ABA Standards (Federal Facilities)

Federal facilities must comply with standards issued under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). The ABA applies to facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with Federal funds. Several agencies maintain standards under the ABA according to minimum guidelines established by the Access Board: the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Though issued by different agencies, the ABA standards are virtually the same except that the update of HUD's standards for residential facilities is still pending.

ABA STANDARDS

• 	The ABA standards are based on the Board's updated ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines without change. If using a print copy of the Board's widely distributed ADA and ABA guidelines for ABA purposes, chapters on ADA facilities (pp. 5 - 71) do not apply.

  GSA's ABA Accessibility Standards (applies to all Federal facilities except postal, military, and residential facilities)     See GSA's Federal Management Regulation (subpart c)
• USPS's ABA Accessibility (RE-4) Standards (for postal facilities)   PDF version     See USPS notice adopting the standards
• DOD's ABA Accessibility Standards (for military facilities)     See DOD policy memorandum
• Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) (for residential facilities covered by HUD's standards; update pending)

ABA GUIDELINES

The Access Board maintains accessibility guidelines that serve as the minimum baseline for the ABA standards. In its last update, the Board harmonized the ABA guidelines with its guidelines for facilities covered by the ADA and published them jointly. In addition, the Board and the International Code Council (ICC) worked cooperatively to harmonize the ADA and ABA guidelines and access provisions in the International Building Code (IBC).

• ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines (2004)    PDF version      Download AutoCAD Figures (zip file)  
• Summary      PDF version
• Comparison (between the ADA-ABA guidelines, the 1991 ADA standards, and the 2003 IBC)
  Also available: comparisons to the 2006 IBC (by the ICC) and to NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code (by NFPA)
• Preamble (discussion of public comments and changes in the final rule)

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

For technical assistance on any of the ABA standards, contact:

    U.S. Access Board
    phone: (800) 872-2253 (voice) or (800) 993-2822 (TTY), weekdays 10:00 - 5:30 ET (except Wednesday)
    e-mail: ta@access-board.gov
    fax: (202) 272-0081