PAS 6463:2022
Design for the mind. Neurodiversity and the built environment. Guide.
PAS 6463:2022 is BSI's guide to designing buildings and spaces for people with sensory or neurological processing differences, including autism, ADHD and dementia. It covers layout, lighting, acoustics and wayfinding, and BSI offers it as a free download.
For signage and wayfinding
What it asks of your signs
- 01Has a full clause on wayfinding, covering landmarks and nodes, signage content, sign locations, exit signs, tactile information and wayfinding technology.
- 02Asks for consistent terminology across signs, website, maps and printed material, and for plain words over clinical ones on public signs.
- 03Symbols should carry supporting text, except universally accepted or mandatory safety symbols, and established WC symbols should not be redesigned.
- 04Overhead signs should be backed up by signs at comfortable viewing height. It notes that some people find looking up to signs difficult.
- 05Plan confirmatory signs on long routes and at changes of level, and give arrival signs at every destination.
- 06Suggests "Way Out" signage alongside statutory fire exit signs, so people are not left following the escape route to leave a building.
What it is
PAS 6463 is a Publicly Available Specification: a BSI guidance document developed faster than a full British Standard, with a steering group of interested organisations. It was sponsored by Transport for London, BBC Workplace, Buro Happold and Forbo Flooring UK, and came into effect on 31 October 2022. BSI makes a DRM-free copy available to download at no cost from its website.
It covers public and commercial buildings, external spaces, and supported or independent residential accommodation. BSI excludes special education settings, dementia and complex care settings, and detailed sensory room design.
Why it matters for signage
Most accessibility guidance concentrates on sight, hearing and mobility. PAS 6463 adds sensory and information processing: how anxiety, overload, memory and attention affect a person's ability to find their way. Its wayfinding clause treats signs as one part of an integrated system that also includes layout, landmarks, colour, lighting and sightlines, and it is candid that signs cannot rescue an illogical plan.
On the signs themselves it asks for brevity, symbols with words, good contrast with the mounting surface, consistent positioning, and a style that stays stable once people have learned it. It refers back to BS 8300-2 for viewing heights and contrast, and to the Sign Design Guide.
How to use it
PAS 6463 is guidance, not a requirement of any building regulation. It is increasingly named in client briefs, particularly for workplaces, transport, culture and healthcare, and it gives you a defensible basis for decisions that BS 8300 does not address, such as limiting visual clutter, avoiding conflict with fire exit signs, and the spacing of confirmatory signs.
It is a UK document, but nothing in it is jurisdiction specific, so it is equally useful on Irish schemes alongside the NDA's universal design guidance.
Editions and history
First published October 2022. No later edition as of October 2026.
Sources checked
- knowledge.bsigroup.com/products/design-for-the-mind-neurodiversity-and-the-built-environment-guide
- bsigroup.com/en-GB/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/pas-6463-design-for-the-mind-neurodiversity-and-the-built-environment/
- bsigroup.com/siteassets/pdf/en/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/pas_6463_final.pdf
- constructionmanagement.co.uk/neurodiverse-standard-addresses-final-frontier-of-inclusive-design
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. Buildings. Code of practiceUK
- Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. External environment. Code of practiceUK
- Building for Everyone: A Universal Design ApproachIreland
- Universal Design Guidelines: Dementia Friendly Dwellings for People with Dementia, their Families and CarersIreland
- Accessibility and usability of the built environment. Functional requirementsUK & Ireland
- Sign Design Guide+: a guide to designing inclusive wayfinding informationUK
Read more
- Wayfinding for neurodiversity: autism-friendly signage and calmer, clearer buildings
- Multi-sensory wayfinding: touch, sound and light as navigation
- Wayfinding for ageing populations: designing signage for elderly people
- Safety signage vs wayfinding: two systems, one wall
- Beyond the sign: lighting, surfaces and acoustics in accessible wayfinding
Working to PAS 6463:2022 on a live project?
Wayfinding design, compliance, manufacture and installation, with the signage certificates signed off by us.