Summary
The ADA rule that requires state and local governments, among them courts and councils, to communicate as effectively with people with disabilities as with others, and to give primary consideration to the aid a person asks for.
Key findings
- Requires a public entity to take appropriate steps so that communication with applicants, participants, members of the public and companions with disabilities is as effective as communication with others.
- Section 35.160(a)(2) defines a companion as a family member, friend or associate of someone seeking a public service, where the companion is also an appropriate person for the public entity to communicate with.
- Requires appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to take part in and benefit from a service, program or activity. The definitions in the same part (section 35.104) list assistive listening devices and assistive listening systems among the aids for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Says the aid needed varies with the person's way of communicating and with the nature, length, complexity and context of the communication, and that the public entity "shall give primary consideration to the requests of individuals with disabilities".
- Requires aids to be provided in accessible formats, in a timely manner, and in a way that protects the privacy and independence of the person with a disability.
- Bars a public entity from requiring a person to bring someone to interpret, and requires video remote interpreting, where used, to include a clear, audible transmission of voices.
- Section 35.160(a)-(b) states the general effective-communication duty without choosing a venue listening technology or setting receiver counts or numerical listening-system performance limits. Section 35.160(d) separately sets quality and operating requirements for video remote interpreting.
Limits
The general effective-communication provisions in section 35.160(a)-(b) do not specify a venue listening technology, receiver counts or numerical listening-system performance limits; the construction rules are in the 2010 ADA Standards. This does not describe the separate video remote interpreting requirements in paragraph (d). The date is that of the latest amendment in the section's source note (75 FR 56183, published 15 September 2010).
Read the original
www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-35.160
Cited in
- What works in courtrooms, council chambers and other meeting rooms where speech must be heard by all and kept in the room?Partly answered
- What works in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, where a misheard word can matter most?Partly answered
- What works in university lecture halls and large teaching rooms?Partly answered
- What works in school auditoriums, gyms and assembly halls?Partly answered
Cite this source
US Department of Justice. 28 CFR 35.160: communications (ADA Title II regulation). eCFR. 15 September 2010. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-35.160 (accessed 14 October 2026).
Every finding here cites its source, and who funded each source is labelled. This site does not recommend products. Found an error or a missing study? Suggest a correction.