2025 California Standards for Accessible Design Guide (effective January 1, 2026)

907.5.2.3.1 Public use areas and common use areas.

Visible alarm notification appliances shall be provided in public use areas and common use areas, including but not limited to:

1. Band rooms
2. Classrooms
3. Corridors
4. Gymnasiums
5. Lobbies
6. Meeting and conference rooms
7. Multipurpose rooms
8. Music practice rooms
9. Occupational shops
10. Occupied rooms where ambient noise impairs hearing of the fire alarm
11. Sanitary facilities including restrooms, bathrooms and shower rooms.
12. Shared office rooms used by two or more persons.
13. Normally occupied room(s) used by two or more persons such as mother’s room, phone room, quiet room, wellness
    room, etc.
14. Normally occupied storage room/area.
15. Exam rooms in medical office buildings.

Exception: Where employee work areas have audible alarm coverage, the notification appliance circuits serving the employee work areas shall be initially designed with not less than 20-percent spare capacity to account for the potential of adding visible notification appliances in the future to accommodate hearing-impaired employee(s).

Advisory 907.5.2.3.1 Public and common use areas. This list is not exhaustive. In new construction, all public- and common-use areas shall have visible alarms if audible alarms are provided. ◼