BS 8300-2:2018
Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. Buildings. Code of practice.
BS 8300-2:2018 is the British Standard code of practice for designing accessible, inclusive buildings: entrances, reception, circulation, facilities and the signs and information people use to find their way. It is the main UK benchmark for accessible signage inside buildings.
For signage and wayfinding
What it asks of your signs
- 01Clause 12 is the part to read for signage and wayfinding information. Other BSI documents, including PAS 6463, point back to it for sign viewing heights, contrast and content.
- 02Clause 5.2 covers inclusive and accessible wayfinding systems as part of building layout, so signage is only one strand of the strategy.
- 03Annex B explains visual contrast and light reflectance value (LRV). Check the legend against the sign face and the sign against the wall it is fixed to.
- 04Touch-legible signs are part of its scope. Agree early which signs carry raised text, symbols and braille so the details are in the tender package.
- 05Applies to most non-domestic building types, including transport, commercial, health, education and the common parts of residential buildings, but not to individual dwellings.
Scope
BS 8300-2 gives recommendations for designing buildings that people with a wide range of characteristics and capabilities can use. It covers features that affect external access to the building, such as entrances and outward-opening doors, and the interior: entrances and reception, horizontal and vertical movement, and building facilities. It applies to new buildings and can be used to assess and improve existing ones.
BSI lists transport, commercial, health, educational and residential buildings among the types it covers. It does not apply to individual dwellings, or to residential buildings designed specifically for people with complex or multiple impairments.
What it means for signage
BS 8300-2 is the document UK access consultants usually cite when they review a sign schedule. Its signage clause deals with the content, legibility, positioning and contrast of signs and information, and its annex on visual contrast sets out how LRV is used to judge whether two surfaces will be distinguishable for someone with low vision.
Because the standard is copyright, we do not reproduce its figures here. Buy it if you are signing off a scheme, and check the dimensional guidance against the current text rather than a summary or an old project spec. Older project specifications often still quote BS 8300:2009, so check which edition a spec refers to.
How it fits with the regulations
In England, Approved Document M Volume 2 provides the statutory guidance for non-domestic buildings, and BS 8300 sits behind it as the more detailed code of practice. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own access guidance. In Ireland, TGD M sets the requirement, and I.S. EN 17210 and the NDA's Building for Everyone series are the usual references, though BS 8300 is still widely used by Irish access consultants.
Internationally, ISO 21542:2021 and EN 17210:2021 cover the same ground. EN 17210 is published in the UK as BS EN 17210, but it has not replaced BS 8300, which remains the UK's primary code of practice.
Status
BSI lists BS 8300-2:2018 as current with no amendments as of October 2026.
Editions and history
Replaces BS 8300:2009 (Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people), which BSI withdrew when the two-part 2018 series was published.
Sources checked
- knowledge.bsigroup.com/products/design-of-an-accessible-and-inclusive-built-environment-buildings-code-of-practice/standard
- buildingbetterhealthcare.com/standard-for-designing-accessible-buildings-is-revised-138753
- bsigroup.com/siteassets/pdf/en/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/pas_6463_final.pdf
A summary in our own words, checked on 16 October 2026. It is not the document itself and not legal advice.
Equivalents and related
The same ground, elsewhere.
- Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. External environment. Code of practiceUK
- Building Regulations Technical Guidance Document M: Access and Use (2022)Ireland
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellingsEngland
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings, Volume 1: DwellingsEngland
- Building Standards Technical Handbooks (Domestic and Non-domestic), Section 4: SafetyScotland
- Technical Booklet R: Access to and use of buildingsN. Ireland
- Approved Document M: Access to and use of buildings (Wales)Wales
- Accessibility and usability of the built environment. Functional requirementsUK & Ireland
- Building construction. Accessibility and usability of the built environmentInternational
- Building for Everyone: A Universal Design ApproachIreland
Read more
- BS 8300 explained: the standard behind accessible signage
- Light reflectance value in signage: the 30-point rule that decides if a sign works
- Colour in wayfinding signage: coding, contrast and culture
- Braille signage: how tactile signs are designed, made and mounted
- Wayfinding typography: type people read at speed, at distance, under stress
- What happens in an accessibility audit
More in Access & inclusion
Working to BS 8300-2:2018 on a live project?
Wayfinding design, compliance, manufacture and installation, with the signage certificates signed off by us.