ADA exit signs
Doors at exit stairways, exit passageways and exit discharge are identified by tactile signs: raised characters, braille and visual characters, 48 to 60 inches up at the latch side (216.4.1). Area of refuge instructions and directional signs to accessible exits are visual only (216.4.2, 216.4.3).
Exit and egress signs under the ADA
| Sign | Rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Door to an exit stairway | tactile + visual | 216.4.1 |
| Door to an exit passageway | tactile + visual | 216.4.1 |
| Door at the exit discharge | tactile + visual | 216.4.1 |
| Area of refuge instructions | visual | 216.4.2 |
| Directions to accessible means of egress | visual | 216.4.3 |
| Other exit signs, including illuminated | visual; fire and building codes | Access Board guide |
| Signs over a walkway | 80 in min clearance | 307.4 |
An exit passageway is a horizontal exit component, separated from the rest of the building by fire-rated construction, that leads to the exit discharge or public way. The exit discharge is the part of the route between the end of an exit and the public way (Advisory 216.4.1). Ordinary corridor doors and room exit doors are not on the list; the Access Board confirms that tactile labels are only required at these three kinds of doors.
What the building codes add
Most states and cities adopt the International Building Code, which has its own tactile exit sign section (1013.4 in recent editions): a sign reading EXIT in visual characters, raised characters and braille beside each door to an exit stairway or ramp, an exit passageway, the exit discharge, an area of refuge and an exterior area for assisted rescue. It points to ICC A117.1 for the technical rules, which match the ADA's closely.
California goes further and sets the wording by door (CBC 1013.4): EXIT at grade-level exterior exit doors; EXIT STAIR DOWN, EXIT STAIR UP, EXIT RAMP DOWN or EXIT RAMP UP at doors leading to a grade-level exit by stair or ramp; EXIT ROUTE at doors leading there through an exit enclosure or passageway, and at doors from rooms into exit corridors; and TO EXIT at doors through a horizontal exit. California also requires tactile floor identification signs at each stair landing. See the California page.
Ask which code edition the building is permitted under before quoting exit signs; it decides the wording and which doors get one. On stair doors, the tactile sign goes on the latch side on the corridor face, where someone looking for the exit will feel for it, not inside the stair.
Areas of refuge
Where a building has areas of refuge, the building code requires instructions posted in them and signs directing people to them. The ADA requires those signs to meet the visual character rules (216.4.2, 216.4.3). Under the IBC, the door to the area of refuge itself also gets a tactile EXIT-type sign.
Questions
Do all exit doors need tactile ADA signs?
No. Under the ADA, tactile signs are required at doors to exit stairways, exit passageways and exit discharge (216.4.1). Other exit signs need only meet the visual rules. Building codes can add more, and most states adopt the International Building Code, which has its own tactile exit sign rule.
Do illuminated EXIT signs have to meet ADA rules?
Not the tactile rules. Illuminated exit signs are set by the fire and building codes. If one hangs over a walkway it must leave 80 inches of headroom (307.4).
What does a tactile exit sign say?
The ADA does not set the wording. Building codes do: the International Building Code calls for a sign reading EXIT in raised characters and braille beside the required doors, and California spells out EXIT, EXIT STAIR DOWN, EXIT STAIR UP, EXIT RAMP DOWN, EXIT RAMP UP, EXIT ROUTE and TO EXIT for different doors.
What height is a tactile exit sign?
The same as any tactile sign: braille baseline at 48 inches minimum, top raised baseline at 60 inches maximum, on the latch side of the door (703.4).
- Access Board guide, Chapter 7: Signs (common questions)
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (U.S. Access Board)
Last checked against the source text 2026-09-25. Section numbers refer to the 2010 ADA Standards unless marked otherwise.