California Restroom Door Signs: Title 24 Geometric Symbols Explained
The triangle, circle and all-gender symbols California requires on restroom doors: exact sizes, thickness, edges, mounting height and the mistakes that fail inspection.
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California is the one state where a restroom usually needs two signs: the tactile room sign on the wall beside the door, and a geometric symbol on the door itself. The door symbol comes from the California Building Code, Chapter 11B (Title 24, Part 2), section 11B-703.7.2.6. The federal 2010 ADA Standards do not ask for it, so shops that work mostly outside California often miss it, and an inspector will not.
Here is what the code asks for, in plain terms. The figures below are from the 2025 California Building Code, in force from January 1, 2026; they are unchanged from the 2019 edition.
The three symbols
| Restroom | Symbol | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Men | Equilateral triangle, one point up | Each edge 12 inches |
| Women | Circle | 12 inches across |
| Unisex / all-gender | Circle with a triangle inside it, point up | Circle 12 inches; the triangle's points within 1/4 inch of the circle's edge |
All three are 1/4 inch thick. The symbol must contrast with the door (light on dark, or dark on light). On the unisex symbol, the triangle must also contrast with the circle.
Edges and corners
The code also controls how the edges feel, because people touch these symbols:
- Edges eased or rounded at 1/16 inch minimum, or chamfered at 1/8 inch maximum.
- Corners (vertices) of the triangle rounded to a radius between 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch.
A sharp, square-cut triangle from the router fails this rule even when the size is right. Put the edge and corner treatment on the shop drawing so the fabricator does not guess.
Where it goes on the door
- Height: the centerline of the symbol 58 to 60 inches above the floor.
- Position: within 1 inch of the door's vertical centerline.
Note the difference from the wall sign: the tactile sign beside the door is measured to the baseline of the characters (48 to 60 inches), while the door symbol is measured to its own center (58 to 60 inches). Mixing up the two is one of the most common mistakes on a California permit drawing.
Where an opening has no door, the advisory note allows the symbol beside the opening at the same height, or built into the tactile sign as its background.
Single-user restrooms must be all-gender
Since March 1, 2017, California Health and Safety Code section 118600 requires single-user toilet rooms in businesses, public places and government buildings to be identified as all-gender. In practice that means the unisex symbol (circle with triangle) on the door. If a project's sign schedule still lists "Men" and "Women" for single-user rooms, raise it with the architect before you build.
What the door symbol does not need
- No braille and no raised text on the symbol itself. The tactile information belongs on the wall sign.
- No gender pictogram is required with the geometric symbol.
The wall sign beside the door still applies
The geometric symbol does not replace the tactile room sign. That sign follows 11B-703: raised uppercase characters 5/8 to 2 inches high, contracted (Grade 2) braille below, mounted on the latch side. California's braille spacing is fixed (0.100 inch within a cell, 0.300 inch cell to cell) and the braille sits 3/8 to 1/2 inch below the text — tighter than the federal rules. Our guides on tactile letters and braille dimensions cover the details.
A quick checklist for the shop drawing
- Symbol type matches the room: triangle, circle, or circle with triangle.
- 12 inches, 1/4 inch thick, contrast with the door noted.
- Edge treatment and corner radius written on the drawing.
- Centerline 58 to 60 inches; within 1 inch of the door's centerline.
- Single-user rooms marked all-gender.
- Wall-mounted tactile sign shown separately, with its own mounting height.
Make it faster
Our free ADA Sign Maker lays out the wall sign with raised text and Grade 2 braille at real size, with SVG and DXF cut files. In SignAcctPro, the same room signs go straight into a proof the client approves online, then into the quote and the job. And if you have a whole building to do, Sign Desk can draw the complete package overnight.
Signs are designed to ADA guidelines. Always confirm the current local code and the project specifications with the authority having jurisdiction before fabrication.