ADA SIGNAGE REQUIREMENTS
ADA-COMPLIANT SIGNS AND GRAPHICS MUST ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS:
1. SIZE
COMPLIANT BUSINESS SIGNS HAVE BOTH MOUNTING HEIGHT AND MAXIMUM VIEWING DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS. ACCORDING TO THE ADA, MOST MOUNTING HEIGHTS SHOULD BE NO LOWER THAN 40 INCHES FROM THE GROUND AND NO HIGHER THAN 120 INCHES. VIEWING DISTANCES ARE CALCULATED IN FEET AND SHOULD USE LOGICAL ESTIMATES GIVEN A ROOM’S LAYOUT, ENTRYWAYS, EXITS AND LINES OF SIGHT.
While the ADA doesn’t maintain set sign dimensions, it does have sizing guidelines related to each of the four sign categories.
Sign width: A sign’s width is determined by the number of characters — individual letters, numbers and punctuation marks — and spaces between characters per line on the sign. The size of each letter and individual space will also play a role in the overall sign width. For example, 14 characters at a font size of 5/8 an inch will need a 10-inch wide sign.
Sign height: The height of an ADA-compliant sign depends on its total number of lines and the size of the characters on each line. At a 5/8-inch font size, you need at least 2 inches of height per line, including the Braille translation.
2. MOUNTING AND PLACEMENT
ADA-compliant signs can be installed in three configurations — wall-mounted, wall-protruding and overhead.
Wall-mounted signs: Wall-mounted identification signs must be placed on the door’s latch side, between 40 to 60 inches off the ground. There should be 18 by 18 inches of open, clear floor space surrounding the placed sign. If double doors are present, signs should be installed to the right side of the right-side door.
Wall-protruding signs: Signs protruding from walls must be a minimum of 27 inches off the floor and stick out a maximum of four inches. Protruding signs should not block doors, sprinklers or emergency equipment.
Overhead signs: The bottom of an overhead sign must hang at least 80 inches from the floor and be held by stable, secure means. Like protruding signs, they must not block doors, sprinklers or emergency equipment.
Regardless of type, a sign’s final placement should be a minimum of 40 inches from the ground and a maximum of 10 feet from the ground to support reasonable reading vantages.
3. TEXT
Depending on the sign category, individual characters are typically 5/8 of an inch to 2 inches in size, printed in all uppercase lettering. The ADA also requires all permanent identification signs to contain both visual and tactile elements, meaning one visibly legible set of text and the other understood through touch, namely Braille. Here are the ADA sign requirements for each category of text:
Visual text: Visual text encompasses the standard English characters printed in raised text. The raised text should protrude 1/32 an inch or 0.8 millimeters from the sign’s background, written in all uppercase if it’s an identification sign. Informational, wayfinding and overhead signs can be sentence-case.
Tactile text: Tactile text most commonly refers to Braille lettering located directly beneath a sign’s visual lines of text, translating the visual text into tactile lettering. Braille needs at least 3/8 of an inch of spacing on all sides of the lettering. Directional or overhead signs may be visual-only, meaning no tactile text is needed.
The ADA regulates which fonts are appropriate for a sign’s standard printed characters. Sans serif and simple serif-style fonts are standard. Some fonts that meet ADA requirements include:
Helvetica
Futura
Avante Garde
Franklin Gothic
Trebuchet
Optima
Eras
A sign’s raised-print text should not contain excess bolding, obliques, italicizations or any other form of font embellishment.
4. COLORS
The ADA recommends signs be “high contrast.” It does not have rules or regulations on what color signs must be. Instead, it endorses the common-sense design benchmark that sign text and sign background colors should have at least a 70% color contrast ratio. In other words, dark text should be on light backgrounds, and dark backgrounds should display light text.
5. GRAPHICS
ADA sign graphics are called pictograms. Many common accessibility signs contain near-universally recognizable pictograms with simple, centralized symbols signifying their message. A well-known example is the “no smoking” pictogram — a cigarette with an overlayed circle and diagonal line. Of the four sign categories, only identification signage has regulations pertaining to scale, spacing and pictogram placement. A sign with a pictogram included requires a 6-inch high area dedicated solely to the graphic. Although the symbol itself doesn’t have a sizing requirement, a good rule of thumb for visibility is around 4 inches.
With your new sign in hand, you’re ready to go. The only thing left to do is mount it. ADA sign requirements include rules for installation heights, so tactile signs are easy to reach, visual text is readable at a distance and all installations facilitate accessibility and safe movement.
First, clear the installation wall or ceiling area, removing clutter and other visual obstructions. Check that there’s adequate lighting to illuminate your sign. Review any nearby opening doors to make sure their radiuses don’t impede sign visibility. Verify that the floor space directly beneath the sign is smooth and level. All these processes are ADA recommendations.
Remember:
Signs near doors should be installed latch side.
Signs near double doors should be installed on the right-hand side of the right door.
Signs should be wall-mounted between 40 to 60 inches off the ground. Hanging signs should begin at least 80 inches off the floor.
Signs should have 18-by-18 square inches of open floor space surrounding their base.
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