California Restroom Signs
ADA vs California Restroom Signage
If you are from California, you may have noticed that every restroom is identified by two signs. Every California restroom should have a tactile and braille sign located on the wall of the handle side and another geometric sign installed directly on the door. The reason for dual restroom signage in California is because 2 standards with differing requirements apply. Every restroom within a public accommodation in the United States is required to comply with the ADA which mandates a tactile and braille sign. In addition, California requires the geometric sign. See below for details for each sign.
ADA Compliant Sign Requirements
ADA compliant signs with tactile and braille characters are required to be displayed at the entry door(s) of all interior and exterior permanent rooms and spaces. These signs contain raised characters that contrast with the background color. The same message displayed in raised characters is also provided in braille and located below the tactile lettering. This type of sign allows a blind individual to read the sign by touch. The high contrast of the raised letters on the sign allow people with vision impairments or low vision to read the sign(s) more easily. The location of tactile and braille signs is typically on the strike side of the door so that disabled readers can easily located the door that the sign serves. For more information about ADA signs, visit our recent blog post on this topic.
California Restroom Sign Requirements
In addition to the ADA sign described above, a geometric sign is required to be displayed directly on the restroom entry door. Each gender designation has its own geometric symbol:
Men - Triangle
Women - Circle
Unisex or All Gender - Circle & Triangle
The geometric signs have specific dimensional and installation requirements. For instance, the circle and triangle signs are each required to be 1/4 thick. In the case of unisex signs, a 1/4” triangle is mounted on top of a 1/4” circle. The geometric signs shall be installed on the center of the door at a height of 58”-60”. Geometric signs must also contrast with the background color of the door which is a common ADA violation that we find during our CASp inspections. When purchasing accessible signage for restrooms located in California, we recommend contacting a local sign company rather than ordering off of the internet. A local sign company will likely have a better understanding of the Title 24 and ADA requirements.
All Gender Restrooms Signs
In California, all single user restrooms have been required to be identified as “ALL GENDER RESTROOMS”. The law that mandates this requirement went into effect on March 1st, 2017. Essentially, this law mandates that any restroom with no more than one water closet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user is required to display unisex signage. See the 2017 DSA Bulletin BU 17-01-01 for more information.
