Resources
Technical Reference & Resources
Practical reference tools for navigating accessibility requirements in the built environment — organized in two tracks: procedural guides for the TDLR compliance process, and analytical guides to the specific points where ADA 2010, Texas Accessibility Standards, and ICC A117.1-2017 diverge in ways that matter on a project.
The Accessance Consulting resource library is organized in two tracks: procedural guides for navigating the TDLR compliance process, and analytical guides addressing the specific points where ADA 2010, Texas Accessibility Standards, and ICC A117.1-2017 diverge in meaningful ways. Both tracks are under active development.
Texas Compliance Process
Step-by-step guidance for the TDLR registration, plan review, and inspection process — forms, filing requirements, timelines, and how to navigate the Texas Architectural Barriers program.
Coming Soon
TDLR Project Registration Flowchart
A visual guide to the Texas Architectural Barriers registration process — from project threshold determination through EAB form submission, plan review, inspection, and Notice of Substantial Compliance. Includes the complete sequence of required EAB forms in process order.
Coming Soon
TDLR Forms & Filing Guidance
A practical guide to the TDLR accessibility filing process — each EAB form, submission requirements, timelines, and common filing errors. For architects, engineers, and contractors navigating registration and inspection.
Coming Soon
TAS Technical Memoranda Reference
The current set of TDLR Technical Memoranda compiled and contextualized against the baseline TAS requirements. Technical Memoranda carry the same authority as the standard itself — this reference tells you what applies, what has been amended, and what has been clarified.
Coming Soon
RAS Plan Review Scope & Checklist
What a Registered Accessibility Specialist reviews on a set of construction documents — element by element, section by section — and what common plan review findings look like before they become costly corrections in the field.
Coming Soon
Access Board Guidance Index
The U.S. Access Board issues guidance documents, technical bulletins, and animations that supplement the ADA Standards. This curated index organizes the most relevant Access Board resources by topic and building element — with notes on applicability to Texas projects.
Understanding the Standards
Analytical guides to the specific points where ADA 2010, Texas Accessibility Standards, and ICC A117.1-2017 diverge — when the standards conflict, which one governs, and what that means for your project in Texas.
Texas Compliance Chain
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When an Alteration Triggers More Than Just the Altered Elements
TAS and ADA impose a compliance chain — Primary Function, Path of Travel, Disproportionality — that extends accessibility obligations far beyond the scope of the alteration itself. IBC and A117.1 have no equivalent. Understanding this chain is essential for any existing building renovation in Texas.
Coming Soon
The Three-Year Lookback: How Sequential Alterations Aggregate
TAS path of travel obligations aggregate alterations to the same path of travel over a rolling three-year period. Breaking a large project into sequential smaller scopes does not avoid the obligation — and the anti-evasion provision is stated explicitly in the standard.
Coming Soon
Disproportionality: The 20% Cap and How to Apply It
The 20% disproportionality threshold is calculated against the primary function area alteration cost — not total project cost. Texas requires TDLR formal determination rather than internal documentation. This guide walks through the calculation, the four countable cost categories, and the mandatory priority order.
The Texas Variance Pathway
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When You Can't Comply: The Texas Variance Pathway
Technical Infeasibility, Structural Impracticability, and Maximum Extent Feasible form the Texas relief mechanism system — all routing through TDLR as formal regulatory determinations rather than internal design team judgments. How the three standards work in sequence, and what each authorizes.
Coming Soon
Technical Infeasibility: The Finding That Opens the Door
In Texas, a finding of technical infeasibility is not a design team judgment call — it is a documented condition that opens the TDLR variance pathway. The same finding that an architect documents internally for an ADA project must go through formal TDLR procedure in Texas.
Vertical Accessibility
Coming Soon
Which Buildings Must Provide an Accessible Route to Every Floor
The elevator exception in TAS §206.2.3 is narrower than most design teams assume. Public buildings, shopping centers, health care provider offices, transportation terminals, and airport passenger terminals are excluded entirely — they must always connect floors by accessible route regardless of story count or floor area.
Coming Soon
Shopping Centers and Medical Offices: The Mandatory Accessible Route
Shopping centers and professional offices of health care providers are carved out of the elevator exception by the same §206.2.3 clause — same mechanism, different policy rationale. The floor-level qualification, the tenant-landlord rule, and TDLR Technical Memorandum TM 2012-03 explained.
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Public vs. Private Buildings: How Ownership Changes Accessibility Requirements
The public/private building distinction drives two specific scoping differences in TAS: the elevator exception is unavailable to public (government) buildings, and TTY requirements trigger at one phone in public buildings versus four in private buildings. A117.1 and IBC address this through occupancy classification instead.
Where A117.1 Exceeds ADA and TAS
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Why A117.1 Already Builds to a Higher Wheelchair Standard
A117.1-2017 establishes two tiers of technical requirements — new construction and existing. The new construction tier reflects the increased use and larger footprint of modern power wheelchairs and scooters: 60-inch wheelchair space depth instead of 48 inches, among other dimensions. ADA and TAS are expected to follow in their next revision cycle.
Coming Soon
Transient Lodging vs. Sleeping Units: Two Frameworks for the Same Facilities
ADA and TAS use "Transient Lodging" with one tier of accessible guest room requirements. A117.1 and IBC use "Sleeping Unit" with four tiers — Accessible, Type A, Type B, and Type C. IBC scoping for institutional and assisted living facilities exceeds federal ADA requirements in multiple categories.
Coming Soon
Residential Accessibility: Fair Housing, Type A, Type B, and When Each Applies
A117.1 and IBC establish a four-tier residential accessibility framework exceeding Fair Housing Act requirements. ADA and TAS address residential in §233 but do not define Type A or Type B. The framework is critical for any multifamily project subject to IBC.
ADA Exemptions and Gaps
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Houses of Worship and Accessibility: What the Law Actually Requires
ADA Title III explicitly exempts houses of worship. TAS lacks an equivalent explicit exemption — applicability under Texas Government Code Chapter 469 is not definitively settled by the statute's plain text. A117.1 and IBC cover houses of worship through occupancy classification with no exemption at all. The three standards reach different results on the same building type.
Coming Soon
When the ADA Doesn't Cover It: Technology-Driven Gaps in Current Standards
Variable Message Signs and Wheelchair Charging Areas are defined and addressed in A117.1-2017 but absent from ADA 2010 and TAS 2012 — timing gaps reflecting technology that wasn't prevalent when those standards were written. The Access Board explicitly directs practitioners to A117.1 for VMS. Equivalent facilitation (§103) authorizes compliance on ADA/TAS projects.
Texas-Specific Provisions
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Safe Harbor: What the 1994 TAS Protects — and What It Doesn't
The 1994 TAS was significantly different from the ADA. The 2012 TAS brought Texas into closer alignment with ADA 2010, representing a major standards realignment. Safe Harbor protects owners who complied in good faith under the prior standard — but the protection lapses the moment the element is itself altered, and elements that were never compliant don't qualify at all.
Coming Soon
Qualified Historic Buildings in Texas: When Standard Requirements Don't Apply
TAS specifically enumerates two Texas historic designations — Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and State Archeological Landmark — not found in the ADA's generic reference to "appropriate State or local law." Historic exception determinations in Texas require TDLR approval and may require consultation with the Texas Historical Commission.
Grade-Level Pedestrian Accessibility
Coming Soon
At Grade: The Accessibility Conditions Nobody Checks
Grade break perpendicularity and counter slope at curb ramps are among the most common and most overlooked field deficiencies. Grade breaks create functional cross slope conditions even when each individual surface plane complies. Counter slope traps wheelchair casters at the exact transition point the curb ramp was designed to eliminate. Both are regularly accepted as drainage necessity by design teams and inspectors alike.
Coming Soon
Blended Transitions: An Accepted Alternative to Curb Ramps
Blended transitions are defined in A117.1 and addressed in the 2023 finalized PROWAG — absent from ADA 2010 and TAS 2012 due to publication timing, not substantive disagreement. The equivalent facilitation provision (§103) authorizes their use. A recognized design alternative, not a variance.
Technology and Emerging Standards
Coming Soon
Variable Message Signs: The Access Board Sends You to A117.1
The U.S. Access Board explicitly states that ADA Standards do not address variable message signs, and directs practitioners to A117.1 §703.7 for technical specifications. This is one of the rare instances where the federal agency responsible for the ADA affirmatively endorses a different standard as the governing reference for ADA-covered projects.
Coming Soon
Elevators Beyond the Button Panel: What Texas Requires for Modern Systems
Destination-oriented elevator systems and sequential step scanning are defined in A117.1 but not in ADA or TAS — two technologies in wide use that the federal standard hasn't caught up to. TDLR reviews these against TAS §407; A117.1 §407.4.8 provides the recognized technical solution under equivalent facilitation.
Standards & Reference Sources
Direct links to the primary standards, regulations, and guidance documents used in accessibility practice. Accessibility requirements are jurisdiction-specific and change over time — standards are adopted, amended, and superseded at different schedules in different states and municipalities. Before applying any of these to a specific project, confirm which edition governs in the applicable jurisdiction and verify that no amendments, errata, or superseding requirements have been issued since publication. When in doubt about what applies to a specific project, contact Accessance Consulting. Determining applicability and currency of the correct standards is exactly what we do.
Primary Standards
The federal baseline for accessibility in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities under ADA Titles II and III. Includes the 2004 ADAAG and the 2010 Standards in HTML and PDF formats.
The adopted accessibility standard for Texas, administered by TDLR. Required for commercial construction projects subject to the Texas Architectural Barriers Act. Includes the full TAS PDF and supplemental information.
The technical standard for accessibility adopted by reference in the IBC and by many states. Provides dimensional and technical requirements that supplement and sometimes exceed IBC scoping provisions. Multiple editions remain relevant depending on which edition a jurisdiction has adopted.
Published by the International Code Council. IBC Chapter 11 governs accessibility scoping for most building types and references ICC A117.1 for technical requirements. Adopted by most U.S. jurisdictions; the applicable edition varies by state and locality. A purchased standard — available through ICC at iccsafe.org.
Published by the International Code Council. IEBC Chapter 12 addresses accessibility requirements for alterations, repairs, and changes of occupancy in existing buildings, including provisions for technical infeasibility and disproportionate cost that parallel ADA and TAS concepts. Adopted as a companion code to IBC in many jurisdictions. A purchased standard — available through ICC at iccsafe.org.
International Building Code (IBC)
The model building code adopted in most U.S. jurisdictions. Chapter 11 addresses accessibility scoping. Free online access through the ICC code library; print and PDF editions require purchase. The applicable edition varies by jurisdiction — verify which edition has been adopted before applying.
International Existing Building Code (IEBC)
Governs alterations, additions, and changes of occupancy in existing buildings — directly relevant to path of travel obligations and accessibility compliance in renovation projects. The applicable edition varies by jurisdiction; verify which edition governs before applying.
Federal accessibility standards for facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with federal funds. Administered by the U.S. Access Board. Applies to federal buildings, federally assisted programs, and transportation facilities.
HUD technical guidance for multifamily housing subject to Fair Housing Act accessibility requirements — available as chapter-by-chapter PDF downloads. Applies to covered multifamily dwellings built after March 13, 1991. Commonly referenced for Type A and Type B unit requirements. Note: no consolidated online HTML version exists; the HUD USER landing page links all chapters.
Texas Regulatory
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation program that administers the Texas Architectural Barriers Act. Main program page — includes registration requirements, fees, rules, forms, and the list of registered RAS specialists.
TDLR EAB Forms
Current Elimination of Architectural Barriers forms for registration, plan review, inspection, and compliance documentation. Individual forms are listed below — all are PDF documents requiring Adobe Acrobat or equivalent. Contact Accessance Consulting with questions about which form applies to your project or submission.
Official interpretations and amendments to the adopted 2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, issued by TDLR and reviewed by the Elimination of Architectural Barriers Advisory Committee. Technical Memoranda carry the same authority as the standard itself. Note: TM 2012-01 (EV Charging Stations) was withdrawn by TDLR in 2023 — rules on EV charging accessibility are under development.
TDLR's Laws and Rules page for the Architectural Barriers program — includes the current 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 68 governing registration requirements, RAS qualifications, fees, conflict-of-interest provisions, and enforcement. The regulatory framework underlying the TAS.
The statutory authority for the Texas Architectural Barriers program — establishes TDLR jurisdiction, defines covered facilities, sets registration obligations, and grants enforcement authority. The law that the TAS and 16 TAC Chapter 68 implement.
Federal Guidance & Regulatory
The federal agency responsible for developing and maintaining accessibility guidelines and standards for the built environment, transportation, medical diagnostic equipment, and information technology. Primary source for technical guides, animations, and rulemaking on ADA and ABA requirements.
Plain-language technical guides explaining specific ADA Standards provisions — organized by topic and building element. Includes animations that illustrate clearance requirements, turning space, reach ranges, and other dimensional requirements. Useful for design teams navigating specific provisions.
The primary federal source for ADA information — includes the complete 2010 Standards, technical assistance documents, settlement information, and complaint filing. DOJ is the primary enforcement authority for ADA Titles II and III.
Accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way — sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, accessible pedestrian signals, and shared use paths. Finalized by the Access Board in August 2023.
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