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Notice

The Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) rulemaking has concluded. The PROWAG final rule has been published in the Federal Register. Please visit the Access Board’s PROWAG page for the guidelines.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Accessibility Standards

The current ADA standards are based on the updated ADA Accessibility Guidelines (2004), which the Board issued jointly with the ABA Accessibility Guidelines for federally funded facilities. The updated ADA and ABA guidelines, which were proposed for public comment in 1999, are based on recommendations from the Board's ADAAG Review Advisory Committee. This committee reviewed ADAAG in its entirety and recommended updates to the Board. It consisted of 22 members representing the design and construction industry, the building code community, state and local government entities, and people with disabilities.

In 2014, the Board issued a supplement to the ADA and ABA guidelines that provides requirements for temporary housing provided in disasters and emergencies. These provisions are not yet part of the ADA Standards.

The original ADAAG was published in 1991 and was later supplemented to address state and local government facilities (1998), children's environments (1998), play areas (2000), and recreation facilities (2002). These later supplements are incorporated into both the updated ADA-ABA guidelines and the current standards.

Updated ADA-ABA Accessibility Guidelines and Related Information

Original ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)

Timeline

  • July 26, 1991 - Board publishes the original ADAAG (DOJ adopts them as its ADA Standards on the same day)
  • September 6, 1991 - Board publishes the original ADAAG for Transportation Facilities (DOT adopts them as its ADA Standards on the same day)
  • September 14, 1994 - Board creates the ADAAG Review Advisory Committee
  • July 10, 1996 - ADAAG Review Advisory Committee submits its report to the Board
  • January 13, 1998 - Board publishes ADAAG supplements covering state and local government facilities and building elements designed for children's use
  • November 16, 1999 - Board proposes updated ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines for public comment
  • May 15, 2000 - Deadline for public comments on the proposed rule; over 2,500 comments received
  • October 18, 2000 - Board publishes ADAAG supplement on play areas
  • September 3, 2002 - Board publishes ADAAG supplement on recreation facilities
  • July 23, 2004 - Board publishes the updated ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines as final rule
  • October 30, 2006 - DOT adopts new ADA standards for transportation facilities based on the updated ADA guidelines (effective November 29, 2006)
  • September 15, 2010 - DOJ adopts new ADA standards (effective March 15, 2012)
  • May 7, 2014 - Board publishes final guidelines for emergency transportable housing as a supplement to the ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines (which are not yet part of the ADA Standards)