ADA and TAS Parking Requirements for Texas Properties
ADA vs. TAS: What’s the Difference for Texas Properties?
The federal Americans with Disabilities Act sets minimum accessibility standards for all commercial properties in the United States. The Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS), adopted by TDLR, are Texas’s state-specific accessibility standards that apply to new construction and alterations of commercial facilities in Texas. For most parking lot requirements, TAS and federal ADA are aligned, but TAS has its own enforcement mechanism through TDLR, separate from federal DOJ enforcement. Texas property owners must comply with both.
Required Stall Count
The number of accessible stalls required depends on your total parking count. TAS uses the same table as federal ADA: 1-25 spaces = 1 stall, 26-50 = 2, 51-75 = 3, and so on up to 2% for lots over 200 spaces. Signs matter as much as the paint, and we handle ADA signage installation alongside the stall markings.
Van-Accessible Requirements
At least 1 in every 6 accessible stalls must be van-accessible. For most lots, that means at least 1 van-accessible stall. Van-accessible stalls must be 11-ft wide with a 5-ft aisle, OR 8-ft wide with an 8-ft access aisle.
Dimensions
Standard accessible stall: minimum 8 feet wide with a 5-foot access aisle adjacent to it. The access aisle must be at the same grade as the stall and cannot slope more than 2% in any direction. Our ADA parking lot striping page shows how we lay out stalls and aisles to these sizes.
ISA Pavement Symbol
The International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA) must be painted on the pavement surface of each accessible stall, not just posted on a sign. TAS requires the ISA on the pavement. We include this in every accessible stall marking. Note: A newer dynamic Accessible Icon exists. Texas still requires the original ISA. Learn about the symbol change →
Accessible Route
Every accessible stall must connect to an accessible route leading to the accessible building entrance. The route cannot require wheelchair users to travel behind parked vehicles or across unmarked drive aisles.
Location Requirement
Accessible stalls must be on the shortest accessible route from the parking area to the accessible building entrance. You cannot put accessible stalls at the far end of the lot and call it compliant. Moving stalls to the right spot usually means the old lines have to come off first. We do not remove lines; our guide to line removal vs restriping explains the options.
Required Accessible Stall Counts by Lot Size (TAS)
Accessible Parking to TAS Dimensions, North Houston TXCommon ADA Compliance Failures We Find in North Houston
ADA Stall MarkingWe mark accessible stalls to the Texas Accessibility Standards dimensions, administered by TDLR, Texas’s state enforcement authority
Federal ADA Standards for Accessible Design compliance, the standard the Department of Justice enforces in accessibility complaints
Update: The Handicap Parking Symbol Has Changed, What Texas Property Owners Need to Know
You may have noticed two different wheelchair symbols appearing on parking lots lately. The original International Symbol of Access (ISA), the static, upright figure designed in 1968, is still the legally required standard under federal ADA and Texas TAS law. But a newer design, the Accessible Icon, has been adopted by New York and Connecticut and is growing in use nationwide, including here in North Houston.
The new symbol shows a person leaning forward dynamically with one arm raised, meant to convey agency and motion rather than passivity. It was created in 2010 by two academics as a street art project and is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It is in the public domain and free to use.
Whether your lot uses the original ISA or the new Accessible Icon, the requirements that actually drive ADA compliance violations are the same: access aisle width, stall dimensions, signage height, stall count per lot size, and visible pavement markings. Those are what we check before we paint. Faded fire lane curbs often turn up on the same inspection, so we can handle fire lane painting on the same visit.
ADA Striping and Signage in North Houston
We stripe accessible stalls, access aisles, and ISA symbols, and we install ADA signage. We work to the Texas Accessibility Standards dimensions listed above. Send us the address and we will give you the number in writing before we start. You can request a written quote online or call (281) 826-2527. We stripe ADA stalls across North Houston, including The Woodlands and Houston. Our service areas page lists every city we cover.
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