ADA restroom signs: how high, where and what they carry

How high a restroom sign goes: 48 to 60 inches

The height is measured to the baseline of the characters, not to the edge of the sign: at least 48 inches (1220 mm) above the finish floor to the baseline of the lowest tactile character, and no more than 60 inches (1525 mm) to the baseline of the highest (2010 ADA Standards, 703.4.1). Braille counts as tactile. The U.S. Access Board applies the rule to raised characters and braille together, and its drawing puts the 48-inch minimum at the baseline of the braille and the 60-inch maximum at the baseline of the top line of text (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Installation Height and Location, image notes).

• The pictogram has no height of its own. Its text descriptor, in raised characters and braille, goes directly below the pictogram field and follows the same 48 to 60 inch rule (2010 ADA Standards, 703.6.3).
• Print on a separate sign: when the visual characters are on a sign of their own, apart from the tactile one, they go at least 40 inches (1015 mm) above the floor (2010 ADA Standards, 703.1 and 703.5.6).
• Directional signs to the nearest accessible restroom: at least 40 inches above the floor as well; extra copies on the floor are allowed on top of the compliant one (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions).
• In California the building code adds a symbol on the door itself, 58 to 60 inches (1473–1524 mm) to its centerline (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6). It is explained below, after the federal rules.

Which restroom signs the ADA requires: 216.2 and 216.8

Two sections of the 2010 Standards cover restroom signs, and they ask for different things.

• 216.2, the name of the room. Interior and exterior signs that identify permanent rooms and spaces comply with 703.1, 703.2 and 703.5: raised characters duplicated in braille, and visual characters. The advisory gives signs labeling restrooms as its example (2010 ADA Standards, 216.2, advisory 216.2 and 703.2). The Standards do not oblige a building to label its rooms, but a sign that does has to comply (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions).
• 216.8, the wheelchair symbol. Where existing toilet rooms do not comply with 603, the accessible ones are identified by the International Symbol of Accessibility, and directional signs with the symbol show the way to the nearest accessible one in the facility. Where clustered single-user toilet rooms use the exception of 213.2, the accessible ones carry the symbol unless all of them comply (2010 ADA Standards, 216.8).
• When every restroom is accessible, which is often the case in new construction, the symbol is not required (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Toilet Rooms and Bathing Rooms).

The directional sign follows the rules for visual characters, not tactile ones (2010 ADA Standards, 216.8 and 703.5), and it can be as simple as the symbol and an arrow (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions).

The symbol is the one drawn in figure 703.7.2.1 (2010 ADA Standards, 703.7.2.1). On a restroom sign it needs a non-glare finish and contrast with its background, but no 6-inch field and no text descriptor, and the Standards set no color and no size for it (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Toilet Rooms and Bathing Rooms; Symbols of Accessibility). Where it comes from and its variants are in accessibility symbol.

What goes on the sign: raised letters, braille and pictograms

A restroom sign can do both jobs at once, with raised characters that are also the print, or split them into two signs, one tactile and one visual (2010 ADA Standards, 703.1). Since the Standards do not require room labels at all, they do not set their words either (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions); the Access Board’s examples read RESTROOM and FAMILY RESTROOM (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Designations of Permanent Rooms and Spaces; Toilet Rooms and Bathing Rooms). The tactile part is measured like this:

A pictogram, the figure of a man, a woman or both, is optional. Where a sign uses one to name the room, four rules apply:

• Not required. The Standards do not mandate pictograms other than the symbols of accessibility (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Pictograms); where pictograms designate a permanent interior room, they comply with 703.6 (2010 ADA Standards, 216.2).
• A 6-inch field. The pictogram sits on a field at least 6 inches (150 mm) high, with no characters or braille inside it (2010 ADA Standards, 703.6.1). The 6 inches apply to the field, not to the figure, and the figure does not have to be raised (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Pictograms).
• Finish and contrast. Pictogram and field non-glare, light on dark or dark on light (2010 ADA Standards, 703.6.2).
• A text descriptor below. Directly below the field, in raised characters and braille, at the height of 703.4 (2010 ADA Standards, 703.6.3).

The wheelchair symbol is not a pictogram of this kind: it gives information, so it needs neither the 6-inch field nor a text descriptor (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Informational Pictograms).

Words like “men” and “women” may be stacked in a column, although the Access Board does not recommend it; braille may not, because stacked contractions are hard to read (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions). On a sign that repeats its text in other languages, only the English content has to comply; Unified English Braille is accepted as Grade 2 (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Common Questions).

The size of the braille dots, table 703.3.1, is in braille signage. To see what RESTROOM looks like in braille cells, type it into the braille translator.

California’s symbols on the door, and other state codes

California adds a sign the ADA does not have. Its building code asks for a geometric symbol at doorways leading to toilet rooms and bathing rooms (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-216.8), mounted 58 to 60 inches (1473–1524 mm) above the floor to the centerline of the symbol and, where there is a door, within 1 inch (25 mm) of the vertical centerline of the door (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6):

• Men: an equilateral triangle, 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) thick, with edges 12 inches (305 mm) long and a vertex pointing upward (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6.1).
• Women: a circle, 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) thick and 12 inches (305 mm) in diameter (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6.2).
• Unisex: the same circle, with a 1/4-inch triangle, vertex up, superimposed on it and within its 12-inch diameter (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6.3).
• Contrast and edges: each symbol contrasts with the door, and the triangle of the unisex symbol with the circle, light on dark or dark on light; edges rounded, chamfered or eased, and corners with a radius of at least 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) (California Building Code sections reproduced by the California Secretary of State, 11B-703.7.2.6.1 to 11B-703.7.2.6.4).

So a California restroom can have two signs: the symbol on the door, and the tactile sign with raised characters and braille on the wall beside it, each at its own height. The text quoted here is the one the California Secretary of State reproduced in April 2014, which does not name the edition of the code; the edition in force is the one to check before building.

Other states and cities can have rules of their own in the building codes they adopt; this guide does not list them. Where the ADA requires the International Symbol of Accessibility, it has to be used even if a state or local code specifies a different symbol, unless the alternative gives substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability under the equivalent facilitation provision (U.S. Access Board guide to signs, Use of Alternatives to the ISA).

Restroom signs and Braillito Maps

Braillito Maps does not record restroom signs one by one. It is a community map that answers ten questions about each place: step-free entrance or ramp, wide doorway, accessible restroom, accessible parking, tactile paving, braille signage, braille menu, audible signals, guide dogs welcome and a quiet environment.

Two of them meet at the restroom door: whether the place has an accessible restroom, and whether its signs can be read by touch.

Each question is answered yes or no, or stays without data until someone knows. The score of a place is the number of yes answers out of ten, and its color always appears next to the number, never on its own. If what a place says is wrong, it can be reported. Meet Braillito Maps.

More accessibility guides

• Braille signage: which signs need braille under the ADA, how high they go, on which side of the door, and the size of the dots.
• ADA bathroom requirements: toilet height and position, grab bar height, sink height, stall sizes and turning space.
• ADA exit signs: which exit doors need a tactile sign with braille, why the lit EXIT sign does not, how high it goes and on which side of the door.
• Accessibility symbols: what the wheelchair symbol means, where it is required and the other access symbols.
• ADA door width: 32 inches of clear width, maneuvering space, thresholds, hardware and opening force.
• ADA toilet height: seat height, distance from the side wall, clear floor space, flush control, toilet paper and stalls.
• ADA mounting heights: mirror, paper towel and soap dispenser, hand dryer, toilet paper and coat hook heights, and the reach ranges most of them come from.
• 2010 ADA Standards: what each of the ten chapters covers, since when the Standards apply and to which buildings, with the guide for each element.
• ADA compliance: a checklist for small businesses, with the 2010 Standards section behind each item.
• All accessibility guides