Don’t Get Stuck in the Stairwell!

Stair­well sig­nage is a com­mon area of con­fu­sion when it comes to know­ing what signs are nec­es­sary. While local author­i­ties fre­quent­ly imple­ment new sign code require­ments that expand upon the Inter­na­tion­al Build­ing Code (IBC) is very straight­for­ward about what is required for both life safe­ty and ADA (Amer­i­cans with Dis­abil­i­ties) needs: three spe­cif­ic signs.

How to Install ADA Required Inte­ri­or Stair­well Signage

1. Iden­ti­fy the door that leads to the stairway.

Stan­dard Stair Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion signs are locat­ed on the cor­ri­dor and placed adja­cent to the door. These must have raised char­ac­ters and Braille to iden­ti­fy the stair­way by name and should also des­ig­nate if it is an exit stair­way. Use of a stair pic­togram is com­mon, but not required. (2012 IBC E107.2, 2010 ADA SAD 216)

2. Pro­vide key build­ing infor­ma­tion with Stair­way Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion signs.

These signs pro­vide infor­ma­tion to assist fire and safe­ty dur­ing an emer­gency (2012 IBC 1022.9). Many peo­ple find this sign con­fus­ing because of the infor­ma­tion that it is required to display.

This sign is locat­ed on each floor land­ing of an inte­ri­or exit stair­way that con­nects more than three sto­ries. It must iden­ti­fy sev­er­al key pieces of information:

• The name/​identifier of the stairwell
• The top/​bottom floors
• The floor you are cur­rent­ly on
• The floor you exit on
• If there is roof access with­in the stairwell

IBC also iden­ti­fies spe­cif­ic require­ments for the size of this sign, the height of the text, etc. And in high-rise build­ings, this sign must also be made of self-lumi­nous or pho­to­lu­mi­nes­cent mate­ri­als (2012 IBC 1024.4).

3. Iden­ti­fy what floor a vis­i­tor is on with Stair Lev­el Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion sign (2012 IBC 1022.9).

This sign is locat­ed inside of the stair­well, adja­cent to the door lead­ing from the stair­well into the cor­ri­dor. If this is also an exit door, the sign must also iden­ti­fy that. The message(s) on this sign should be raised char­ac­ters with Braille.

One addi­tion­al fac­tor to con­sid­er: if the stair­well also con­tains an Area of Refuge, there are two addi­tion­al required signs (2012 IBC 1007.9). At each door pro­vid­ing access to the area of refuge, there should be a sign iden­ti­fy­ing it as such (raised char­ac­ters with Braille) and include the Inter­na­tion­al Sym­bol of Acces­si­bil­i­ty. This sign typ­i­cal­ly installs direct­ly below the Stair Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion sign.

With­in the Area of Refuge, there should also be a sign with instruc­tions for emer­gency con­di­tions. If a two-way com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tem exists, this sign should also include instruc­tions to sum­mon assistance.

In recent years, some local codes have been rewrit­ten to expand these basic IBC reg­u­la­tions. Being proac­tive is the key. You may find that a local author­i­ty has imple­ment­ed a mod­i­fied sig­nage code, tak­ing the basis of IBC and expand­ing it to more detailed require­ments. Always check with your local code inspec­tor ear­ly in the process to avoid unnec­es­sary delays, poten­tial sign remakes, and addi­tion­al costs.

See also / more information:

• Evolv­ing Sign Codes
• ADA Through 5 Fre­quent­ly Asked Questions
• Inter­na­tion­al Code Coun­cil Website