Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings (Wales).

Building regulation functions were transferred to the Welsh Ministers, and since then Wales has published its own approved documents. England replaced its 2004 Approved Document M with the two-volume 2015 edition. Wales did not. The Welsh document is still the 2004 edition incorporating the 2010 amendments, which first took effect on 1 May 2004, organised as one document with sections for non-domestic buildings and for dwellings.

The Welsh Ministers approved amendments that took effect on 3 January 2023. They replaced paragraph 5.6 and added a new paragraph 5.7(e) requiring at least one Changing Places toilet in listed building types, such as larger retail, assembly and leisure buildings, hospitals and certain schools and hotels, and added BS 8300-2:2018 to the referenced standards. The amendment slip was republished on GOV.WALES in March 2025.

The signage content mirrors what England had before 2015: accessible entrances clearly signposted with the International Symbol of Access, information available from reception and signs, signs to lifts, and visual contrast for door furniture, handrails, nosings and controls. The Sign Design Guide is cited for sign design. Treat BS 8300-2:2018 as the current design reference for sign detail, as the Welsh amendment now does.

On a portfolio spanning both countries, the practical risk is paperwork rather than design. A sign scheme designed to BS 8300-2 will usually satisfy both documents, but access statements, building control submissions and specifications must cite the Welsh document by its own paragraph numbers. Combine that with the Welsh Language Standards, which affect sign size, hierarchy and the order of languages, and Welsh schemes need their own template from day one.