Assistive Listening Knowledge Base
  • Regulation

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/evidence/ada-2010/ · record checked 13 October 2026

  • US Department of Justice
  • US Department of Justice (ada.gov)

Government (US Department of Justice)

Summary

US accessibility design standards, including assistive listening systems.

Key findings

  • Sections 101.1 and 201.1 apply the design requirements to newly designed or constructed facilities and altered portions of existing facilities; the accompanying Title III regulation, section 36.406, sets the applicable construction dates.
  • The introduction sets minimum requirements for newly designed, constructed or altered facilities and describes the standards as a reference for structural changes for Title II program access and readily achievable barrier removal under Title III.
  • In the 2,001-and-over row of Table 219.3, both the additional receiver per 100 seats over 2,000 and the hearing-aid-compatible receiver per four receivers include any fraction thereof, requiring upward rounding.
  • Section 106.5 defines an assistive listening system as one using transmitters, receivers and coupling devices to bypass the acoustical space between a sound source and a listener "by means of induction loop, radio frequency, infrared, or direct-wired equipment".
  • Section 219 requires an assistive listening system in each assembly area where audible communication is integral to the use of the space, except, outside courtrooms, where no audio amplification is provided. Table 219.3 sets receiver numbers by seating capacity; at least 25%, and no fewer than two, must be hearing-aid compatible.
  • Section 219.3 requires receivers that meet 706.2 (a 1/8 inch mono jack). Where several assembly areas in one building are under one management, receivers may be counted from the building's total seats, provided that all receivers are usable with all systems.
  • Hearing-aid-compatible receivers must work with telecoils through neckloops (706.3); the advisory adds that earbuds, earphones and over-the-ear headsets are not hearing-aid compatible. Where an induction loop serves every seat, only the hearing-aid-compatible share of Table 219.3 is waived; the other receivers are still required.
  • Section 103 allows other designs, products or technologies that give substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability. Its advisory puts the burden of demonstrating this on the venue if challenged and says that, outside transit facilities, there is no process for certifying an alternative design.
  • Section 706 sets system performance: receivers with a 1/8 inch mono jack, 110 to 118 dB SPL with a 50 dB volume-control range, signal-to-noise at least 18 dB, and peak clipping no more than 18 dB.
  • Section 216.10 requires signs, with the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss, informing patrons that the system is available.
  • The standards do not mention Bluetooth, Auracast, Wi-Fi or phones; Advisory 706.1 groups systems into hard-wired systems and three wireless types: induction loop, infrared and FM radio.
  • Advisory 706.1 says an FM system may be better than infrared in some open-air assemblies because infrared signals are less effective in sunlight, and that infrared is typically the better choice where confidential transmission matters because it stays within the space.
  • Table 219.3 sets the receivers required by seating capacity: for 51 to 500 seats, 2 plus 1 per 25 seats over 50; for 501 to 1,000, 20 plus 1 per 33 over 500; for 1,001 to 2,000, 35 plus 1 per 50 over 1,000; for 2,001 and over, 55 plus 1 per 100 over 2,000.
  • Table 219.3 requires two receivers, both hearing-aid compatible, for 50 seats or fewer. The 51–200-seat row requires two plus one per 25 seats over 50, rounding up any fraction, with two hearing-aid-compatible receivers. Thus 100 seats require four receivers, including two hearing-aid-compatible receivers, before applying the section's exceptions.
  • Advisory 706.3 says neckloops, and headsets that can be worn as neckloops, are compatible with hearing aids.
  • Section 810.7 requires that where public address systems convey audible information to the public, the same or equivalent information is provided in a visual format.
  • Defines assembly areas to include courtrooms, public meeting rooms, public hearing rooms and legislative chambers, among others.
  • The assembly-area definition in section 106.5 also includes convention centres. Section 219.2 imposes no minimum seating capacity or fixed-seating condition.
  • Section 106.5 includes educational gatherings in the assembly-area definition and names classrooms, lecture halls, auditoria, arenas and stadiums among its examples. Section 201.2 says that each portion of a space with more than one use must meet the requirements for that use.
  • The 201–500-seat row of Table 219.3 requires two receivers plus one per 25 seats over 50, and one hearing-aid-compatible receiver per four receivers, rounding fractions upward. Applying that row to 300 seats gives 12 receivers, three hearing-aid compatible, before the exceptions apply.
  • Section 810.7 is part of section 810, Transportation Facilities.
  • The introduction dates publication of the revised Title II and Title III regulations adopting these standards to 15 September 2010. The Title II timing provisions (35.151(c)) require the 2010 Standards for construction commencing on or after 15 March 2012. The Title III introduction and 36.406(a) use the last permit application or extension completion/receipt date, or physical construction start where no permit is required, with the same 15 March 2012 threshold.
  • Table 219.3 includes fractions in every additional seat increment and in the one-per-four receiver share; section 104.2 also requires ratios or percentages that leave a fraction to be rounded up to the next whole number.
  • Sections 215 and 702 address fire alarms separately from sections 219 and 706 on assistive listening. Section 702.1 calls for permanently installed audible and visible alarms and incorporates the 1999 or 2002 editions of NFPA 72, with specified provisions and exceptions; it does not incorporate every subsequent edition automatically.
  • Section 215.1 applies where a fire alarm system provides audible coverage. Its existing-facility exception requires visible alarms only when an existing fire alarm system is upgraded or replaced, or a new one is installed. Section 215.2 directs public and common use areas to section 702; section 702.1 permits industry practice for fire alarms in medical care facilities. Advisory 215.1 says other emergency alarms, such as tornado warnings, are outside section 702's technical criteria, and recommends consultation with local fire departments and evacuation plans considering every occupant, including people with disabilities.
  • The exception to section 216.10 allows availability signs at every ticket office or window instead of signs at each assembly area. The signs follow section 703.5 on visual characters and section 703.7.2.4 on the hearing-loss access symbol.

Limits

Written before Auracast existed. Unless stated otherwise, the advisory notes explain or illustrate the requirements and do not establish enforceable requirements, as the standards themselves say.

Read the original

www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds

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Cited in

Cite this source

US Department of Justice. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. US Department of Justice (ada.gov). 15 September 2010. https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds/ (accessed 13 October 2026).

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