ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

B. What does an accessibility survey entail?

The purpose of an accessibility survey is to determine whether or not a facility, or the component parts of a facility, have barriers to access by people with a variety of disabilities. During an accessibility survey, surveyors assess the current conditions of the facility to identify barriers. The forms and instructions contained in Appendices 1 and 2 will guide surveyors through this process, which generally entails:

• identifying the features at the facility that need to be measured;

• determining which form needs to be completed in order to survey a feature; 

• measuring all of the features that impact accessibility using proper measurement devices and techniques;

• accurately answering the questions on the survey forms based on the measurements taken and recording those measurements; and

• taking photographs of the surveyed features, including, when possible, the measurements obtained on measuring tapes and digital levels.