The short answer
If the public comes into your business, the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to you, and there is no small-business exemption for that part of the law. The sign rules live in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. For a typical small shop they come down to three things:
- Permanent rooms (restrooms, numbered offices, exits) get a tactile sign with raised letters and braille next to the door.
- Directional and informational signs (arrows, "Restrooms this way," "Push button to open") only need to be easy to read: good contrast, plain type, no glare.
- The wheelchair symbol goes where it helps someone find the accessible way in, not on every door.
Your business name, logo, hours, and address on the front door are not ADA signs at all. The Standards exempt company names and logos, building addresses, menus, and temporary signs posted for a week or less.
Two kinds of signs, two sets of rules
Almost every ADA signage question gets easier once you separate these.
Tactile signs identify a permanent room or space: "Restroom," "Men," "Women," "Suite 204," "Exit." The letters are raised at least 1/32 inch, all uppercase, sans serif, 5/8 to 2 inches tall, with contracted (Grade 2) braille below. They mount on the wall beside the latch side of the door, with the tactile text 48 to 60 inches above the floor, so a person can find and read the sign by touch without the door swinging into them.
Visual signs direct or inform: "Restrooms →," "Accessible entrance around the corner," "Automatic door." These have no braille requirement. They need a non-glare finish, strong light-on-dark or dark-on-light contrast, upright plain type (no script, no italics), and letters sized to the viewing distance, starting at about 5/8 inch for a sign you read up close.
That second category is where decals live. Cut vinyl on a door or window is a visual sign. It can do every directional and informational job on this list and do it well. It cannot be the tactile sign for a permanent room, because flat vinyl has nothing to feel.
What a typical small shop needs
- Restroom doors. One tactile sign per restroom, beside the latch side, braille included. If you also want a big readable "RESTROOM" or an arrow down the hall, that is a visual sign and vinyl is fine for it.
- Numbered rooms and suites. If the number identifies a permanent space, the tactile rule applies. A suite number on the glass for wayfinding is a visual sign and can be vinyl. Many buildings do both: the plaque beside the door for compliance, the number on the door so people can see it from the hallway.
- Exit doors. Doors that fire code requires to be marked as exits get a tactile "EXIT" sign too. Your local fire inspector will tell you which doors those are.
- The front entrance. If every public entrance is accessible, no wheelchair symbol is required there. If one entrance is not (a step, a narrow door), the accessible entrance gets the International Symbol of Accessibility and the inaccessible one gets a sign pointing to it.
- Parking. Accessible spaces get a post-mounted sign with the symbol, bottom edge at least 60 inches off the ground, and "van accessible" on the van space. Very small lots with four or fewer spaces are excepted. Usually a landlord item, but worth checking your own lot.
Where vinyl decals fit
We sell decals, so here is the straight version. Our accessibility decal set covers the visual jobs: the wheelchair symbol drawn to the standard proportions, "Accessible entrance," "Automatic door," "Push button to open," and "Hearing loop available" for a wall or window. Our restroom and office door decals handle door wording and arrows.
What vinyl does not do is replace the tactile plaque beside a restroom or office door. If an inspector or landlord is involved, buy tactile braille signs for the permanent rooms and use decals for everything else. A vinyl "RESTROOM" on the door with nothing beside it is the most common mistake we see, and the first one an inspector catches.
Mounting cheat sheet
- Tactile room signs: wall beside the latch side of the door, tactile text 48 to 60 inches above the floor, outside the door swing. Double doors with no latch side go to the right-hand door.
- Visual signs on glass or doors: no fixed height, but keep them between roughly 40 and 70 inches so they read from a standing or seated position, and avoid high-gloss finishes that glare.
- Overhead directional signs: bigger letters, at least 2 inches once the sign is above about 10 feet, and 80 inches of clearance underneath.
- Pictograms used to identify a room: the symbol sits in a field at least 6 inches tall with the text and braille directly below it.
State and city extras
States can add rules on top of the federal Standards. California is the best-known example: its building code adds geometric restroom door symbols (a triangle for men, a circle for women, a triangle on a circle for all-gender) on the door itself, in addition to the tactile sign on the wall. A few states have adopted a newer, forward-leaning accessibility icon on new signs. A quick call to your city's building department settles what applies at your address.
For the rest of the glass, the rules are the landlord's, not the government's. Our guide on what to put on your storefront door covers layout and lease limits, and window lettering vs printed signs covers materials.
FAQ
I have five employees. Does the ADA still apply?
The employee count matters for the employment part of the ADA, not the public-accommodation part. If customers come in, the facility rules apply regardless of how many people you employ. In an existing building the duty is to remove barriers where it is readily achievable, and a sign is about as achievable as it gets.
Do my hours and name on the door need braille?
No. Company names, logos, addresses, and hours are exempt from the sign requirements. Letter them however you like.
Can I put the wheelchair symbol on the door as a decal?
Yes, as a visual sign. It is required only where not every entrance is accessible, but many businesses add it anyway so people know the door works for them. Use the standard proportions, usually white on blue.
Decals for this
General information, not legal advice. Based on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design; states and cities add their own requirements, and an inspector or access specialist has the final say on your building. Vinyl decals are visual signs only and do not satisfy tactile sign requirements for permanent rooms.
Need the visual signs done right?
Wheelchair symbol to the standard proportions, entrance and door wording in the classic blue and white, cut to your size. Free proof before we cut.
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