Accessibility Requirements in State Building Codes for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska

Note: The Northwest ADA Center makes every effort to provide current, accurate code adoption information, but in some cases jurisdictions do not notify the Northwest ADA Center of adoptions, amendments or changes to their codes.

To ensure that you have accurate information, please contact the state and/or local jurisdiction directly.

While the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design are currently the federal ADA standards, many states turn to other building codes when it comes to accessibility. In Region 10, the codes used are the following:

Washington

• Washington State Building Code Council
• Washington State Amendments to the 2012 International Building Code (Includes adoption of Appendix E, ICC/ANSI A117.1 - 2003 and the 2009 International Building Code.  Effective July 1, 2010)
• Chapter 51-50 WAC. State building code adoption and amendment of the 2012 edition of the international building code.
• Chapter 70.92 RCW - Provisions in buildings for aged and handicapped persons

Oregon

Oregon's code is available for free on-line viewing.

• 2010 Oregon Structural Specialty Code: Revised Chapter 11 - Accessibility; (based on the IBC but Oregon-specific; Effective March 1, 2012); ANSI A117.1

Note: Chapter 11 of the Oregon Structural Specialty Code (OSSC), which discusses accessibility, was revised in 2012. However, the entirety of the 2010 OSSC was not revised so as a whole the State of Oregon still goes by the 2010 OSSC. This revised Chapter 11 is simply an addendum to the code, effective on March 1, 2012.

Idaho

Current Building Codes:

• Idaho Building Code Act - Chapter 41
• Idaho Building Code - Idaho Building Code
• International Building Code (IBC); ANSI A117.1

Alaska

• Alaska ADA Coordinator's Office

Offers technical assistance and guidance to the public on the accessibility of buildings and facilities for individuals with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

• Alaska Statute 35.10.015. Accessibility of Public Buildings and Facilities (State Bldgs ADOT)
• Alaska State Building Code
• International Building Code (IBC); ANSI A117.1

When an entity, architect, or contractor is building or modifying a building or feature, they first look at the code that the state uses, and if that feature is missing from the code or provides less accessibility than the ADA Standards, the Standards should be used for the specific feature.