The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets specific requirements for commercial building entrances to ensure people with disabilities can safely and independently access businesses and services. Regardless of your business, ADA compliance is almost always a legal requirement. Accessible entrances also influence how customers perceive your business. Non-compliant or difficult-to-navigate doorways can turn people away and expose your company to legal risk.

This guide will help you understand ADA accessible entrance requirements so you can avoid costly violations and create a welcoming experience for everyone.

What Are ADA Entrance Requirements?

ADA entrance requirements are design standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure building entryways are accessible to people with mobility, vision, or other impairments. These rules apply to businesses and commercial property owners, requiring them to remove barriers and provide safe, independent access for individuals who use wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility aids.

Important ADA Entrance Requirements to Keep in Mind

According to ADA standards, public-facing businesses and commercial facilities must have at least one accessible entrance. Full compliance is required for newly constructed buildings. In existing structures undergoing renovations, the law requires reasonable accommodations for existing doors to improve accessibility when doing so is readily achievable. To comply with ADA standards, these entrances must meet specific physical criteria, including:

Clear Width

Entrances must provide a minimum clear door frame width of 32 inches when the door is open at 90 degrees. This ensures there’s enough room for wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility devices to pass through comfortably. Double doors may meet this requirement if one active leaf alone provides the necessary clearance.

Threshold Height

Door thresholds must not exceed ½ inch in height if beveled or ¼ inch if not beveled. These limits prevent tripping hazards and allow smooth access for people using wheeled mobility aids.

Level Landing

Every doorway must have a level and unobstructed landing on both sides. This area provides a stable, flat surface for individuals to approach, open, and pass through the entrance without encountering slopes, steps, or surface irregularities.

Maneuvering Clearance

Adequate clearance space is required around the doorway so individuals, especially those in wheelchairs, can position themselves to open and operate the door comfortably. The amount of space depends on whether the door swings inward or outward, and on which side a person is approaching from. The pull side (where the door opens toward the user) typically requires more clearance than the push side, due to the motion needed to open the door while backing up or turning. The required space generally ranges from 42 to 60 inches and must be clear of obstructions.

Door Hardware

All door and gate hardware must be operable with one hand and should not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist, like when someone uses a round door knob. Lever-style handles are commonly used to meet these requirements. In addition, hardware must be mounted between 34 and 48 inches above the finished floor to be within reach for all users.

Opening Force

The ADA specifies that no more than five pounds of force should be needed to open interior hinged doors. While the ADA does not set a specific door opening force limit for exterior hinged doors, many local building codes do, so business owners should check regional requirements to ensure their exterior doors are compliant.

Door Closing Speed

When a door opens to 90 degrees, it must take at least 5 seconds to close within 12 degrees of the latch. This timing allows individuals, especially those using mobility aids, to move through the doorway without being rushed or struck by the door as it closes.

Vestibule Clearance

When an entrance includes a vestibule with two doors, such as an outer and inner set, there must be enough space for a wheelchair to maneuver and access each door individually. Each door in the vestibule must also meet requirements for clearance and swinging doors independently.

These requirements apply to all entry doors, regardless of design or mechanism. While hinged or pivoted doors are most common, other types, such as sliding or folding doors, may also be used, provided they meet the same standards for clearance, operability, and maneuvering space.

Folding doors can pose challenges if they don’t open wide enough or require complex motion to operate. If installed, they must be carefully selected and configured to ensure full ADA compliance.

ADA Requirements for Doors With Automatic Operators

While the ADA does not require businesses to install automatic doors, many commercial properties add them to improve accessibility and convenience. When used, they must meet specific standards to ensure safe, reliable, and inclusive access for all individuals. These requirements are based on the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and ANSI/BHMA A156.19 guidelines under the American National Standards Institute, which cover everything from timing and force to placement and safety features. Key ADA-related requirements for such doors include:

• Open duration: The door must remain open long enough to allow safe passage. While the ADA does not specify an exact duration, ANSI guidelines recommend a minimum of five seconds after activation to accommodate individuals with mobility challenges.
• Opening and closing speed: Automatic doors must open and close at a controlled, gradual pace to avoid causing injury.
• Activation devices: Push plates, motion sensors, or wave-to-open switches must be placed within accessible reach, no higher than 48 inches above the finished floor, and located where users can approach them easily. If wall-mounted, they should be at least two inches from any obstruction.
• Safety sensors: Both automatic swinging and sliding doors must include safety sensors or presence detectors that prevent the door from closing on someone in the pathway, delaying closing or reopening automatically if a person is detected.
• Force requirements: To maintain safe entry access at all times, the opening and closing forces must be low enough to prevent injury and allow for manual operation in case of a power failure or malfunction.
• Clear opening width: Like manual doors, power-assisted doors must have a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches.
• Level surface at entrance: The area directly outside and inside the automatic entrance must be level and free from obstructions such as mats or uneven flooring. Any surface slope or floor material that impedes a wheelchair’s movement can lead to non-compliance.

ADA Signage and Visual Indicator Requirements

The ADA outlines specific requirements for signs that identify accessible entry points, direct visitors to alternative accessible routes, and provide tactile information for those who are blind or have low vision. These signs must be appropriately located, easy to read, and designed with both visibility and accessibility in mind. Requirements include:

• International symbol of accessibility (ISA): Entrances that are accessible must display the ISA, commonly recognized as the wheelchair symbol, unless all public entrances to the facility are accessible. The symbol must be posted on or adjacent to the accessible door in a clearly visible location.
• Directional signage: If the primary entrance is not accessible, directional signage must be installed to point users to the nearest accessible route or entrance. These signs should be prominently placed and easy to follow, ensuring visitors don’t get lost or turned around.
• Tactile signage with braille: Signs must include raised characters and braille where required (such as identifying permanent rooms and doors). They must be installed on the wall adjacent to the latch side of the door, with the baseline of the lowest raised character at least 48 inches above the finished floor and the highest no more than 60 inches above.
• Visual contrast and font requirements: All signs must use high-contrast colors to make the text stand out from the background, and fonts must be simple, sans-serif, and non-italicized to ensure readability.
• Non-glare finish: ADA signage must have a matte or non-glare finish to reduce reflections and improve visibility. This is especially important in well-lit environments where glossy surfaces can make text unreadable.

Visual markings on tempered glass doors: When entrances feature tempered glass doors, high-contrast decals or visual markers must be applied to the face of the door at eye level to ensure it is visible to individuals with low vision. These markings help prevent accidents and are especially important in well-lit environments where transparent surfaces can be hard to detect.

ADA Entrance Ramp Requirements

When a commercial entrance cannot be built at ground level, the ADA requires a properly designed ramp to provide accessible entry. Ramps must be constructed with specific dimensions and features to ensure they are safe, navigable, and usable by disabled individuals. Key ADA requirements for entrance ramps include:

• Slope and rise: Ramps must have a maximum slope of 1:12, meaning that for every inch of vertical rise, there must be at least 12 inches of ramp run (the straight sloped section between landings). This slope ensures the ramp is not too steep for manual wheelchair users. The maximum allowable rise for a single run is 30 inches.
• Width: The clear width of the ramp (the unobstructed space between handrails or side edges of the ramp) must be at least 36 inches to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
• Landings: To provide adequate space for turning and resting, level landings at least 60 inches long and as wide as the ramp itself must be provided at the top and bottom of each ramp run.
• Edge protection: Ramps must include edge protection, such as curbs (at least two inches high), walls, or railings, to prevent mobility devices from slipping off the sides.
• Handrails: Ramps with a rise greater than six inches must have handrails on both sides, mounted between 34 and 38 inches above the ramp surface, and extending horizontally at the top and bottom of the ramp for additional support.
• Surface texture: Ramp surfaces must be stable, firm, and slip-resistant. Changes in level between surfaces must comply with ADA guidelines to prevent tripping or difficulty navigating transitions.

Cross slope and drainage: The cross slope of the ramp surface must not exceed 1:48, and must have adequate drainage to prevent water accumulation or ice formation.

Do ADA Requirements Apply to Emergency Exits?

ADA requirements apply to emergency exits, such as fire doors, but only under certain conditions. If an emergency exit is located along an accessible route and intended for use by the general public, it must comply with the same accessibility standards as any other entrance or exit, including door width, hardware, threshold height, signage, and maneuvering space requirements.

However, not all emergency exits are required to be ADA-compliant. If an exit is designated as “emergency exit only” and is not part of the accessible path of travel, it may be exempt from particular ADA features like operable hardware that can be used without tight grasping or twisting. In these cases, devices such as panic bars, which may require more physical force or specific hand motions, are typically permitted under ADA and local building codes.

Regardless of exceptions, the ADA still requires at least one accessible means of egress in each accessible space within a building. This route must allow people with disabilities to exit the building in an emergency, and it must connect to a public way or an area of rescue assistance. While life safety codes like the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101 govern much of the technical design for emergency egress, ADA compliance still plays a critical role in ensuring those exits are usable by everyone.

Consult the Experts to Stay ADA Compliant

Navigating ADA entrance requirements can be challenging, especially when multiple factors intersect with federal, state, and local government codes. Even well-meaning updates can miss the mark without thoroughly understanding how the standards apply in real-world settings. That’s why many business owners and property managers work with professionals specializing in accessibility and code compliance.

An experienced commercial door specialist can evaluate your current setup, identify potential problem areas, and recommend practical upgrades to help you avoid violations. Whether you’re building a new facility or updating an existing one, expert input can reduce guesswork, prevent costly mistakes, and ensure that your doors and gates are safe and usable for all.