Useful Links

General Information

These resources provide an overview of what it means to be "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant." Improving your business’s accessibility may seem like a daunting task, but these resources explain the general guidelines and a few simple ways to get started.

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• Information from the Department of Justice on ADA compliance for small businesses

• An updated ADA guide for small businesses from the Department of Justice

• A list of ten easy ways to improve your business’s accessibility from the Rick Hansen Foundation

• A video from the Department of Justice explaining ten common mistakes small businesses make when trying to comply with the ADA

• A short explanation of how accessibility can benefit older adults from the Department of Justice

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Low Cost Alternatives

 

Improving accessibility doesn’t have to break the bank. The following are some easy, low-cost ways to make your business more accessible.

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• A list of ten easy ways to improve your business’s accessibility from the Rick Hansen Foundation

• A guide to captioning your own media from the National Association of the Deaf

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Diversity Training Programs

 

Diversity training programs help make a diverse customer population comfortable. Also called “sensitivity training,” these programs teach proper terminology and behavior to employees. You can hire a diversity training vendor to conduct a workshop at your business or formulate a program yourself. See the following resources for more information.

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• Tips for creating your own diversity training program from the Diversity Journal

• Free, printable diversity materials from the What Can You Do? Campaign for Disability Employment

• Tips for creating your own diversity training program – a low-cost option for small businesses – from the Diversity Journal

• A database of diversity training vendors from the Society for Human Resource Management.

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Hospitality Information

 

Businesses in the hospitality industry have much to consider when it comes to accessibility. These resources outline many ways to make your business as welcoming as possible to patrons with disabilities or health conditions.

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• The ADA has an entire website dedicated to hospitality that features a variety of resources and guides

• A guide to providing hospitality services for blind and low vision individuals from the ADA

• A brief overview of how to best communicate in a hospitality setting with those who are D/deaf or hard of hearing

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Small Business Accessibility Funding

 

Often, businesses can receive money in the form of grants or tax incentives to help fund their accessibility-related renovations. Check out the links below or search “ADA compliance funding in [your state]” to find more.

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• An overview of federal funding options for accessibility improvements by the ADA National Network

• The ADA Certified Access Specialist (CASp) Small Business Assessment Program supports small businesses striving to improve their ADA compliance in San Francisco

• An explanation of Federal tax incentives for ADA compliance from the Department of Justice

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Miscellaneous

 

Other useful resources for improving the accessibility of your business.

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• ADA requirements for event ticket sales

• Service animal FAQs and overview from the Department of Justice

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Ramp Guidelines

 

Installing an ADA-compliant ramp will greatly improve the physical accessibility of your business. See the resources below for the ADA’s specific guidelines.

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• A quick overview of the ADA’s ramp requirements from Access Advocates

• The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs offers a detailed explanation of ADA-compliant ramp specifications

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Braille & Large Print Documents

 

Providing braille and large print versions of your business’s written materials is a great way to improve accessibility. The following resources list different producers of such documents in the United States and abroad.

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• Database of American braille producers from the American Council of the Blind

• Database of international braille producers

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Captioning Services

 

Captioning your business’s audio and audiovisual materials (promotional videos, audio tours, movies, etc.) ensures everyone can enjoy them equally. As the resources below detail, you can caption materials yourself or have it done professionally.

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• An explanation when captions are required from the National Association of the Deaf

• A guide to captioning your own media from the National Association of the Deaf

• A database of captioning service vendors from the National Association of the Deaf

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Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS)

 

A TRS allows people to use a keyboard or other assistive device to place calls to standard phones. Using an operator or computer program as a go-between, the assistive device user communicates with the standard phone user. The following resources explain the different types of TRS and how they work.

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• The National Association of the Deaf’s brief overview of why TRS technologies are important for many

• A detailed explanation of TRS options by the Federal Communications Commission, including how they work and who would benefit from using them

• Apple describes how to setup TTY on the iPhone

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