Make your business entrance accessible
The Accessible Business Entrance (ABE) program ensures that San Francisco businesses welcome everybody.
It helps property owners remove barriers so that those with mobility disabilities can access goods and services.
If a business serves the public, the main entrance must be accessible to people with mobility disabilities.
Choose your process
Get your entrance inspected
If you are not requesting a waiver and you have not made your primary entrance accessible, you must hire a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) to evaluate your entrance.
(You can also tell us if you will apply for technical infeasibility or unreasonable hardship.)
If you have already submitted a Category Checklist, go to step 6 finish the process.
Request an exemption
You may request an exemption from the Accessible Business Entrance program if you are a:
- Religious organization
- Private club
- Not a place of public accommodation
- Newly constructed building with a building permit form (Form 1 /2) filed on or after January 1, 2002
You can also request an exemption if your property is a:
- Residential building
- Live/work unit
- Commercial condo above the ground floor
Fill out this form to request an exemption.
Tell us if you already made updates
Tell us you have made your business entrance accessible if you have already done construction to follow the program.
You must tell us the Building Permit Application number for the project.
Get help
See us at the Permit Center
49 South Van Ness Avenue
2nd floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
Mon to Tue,
7:30 am to 11:30 am
Wed,
9:00 am to 11:30 am
Thu to Fri,
7:30 am to 11:30 am
Contact us
Technical Services Division
Glossary
You may come across these terms throughout the ABE process:
- Accessible business entrance: Free of steps, slopes, excessively heavy doors or other structural barriers, like entryways that are too narrow for a wheelchair or mobility scooter.
- Access professional: a licensed architect, licensed engineer, or CASp who can check your business entrance for accessibility
- Certified Access Specialist (CASp): a certified professional who specializes in construction-related accessibility standards
- Place of non-public accommodation: a place that offers goods or services to the public either for free or for sale
- Private club: a nonprofit organization with a selective membership process that excludes the general public from its activities
- Religious organization: a place that is either owned by (or leased to) a religious organization that serves the public