ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools — Means of Entry and Exit

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
Accessible Pools
Means of Entry and Exit
The Department of
Justice published revised
final regulations imple-
menting the Americans
with Disabilities Act
(ADA) for title II (State
and local government
services) and title III
(public accommodations
and commercial facilities)
on September 15, 2010,
in the Federal Register.
These requirements, or
rules, clarify and refine
issues that have arisen
over the past 20 years
and contain new, and
updated, requirements,
including the 2010 Stan-
dards for Accessible De-
sign (“2010 Standards”).
Overview
ADA
Requirements
Providing equal opportunity to people with disabilities is the
fundamental principle of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This publication is designed to help title II and title III entities
understand how new requirements for swimming pools,
especially existing pools, apply to them.
People with disabilities were, for too long, excluded from
participating in many recreational activities, including swim-
ming. The revised 2010 Standards change that. For the first
time, the 2010 Standards set minimum requirements for
making swimming pools, wading pools, and spas (pools)
accessible. Newly constructed and altered pools must meet
these requirements. Public entities and public accommoda-
tions also have obligations with respect to existing pools.
State and local governments must make recreational pro-
grams and services, including swimming pool programs,
accessible to people with disabilities. Public accommoda-
tions must bring existing pools into compliance with the 2010
Standards to the extent that it is readily achievable to do so.
The requirements for newly constructed and existing pools
will ensure that, going forward, people with disabilities can
enjoy the same activities—a community swim meet; private
swim lessons; a hotel pool—at the same locations and with
the same independence, ease, and convenience as everyone
else.

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ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools - Updated May 24, 2012
Existing Pools
The 2010 Standards establish two categories
of pools: large pools with more than 300
linear feet of pool wall and smaller pools
with less than 300 linear feet of wall. Large
pools must have two accessible means of
entry, with at least one being a pool lift or
sloped entry; smaller pools are only required
to have one accessible means of entry, pro-
vided that it is either a pool lift or a sloped
entry.
There are a limited number of exceptions to
the requirements. One applies to multiple
spas provided in a cluster. A second ap-
plies to wave pools, lazy rivers, sand bottom
pools, and other pools that have only one
point of entry. For more information on the
specific requirements and exceptions, see
sections 242 and 1009 of the 2010 Standards.
Title II Program Accessibility
Individuals with disabilities cannot be ex-
cluded from or denied participation in State
and local government programs, services,
or activities because a facility is inaccessible
or unusable. This means that all programs,
services, and activities, when viewed in their
entirety, must be accessible to individuals
with disabilities unless doing so results in a
fundamental alteration in the nature of the
program or in an undue financial and admin-
istrative burden. This requirement is known
as “program accessibility.”
Program accessibility applies to all pool-
related programs, services, and activities
(swimming programs). Program accessibility
does not typically require that every pool be
made accessible. However, if a public entity
has only one existing pool, it must take steps
to ensure that its swimming program at that
pool is accessible.
A public entity determines which method it
will use for meeting its program accessibil-
ity obligations. When structural changes are
made to existing pools, including installation
of a fixed pool lift, the changes must comply
with the 2010 Standards. If a public entity
To determine which pools must be 	made
accessible, public entities should consider
the following factors:
■ How to provide swimming programs in
the most integrated setting appropriate;
■ The ways in which people participate in
the programs (e.g., individually, in fami-
lies, in youth groups);
■ Locations where the programs are of-
fered;
■ What programs are offered at each pool
and to which constituencies (e.g., fam-
ily swims, children’s swimming lessons,
older adult exercise classes, high school
swim meets);
■ Which pools are accessible and to what
extent; and
■ Level of dispersion of the accessible
locations and convenience to reach them
(e.g., one pool in each quadrant of the
town, all on accessible mass transit).

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ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools - Updated May 24, 2012
chooses to acquire equipment (e.g., a porta-
ble lift) to provide program accessibility, the
entity should select equipment that includes
features required by the 2010 Standards,
including independent operation by indi-
viduals with disabilities. Sharing accessible
equipment between pools is not permitted,
unless it would result in undue burdens to
provide equipment at each one. Accessible
pool features must be available whenever the
facility is open to the public. When choos-
ing to purchase equipment or to make struc-
tural changes, the public entity should factor
in staff and financial resources required to
maintain program accessibility.
Over time, a public entity will need to reas-
sess its compliance with program accessibil-
ity, and it may become necessary to acquire
new accessible equipment or make structural
modifications. For more information about
program accessibility, see the title II regula-
tions at Section 35.150.
Title III Readily Achievable Barrier
Removal
Title III of the ADA requires that places of
public accommodation (e.g., hotels, resorts,
swim clubs, and sites of events open to the
public) remove physical barriers in existing
pools to the extent that it is readily achiev-
able to do so (i.e., easily accomplishable and
able to be carried out without much difficulty
or expense).
Determining what is readily achievable will
vary from business to business and some-
times from one year to the next. Changing
economic conditions can be taken into con-
sideration in determining what is readily
achievable.
For an existing pool, removing barriers may
involve installation of a fixed pool lift with
independent operation by the user or other
accessible means of entry that complies with
the 2010 Standards to the extent that it is
readily achievable to do so. If installation of
a fixed lift is not readily achievable, the public
accommodation may then consider alterna-
tives such as use of a portable pool lift that
complies with the 2010 Standards. It is impor-
tant to note that the barrier removal obligation
is a continuing one, and it is expected that a
business will take steps to improve accessibil-
ity over time. When selecting equipment, the
public accommodation should factor in the
staff and financial resources needed to keep
the pool equipment available and in working
condition at poolside. For more information
about barrier removal, see the title III regula-
tions at Section 36.304.
If you have purchased a non-fixed lift before
March 15th that otherwise complies with the
requirements in the 2010 Standards for pool
lifts (such as seat size, etc.), you may use it, as
long as you keep it in position for use at the
pool and operational during all times that the
pool is open to guests. Because of a misun-
derstanding by some pool owners regarding
whether the use of portable pool lifts would
comply with barrier removal obligations,
the Department, as a matter of prosecutorial
discretion, will not enforce the fixed elements
of the 2010 Standards against those owners
or operators of existing pools who purchased
portable lifts prior to March 15, 2012 and who
keep the portable lifts in position for use at the
pool and operational during all times that the
pool is open to guests so long as those lifts
otherwise comply with the requirements of
the 2010 Standards. Generally, lifts purchased
after March 15, 2012 must be fixed if it is read-
ily achievable to do so.

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Compliance Dates
New Construction
and Alterations
New Construction
The 2010 Standards, which set requirements
for fixed elements and spaces, require that
all new pool facilities built by State and local
governments, public accommodations, and
commercial facilities must be accessible to
and usable by persons with disabilities.
Alterations
A physical change to a swimming pool
which affects or could affect the usability
of the pool is considered to be an altera-
tion. When pools are altered, the alterations
must comply with the 2010 Standards, to
the maximum extent feasible. Changes to
the mechanical and electrical systems, such
as filtration and chlorination systems, are
not alterations. Entities must ensure that
an alteration does not decrease accessibility
below the requirements for new construc-
tion. For example, if a hotel installs a fixed
pool lift powered by water pressure, it must
ensure that the hose connecting to the lift
does not create a barrier across the acces-
sible route to the pool.
On or after March 15, 2012
All newly constructed or altered facilities of
public entities and public accommodations,
including pools, must comply with the 2010
Standards.
On or after March 15, 2012
All existing facilities of public entities and
public accommodations, except pools,
must comply with the 2010 Standards to the
extent required under title II program acces-
sibility or title III readily achievable barrier
removal requirements.
On or after January 31, 2013
Subject to other provisions of this guidance,
all existing pools of public entities and pub-
lic accommodations must comply with the
2010 Standards to the extent required under
title II program accessibility or title III readily
achievable barrier removal requirements.
ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools - Updated May 24, 2012
To determine which pools must be
made accessible, public accommoda-
tions should consider the following
factors:
■ The nature and cost of the action;
■ Overall resources of the site or sites
involved;
■ The geographic separateness and
relationship of the site(s) to any parent
corporation or entity;
■ The overall resources of any parent
corporation or entity, if applicable; and
■ The type of operation or operations
of any parent corporation or entity, if
applicable.

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Tax Credits
and Deductions
Maintenance of
Accessible Features
For more information
about the ADA,
please visit our website
or call our toll-free number.
ADA Website: www.ADA.gov
ADA Information Line
800-514-0301 (Voice) and
800-514-0383 (TTY)
24 hours a day to order
publications by mail.
M-W, F 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.,
Th 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
to speak with an ADA Specialist.
All calls are confidential.
For persons with disabilities,
this publication
is available in alternate formats.
Duplication of this document
is encouraged.
May 2012
Staff Training
For more information on effective dates, see
the Department’s publication called ADA
2010 Revised Requirements: Effective Date
and Compliance Date and the 2010 Stan-
dards for Accessible Design.
Accessible pool features must be main-
tained in operable, working condition so
that persons with disabilities have access
to the pool whenever the pool is open to
others. For example, a portable pool lift
may be stored when the pool is closed but
it must be at poolside and fully operational
during all open pool hours.
An entity should recognize that certain
types of equipment may require more staff
support and maintenance than others (e.g.
ensuring there are enough batteries for a
pool lift to maintain a continued charge
during pool hours). Entities should plan for
these issues and modify operational policies
as needed to provide accessible means of
entry while the pool is open
Ongoing staff training is essential to ensure
that accessible equipment (particularly pool
lifts) and pool facilities are available when-
ever a pool is open. Staff training should
include instruction on what accessible
features are available, how to operate and
maintain them, and any necessary safety
considerations.
Title III entities may be able to take advan-
tage of federal tax credits for small busi-
nesses (Internal Revenue Code section 44)
or deductions (Internal Revenue Coe section
190) for barrier removal costs or alterations
to improve accessibility regardless of the
size of the business. See the IRS website
www.irs.gov for more information.
ADA Requirements: Accessible Pools - Updated May 24, 2012

The Americans with Disabilities Act authorizes the Department of Justice (the Department) to
provide technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or responsibilities under the
Act. This document provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the
Department's regulations.
This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect,
and may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, in accordance with
applicable laws. The Department’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish
legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the applicable statutes,
regulations, or binding judicial precedent.