CHECKLIST: IS YOUR DOOR ACCESSIBLE AND ADA COMPLIANT?

by Grace Taylor
 08/29/2023 Building Codes | Doors | Hardware

  1. Does the ACCESSIBLE opening have the correct clear width?
  • Ensure your door has a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches.
    • If your door opening has a pair of doors, at least one leaf must provide a clear opening of 32 inches.
  • Measure from the face of the door to the stop of the frame while your door is swinging at 90 degrees.
  • Make sure nothing is projecting into your clear opening from the finished floor up to 34 inches high.
  • Ensure the projections between 34 and 80 inches above the floor only project a maximum of 4 inches from the door face into the clear opening.
Ensure your door has a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches.
  • Note that there is an exception for closers and overhead stops, which are able to be mounted starting at 78 inches from ground or finish floor.

2. Does the ACCESSIBLE opening have the correct door opening height?

  • Ensure that your minimum clear opening height for a doorway is 80 inches but your overhead stops and closer can be mounted 78 inches from finished floor or ground.

3. Does the ACCESSIBLE door have a closer?

  • Ensure that your door takes a minimum of 5 seconds to close from 90 degrees(open) to 12 degrees from the latch. This allows enough time for those with a disability to go through the doorway.

4. Does the ACCESSIBLE door have spring hinges?

  • Ensure that your door takes no less than 1.5 seconds to move from 70 degrees (open) to a closed position. This allows enough time for those with a disability to go through the doorway.

5. How much force should the ACCESSIBLE door take to open?

  • Ensure that the force needed to open a door is no more than five foot-pound. This excludes exterior hinged doors and fire doors. This requirement is about the continuous force that is needed to fully open the door and not the initial force needed to disengage any hardware or device holding the door shut.

6. Is the operating door hardware mounted at the correct height on the ACCESSIBLE door?

  • Ensure that the operating portion of the door hardware is installed between 34 and 48 inches above the finished floor.

7. How should your operating door hardware function on the ACCESSIBLE door?

  • All door hardware should be able to be operated by one hand or a closed fist and should not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of a wrist to operate.
  • Remember traditional round doorknobs are not compliant.

8. Does the ACCESSIBLE door have anything mounted within 10” from the finished floor?

  • Ensure that the push side of the doors has a smooth surface within 10 inches of the floor and spans the full width of the door.
  • Ensure anything creating vertical or horizontal joints does not exceed 1/16 inch and any cavities created by a kickplate are to be capped and closed to ensure a smooth surface to make sure nothing will catch on the door.

9. Does the ACCESSIBLE opening have a threshold?

  • Ensure on new construction your threshold is no more than ½ inch high. If the threshold is more than 1/4″ tall at any point, then the slope up to that point can’t be more than a 1:2 slope.
  • Ensure on existing thresholds, your threshold has a maximum height of ¾ inch and is allowed to have a beveled edge on each side with a slope no steeper than 1:2.

10. Does the ACCESSIBLE door have a sidelight or vision light?

  • Ensure that if your door has a vision light or a sidelight, at least one of the vision panels shall not be more than 43 inches from the finished floor.
    • Remember that if the bottom of the light is located at least 66 inches above the floor, it does not have to meet this criterion because it’s most likely just for light and not viewing.