ADA Signs for Easy ADA Signage Compliance [Save Time & Money!]

You may have heard the term “tactile” or “braille signs” regarding ADA compliance. These terms are sometimes used to refer to ADA compliant signs with braille and raised markings or lettering. But the ADA defines and also requires other compliant signage that doesn’t include raised characters or embossed letters. You’ll want to make sure your braille signs meet all ADA guidelines.

ADA compliance signs are required at every entrance and exit. The federal government also requires buildings to mark permanent rooms and spaces in public facilities with ADA-compliant identifying signs. 

You’re also required to meet ADA signage compliance for other interior and exterior locations. Our consultants can help further assist you with identifying areas that need ADA signage when you contact us. 

Chances are, yes. The federal government requires ADA signage in public facilities where employees, clients, and customers meet. The following types of buildings have to meet ADA signage compliance:

• State, local, and county government buildings
• Public accommodations
• Commercial facilities 

ADA signs are designed to accommodate people with disabilities and their caretakers. Signs that meet compliance requirements and are appropriately placed also help the visually impaired, and those who use a wheelchair, can find their way around your facility. 

Meeting these accessibility needs is a critical part of serving the community and also meeting government requirements. Otherwise, your organization can be fined if it violates federal ADA sign regulations.

The size of a building does not exempt it from having to meet ADA sign compliance obligations. The only exemptions for federal ADA sign requirements are:

• Prisons
• Facilities eligible for the National Register of Historic Places

Public restrooms must be accessible for disabled persons and have an ADA sign to help both the visually impaired and the sighted find their way to bathroom, shower, and locker room facilities. ADA restroom signs must include the correct text and pictograms for the visually-impaired.

An exit signs tactile characters must be at 48 inches or more above the finished floor based on the bottom tactile character’s baseline. Exits signs must be no more than 60 inches to the uppermost tactile character’s baseline. Also, tactile exit signs must be placed on the latch side of the door.

Elevators have to be easily accessible. You can’t place elevators at the end of a tiny hallway, for example. To meet ADA requirements, elevator doors must remain completely open for three seconds or more. The call buttons have to be at least .75 inches in diameter, and button heights centered 42 inches from the floor. 

Having ADA-compliant signs for elevators is critical for helping disabled and non-disabled people navigate a building with ease. Although elevator signs play a minor role in elevator safety, failing to clearly mark where elevators are located with ADA-compliant signs can have significant consequences for your facility and result in fines.

Gone are the days when ADA compliance signs were simple blue placards with standard white lettering and pictograms. Today, organizations have far more design choices in ADA sign compliance that complement their buildings and brand their facilities. 

While unique and stylish signs are a welcome change, they must still meet legal requirements. Some of the most common ADA sign mistakes we see are:

• Not enough contrast between the background, braille, raised letters, or pictograms
• No braille included on tactile signs
• Incorrect braille dimensions 
• Incorrectly sized letters 
• Fonts that aren’t sans serif
• Incorrect spacing between sign components

Worst of all, we often see no signs indicating a permanent space or a doorway. No matter what, doors and permanent rooms must have an ADA compliant, tactile sign to meet legal requirements.

Every permanent room must have raised letters & braille text.