ADA Regulations

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) posted in the Federal Register that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) has been revised to incorporate the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The final rule imposes new standards for ATMs that include a voice guidance requirement and input controls for impaired customers.

The focus of the DOJ's new ruling is on the accessibility of the input and output controls at the ATM. The DOJ has provided ATM machine owners until March 15, 2012 to upgrade existing ATM machines to comply with the 2010 Standards.



The 2010 Standards include:

  • guidance - All ATMs must be speech enabled to service visually impaired consumers.
  • Height and reach - the highest functioning element must be no higher than 48" above the ground. The lowest functioning element must be no lower than 15" above the ground.
  • Input device - key surfaces must be raised above surrounding surfaces to serve visually impaired consumers.
  • Numeric keypads - The ATM’s keypad must be arranged in a twelve-key ascending layout.
  • Function keys - Function keys must be designed to contrast visually from their background surfaces.
  • Display screen - characters on the screen must be in sans serif font, a minimum of 3/16 inch high, and contrast with their background.

While the DOJ will not be inspecting ATMs for compliance with the new standard, it will rely on user reports from the field. This means that every person with a disability who uses an ATM is potential inspector.