The Maryland Accessibility Code requires almost every building in the state, other than residential buildings with fewer than four units, to meet federal accessibility standards during new construction, additions, alterations, and changes of use. It is codified at COMAR 09.12.53 under Maryland Public Safety Code § 12-202, and the Maryland Department of Labor administers it, interprets it, grants waivers, and enforces it. Local jurisdictions handle day-to-day inspections through their building permit process, and they cannot adopt anything weaker than what the state requires.
Who Has to Comply
The code reaches three broad categories: covered multifamily dwellings with four or more units, state and local government buildings including transit facilities, and essentially every non-residential building — commercial properties, offices, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, and buildings owned by private clubs and religious organizations. If you own or develop property in any of those categories, the code applies whenever you build new, add on, alter, or change how a building is used.
A short list of building types sits outside the code:
- Residential buildings with fewer than four units
- Temporary construction structures like scaffolding and material hoists
- Small observation galleries under 150 square feet used mainly for security
- Non-occupiable maintenance spaces reached only by ladders or catwalks
- Transportation vehicles
- Existing buildings not undergoing any alteration or change of use
That last exemption comes with an important caveat covered further down: existing buildings still carry a separate federal obligation to remove barriers.
Which Standards Actually Apply to Your Building
The MAC does not write technical requirements from scratch. It points to different federal standards depending on what you are building, so the rulebook on your desk depends on the project.
New covered multifamily dwellings must comply with the Fair Housing Amendments Act Accessibility Guidelines. These apply to buildings with four or more units first occupied after March 13, 1991, and cover accessible entrances, wide doors, accessible routes through units, reachable controls, reinforced bathroom walls for future grab bar installation, and usable kitchens and bathrooms.
State and local government facilities follow the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Commercial properties, offices, places of worship, private clubs, and other non-residential buildings follow the same 2010 ADA Standards, but under Title III along with all federal regulations implementing that title.
The Construction Rules That Trip Owners Up
The technical requirements are specific, and inspectors measure them. Missing a dimension at final inspection can delay an occupancy certificate and force expensive rework.
Entrances, Doors, and Routes
Every covered building needs at least one accessible entrance. Doorways must provide a clear opening of at least 32 inches. Thresholds cannot exceed half an inch in height, though existing or altered thresholds up to three-quarters of an inch are permitted if both sides are beveled. Accessible routes through the building must be at least 36 inches wide, briefly narrowing to 32 inches for stretches no longer than 24 inches, provided 48-inch-long full-width segments separate each narrow section. A U-turn around something less than 48 inches wide requires 42 inches of clearance approaching the turn and 48 inches at the turn itself.
Ramps and Elevators
Ramp slope cannot exceed 1:12, meaning one inch of rise for every 12 inches of run. In existing buildings where space is tight, steeper slopes are allowed within limits: up to 1:10 for rises of 6 inches or less, and up to 1:8 for rises of 3 inches or less. A slope steeper than 1:8 is never permitted. Any ramp with a rise greater than 6 inches needs handrails.
Private buildings under three stories, or with less than 3,000 square feet per story, generally do not need an elevator. That exemption disappears for shopping centers, healthcare provider offices, transit stations, and airport terminals, which need elevator access regardless of size. Government buildings follow their own Title II rules, which broadly require program accessibility without the small-building carve-out.
Restrooms
Accessible toilet stalls must be at least 60 inches wide and either 56 inches deep for wall-mounted toilets or 59 inches deep for floor-mounted models. When an alteration makes that impractical, or when plumbing code fixture counts prevent combining existing stalls, the minimum drops to 48 inches wide by 66 inches deep for wall-mounted toilets, or 69 inches deep for floor-mounted ones.
Grab bars must be mounted between 33 and 36 inches above the floor, and the standards treat that as a hard range with no tolerance on either end. Lavatories need knee clearance, with usable knee room defined as the space between 9 and 27 inches above the floor. Faucet handles must work with one hand and cannot require tight grasping or twisting. Mirrors and urinals must be at accessible heights as well.
Parking
The number of required accessible spaces is calculated separately for each lot or garage, not based on total site parking. A lot with 1 to 25 spaces needs at least one accessible spot; larger lots follow the proportional chart in the 2010 ADA Standards. Van-accessible spaces must be at least 96 inches wide with an adjacent access aisle also at least 96 inches wide.
Every accessible space needs a sign with the International Symbol of Accessibility mounted at least 60 inches above the ground, measured to the bottom of the sign. Van spaces need an additional sign identifying them as van-accessible. The only exception: facilities with four or fewer total parking spaces do not need signs identifying the accessible space.
Signage, Alarms, and Counters
Permanent room identification signs, the ones that label offices, restrooms, and stairwells, must include raised characters and Grade 2 braille, mounted between 48 and 60 inches above the floor measured from the baseline of the lowest character to the baseline of the highest. Fire alarm systems installed, upgraded, or replaced must include both audible and visible notification devices meeting NFPA 72 in all public-use and common-use areas.
Sales and service counters need an accessible portion. For a parallel approach, it must be at least 36 inches long and no higher than 36 inches. For a forward approach, it must be at least 30 inches long, no higher than 36 inches, and provide knee and toe clearance underneath. In alterations where a full-length counter would reduce existing work stations or mail boxes, the accessible portion can be as short as 24 inches, provided the required clear floor space is centered on that length.
Existing Buildings: The Barrier Removal Trap
The MAC exempts existing buildings not undergoing alterations, but the ADA’s barrier removal obligation runs independently and never expires. Federal law requires you to remove accessibility barriers wherever doing so is “readily achievable,” meaning accomplishable without much difficulty or expense.
There is no fixed dollar threshold. Whether a fix is readily achievable is judged case by case against the facility’s size, type, and financial resources alongside the cost of the improvement. And the obligation is ongoing. A change that was not financially feasible five years ago may become readily achievable as your business grows, which is why annual reassessment is recommended. When full compliance is not readily achievable, you can make a partial modification, provided it does not create a health or safety risk.
Alterations and the 20% Path-of-Travel Rule
When you alter an area where people carry out a primary function, such as a lobby, sales floor, or dining room, you also have to make the path of travel to that area accessible. Path of travel includes the route itself plus the restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains serving it.
The cost of these path-of-travel improvements is capped at 20% of the total cost of the alteration to the primary function area. If full accessibility along the path would cost more, you spend up to the 20% limit and prioritize the most critical improvements. Alterations that do not create new barriers and do not affect primary function areas, such as re-roofing or updating electrical systems, do not trigger the rule.
Historic Buildings and Technical Infeasibility
Buildings listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, or designated as historic under Maryland state or local law, get special treatment but no exemption. Owners must comply to the maximum extent feasible. The Building Codes Administration makes its waiver decisions for historic properties in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer. If standard compliance would damage or destroy the building’s historic significance, alternative approaches are considered.
Outside the historic context, the 2010 ADA Standards recognize “technical infeasibility” when existing structural conditions would require removing or altering a load-bearing member essential to the structural frame, or when other physical constraints prevent full compliance. Compliance is still required to the maximum extent that is technically feasible. Common examples include restrooms confined by elevator shafts or stairways, situations where combining stalls would violate plumbing code fixture counts, and steep existing terrain that makes regrading impossible. The concept is relative to project scope: if you are gutting an entire building, you cannot plausibly claim old-structure constraints. The Director of the Building Codes Administration decides waiver requests after reviewing documentation, comments from local officials and disability advisory groups, and sometimes a site visit.
Enforcement and Penalties
Consequences run on two tracks, state and federal, and a single building can face both at once.
On the state side, local building code enforcement agencies inspect construction and renovation projects for MAC compliance during permitting. Periodic inspections of public and commercial buildings check ongoing compliance, sometimes triggered by complaints and sometimes as part of routine audits. When inspectors find deficiencies, the owner gets a notice with a correction deadline and a follow-up inspection. The Maryland Department of Labor also has independent authority to investigate. If it confirms a violation, it must first attempt mediation and conciliation; if that fails, it can go to court for equitable relief, including an injunction against construction, renovation, or occupancy. The Department must wait at least five working days after attempting mediation before seeking an injunction. Local jurisdictions may impose their own penalties for building code violations, and the Department cooperates with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights under state civil rights statutes.
Federal penalties are sharper financially. Civil penalties under ADA Title III can reach up to $75,000 for a first violation and $150,000 for subsequent violations, adjusted annually for inflation. Courts can order compensatory relief and injunctive measures requiring immediate modifications. Title II violations by government entities can bring funding restrictions and other federal sanctions. Individuals harmed by inaccessible conditions can also sue for damages independently of any government action.
Filing a Complaint or Appealing a Citation
Where you file depends on the problem. The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights handles disability discrimination complaints. For issues with the physical building itself, the local building code enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the building sits is often the most direct route. Federally, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division accepts ADA complaints about public accommodations and government facilities, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development handles Fair Housing Act complaints about multifamily housing. A complaint should include the building’s location, a description of the barrier, and supporting evidence such as photographs. If a violation is confirmed and the owner does not fix it within the prescribed timeframe, enforcement can escalate to formal administrative proceedings or litigation.
If you are the one cited, you can challenge the finding through an administrative appeal. Maryland maintains a formal appeals process for public buildings under COMAR 33.17.08, where appellants can present evidence and expert testimony arguing the finding was incorrect or that compliance is infeasible. If that appeal fails, judicial review is available in a Maryland circuit court. Courts will overturn or modify agency rulings for procedural errors or misinterpretations of law, but they generally defer to agencies on technical accessibility questions, so a reversal takes strong legal grounds rather than simple disagreement with the inspector.