graphics from the placard are considered. There are specific requirements for ADA restroom sign height. Let’s talk about the requirements you need to be aware of.
- ADA signage should get mounted on walls that are the closest and the most adjacent to the door
- If you have a tactile sign, they need to be mounted with a clearing of floor space of 18×18 inches at a minimum
- Signs should go beyond door swing archways
These are a few general placement rules to be aware of. There are also other things to consider as well, such as visibility. If you’re putting up ADA restroom signs, you need to make sure the sign is tall enough to be visible to both wheelchair users and people standing in the vicinity of the restrooms.
Did You Know That California Has Additional Requirements?
California has a few different requirements that you need to consider. For example, you will always need to consider California Title 24, which is part of the California Code of Regulations. These regulations help to comply with requirements set by the ADA as well as statutes of the state.
Now, this set of regulations that the state has set is quite broad. It doesn’t only act as an umbrella for accessibility compliance. It also provides requirements focused on the construction along with maintenance and fire and life safety.
It also covers green design as well as proper electrical and plumbing systems for buildings. For ADA signage, in particular, under Title 24, geometric symbols should help identify public restrooms and the doors that lead to them. The point of this is to ensure you have clear markers to help people identify where your facilities are located.
Also, the rules are a bit different for male and female restrooms. Did you know that an equilateral triangle that is about 1/4 in which should be used to identify restrooms for males? In comparison, a circle of the same thickness is used to identify female facilities and both shapes are about 12 inches in diameter.
Also, if you’ve ever noticed signs for unisex bathrooms, they are a combination of the two. Placards for these facilities will usually show both the circle and the equilateral triangle.
The Easiest Way to Meet ADA Restroom Sign Regulations
Now that you know some of the basic information surrounding ADA restroom signs and their regulations, you might be wondering how to actually meet those standards. Well, there are several ways that you can make sure your ADA restroom signs are up to code.
First, you can use a sign-making service to create the signs for you. This is a great option because it will enable you to get fully compliant ADA signage that’s appropriate for your business.
Alternatively, without proper help and installation, you could be at a greater risk of noncompliance and poor customer experiences. There are several basic guidelines to follow if you are going to create your own ADA restroom signs and this is why working with a professional is needed for your signage projects. Let’s talk about the violations to make it clear why help is needed.
Be Aware of Violations
Taking the design of your facility seriously will help you to avoid signage violations with ADA compliance. This is also one of the main reasons that many businesses opt in for using a professional signage company. For example, if your signs aren’t compliant with ADA standards, you might be faced with large fines that are difficult to pay off.
Fines can equal as much as $75,000 at a minimum. They can also go as high as $150,000 for subsequent violations. To ensure that you are avoiding preventable signs, let’s talk about some of the main signage violations.
Raised text as well as braille should always be considered. The main thing here is that the appearance of your signs is easily readable. Raise characters should always be uppercase and in a sans serif font.
This is a regulation across the board for most signs in this category. The signage should also not include any italicized or oblique characters.
Additionally;
- Braille should always be rounded and never squared or flat
- Braille should also be separated at a 3/8 inch minimum from any raised text
- Race characters should have a height anywhere between 5/8 inches into inches
Aside from raised text in complying with braille placement, you should also consider the actual finish and the contrast of your signs. We briefly discussed this, but it’s important to know that while you should have a non-glare finish and a certain surface to your signs that they can match your brand’s colors. You can use your business as logos as well as brand elements on your side as long as you’re compliant with all regulations of the ADA.
Don’t Overlook the Small Details
Now, one area that often goes overlooked is the field for any pictograms that’re used. The issue with pictograms is that you don’t want them to cause the text on your sons to be difficult to read. In this case, this means that the color of your text should complement the image that you use.
In short, one should not overpower the other. For example, almost all restroom sign placement will have some type of pictogram. They should always get placed in an area that is at least 6 inches high. Within this 6-inch field, you don’t want to have any other characters or any of your braille elements.
Instead of having them in the field, all of your raised text and braille dots will go right underneath the pictogram that you use. The surface of your signage and the background will also be essential here.
Avoid Fines and Remain Compliant
While ADA restroom signs height might seem simple to comply with, there are a lot of small elements to consider. Instead of taking the chance and risking being in compliance and paying hefty fines, many smart business owners are working with professionals.
Martin ADA signs are one of the easiest ways to ensure your remain compliant. With us, we make other aspects of your signage projects easy to navigate.
We offer free proofs and engraving as well as free shipping for orders over $99 and deliveries that are always on time. Get a custom quote today.