Single Occupant Toilet Room Signage Requirement for Gender Neutrality- Guidelines
Buildings bulletin 2019-003 provides guidelines for making single-occupant toilet rooms available to all regardless of gender orientation and the need for appropriate gender-neutral signage as per Local Law 79 of 2016.
Background:
Local Law 79 of 2016 amended the New York City Administrative Code (AC), the New York City Plumbing Code (PC), and the New York City Building Code (BC), to address gender-neutral single-occupant toilet rooms.
The AC (Section 28-315.9) put into place a retroactive provision that all single-occupant toilet rooms including those constructed prior to Jan. 2017 must be made available for use by anyone regardless of sexual orientation in accordance with Section 403.2.1 of the NYC Plumbing Code.
Rules:
A ‘single-occupant toilet room’ is defined as “...a toilet room with no more than one water closet and no more than one urinal” as per PC sec 202.
This type of toilet room should be provided with a lockable door that can be secured from within and afford privacy for the user. There must also be gender neutral signage posted on the wall, adjacent to the exterior face of the door.
The following instances do not require gender neutral signage:
- 1. Toilet rooms that contain multiple water closets in separate water closet compartments or multiple urinals with privacy walls or partitions.
- 2. A toilet room with one urinal and a door to such room that is not securable from within.
- 3. Single-occupant toilet rooms that egress through a room permissibly restricted by sex, like a single-occupant toilet room accessible only from a men’s or women’s.
Section 1110 of the New York City Building Code and, Section 703 of ICC A117.1–2009 Edition (703.3.10 and 703.3.11) describe the requirements for how these signs must be affixed to the walls.
A common web search will produce various code-compliant designs for your consideration.
There is no need to perform construction work to convert existing rooms.
Complaints can be reported with New York City’s 311 complaint system.