Businesses That Are Open to the Public

The ADA is meant to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of life. Almost all types of businesses that serve the public, regardless of their size or the age of their buildings, must follow the ADA.

If you are a business or a person with a disability, there are many aspects of the ADA that you should be familiar with. The information below is intended to help get you started.

Read this to get a basic understanding of this topic.

• For more detailed information on a topic, view Guidance & Resource materials
• For information about the legal requirements, visit Law, Regulations & Standards

Title III Applies to Businesses

Businesses, including nonprofits, that serve the public (also called public accommodations) include, for example:

• Restaurants
• Hotels/motels
• Shops
• Movie theaters
• Private schools (including housing)
• Doctors’ offices and private hospitals
• Day care centers
• Gyms
• Organizations offering courses or examinations related to:
  • Applications, licensing, certification or credentialing for professional or trade purposes
  • Intercity and charter buses
  • Hotel shuttles
  • Airport shuttles
  • Office buildings
  • Warehouses
  • Factories

  Learn about the few categories that Title III does not apply to:

  Title III does not apply to:

  Private clubs (Specific requirements must be met. Charging membership/annual fees does not automatically mean the business is exempt.)

  General Requirement

  Businesses must provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to access the goods or services that they offer.

  Specific Requirements

  The ADA also has specific requirements for businesses that are open to the public.

  For example, as a business, you must:

  • Communicate with people with disabilities as effectively as you communicate with others.
  • Make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where needed.
  • To make sure that a person with a disability can access the businesses’ goods or services.
  • Allow service animals to be with their person even if you have a no pets policy.
  • Follow specific standards for physical accessibility when building or altering a building or facility.
  • Follow specific requirements for ticket sales and testing accommodations.
  • Remove architectural barriers in buildings when it is readily achievable to do so.
  What are architectural barriers?

  Architectural barriers are physical elements of a building that prevent movement or access for people with disabilities. For example, a business that is only accessible by stairs creates a barrier for wheelchair users.

  What does readily achievable mean?

  Readily achievable means easy to do without much difficulty or expense. This standard is based on the business’s size and resources. So, a business with more resources is expected to remove more barriers than a business with fewer resources. The ADA strikes a careful balance between increasing access for people with disabilities and understanding the financial challenges of many small businesses.

  You can find examples of these requirements and how they look in practice in the tables below.

  You can also learn more about these and other requirements in the ADA Primer for Small Businesses.

  Making Reasonable Modifications

  Businesses must make “reasonable modifications” in their policies, practices, and procedures to accommodate a person with a disability. Here are some examples of specific scenarios involving a person with a disability that could be resolved with a reasonable modification:

  Learn more about requirements related to mobility devices.

  A business does not need to modify a policy if it would fundamentally alter the nature of the business’s goods or services.

  What does fundamentally alter mean?

  A fundamental alteration would be something that causes a change in the essential nature of your business. For example, a clothing store is not required to provide dressing assistance for a customer with a disability if this is not a service provided to other customers.

  Communicating Effectively with People with Disabilities

  Communication is an essential part of providing service to the public. Because the nature of communication differs from business to business, the rules allow for flexibility in determining effective solutions. Sometimes the solution will require the business to provide aids or services, like a sign language interpreter.

  Here are some examples of specific scenarios involving a person with a disability that could be resolved with a communication aid or service:

  Scenario	Possible Solution
  A person who is deaf wants to order dinner at a restaurant.	The waiter writes back and forth with the deaf customer to take their order.
  A doctor’s office provides written information to a patient in small print.	The doctor’s office provides a large print version of the document on request by a person with a vision disability.

  We provide more examples on our page about effective communication. That page also includes information about when a business may not be required to provide a particular aid or service.

  Ticket Sales and Testing Accommodations

  Learn more about providing testing accommodations.