Accessibility Review

A plan review that evaluates a building project for compliance with accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state accessibility codes, covering accessible routes, restrooms, parking, and building entrances.

What Is Accessibility Review?

Accessibility review is the evaluation of building plans for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state accessibility codes (such as California's CBC Chapter 11B). This review ensures that buildings are designed to be usable by people with disabilities, covering accessible routes of travel, door widths and hardware, restroom design, parking spaces, signage, elevator access, counters, and many other building elements. Accessibility review is typically part of the standard building plan review process but may be performed by a specialist reviewer.

What Gets Reviewed

Accessibility reviewers evaluate accessible parking spaces (number, dimensions, signage, slopes), accessible routes from parking to building entrances, door widths, thresholds, and hardware, elevator dimensions and controls, restroom layouts (grab bars, clearances, fixtures), counter heights (transaction counters, drinking fountains, reception desks), signage (tactile, Braille, visual contrast), slope and cross-slope of walkways and ramps, floor surfaces and transitions, and protruding object clearances. For renovations, the review also considers the "path of travel" requirements — when renovating a primary function area, up to 20% of the construction cost must be spent on making the path of travel to that area accessible.

ADA vs. State Codes

The ADA sets federal minimum standards, but many states have accessibility codes that exceed federal requirements. California's accessibility standards (CBC Chapter 11B) are notably more stringent than the ADA in several areas. Projects must comply with whichever standard is more restrictive. In California, a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) can provide inspections and reports that carry legal benefits for property owners.

Typical Timeline

Accessibility review typically takes 2 to 4 weeks and usually runs concurrently with other plan review disciplines. However, accessibility corrections can be among the most design-impactful comments — requiring changes to restroom layouts, corridor widths, or parking configurations that affect other building systems. Projects with extensive accessibility deficiencies may need significant redesign, extending the overall plan review timeline.