Exit Sign Regulations

All commercial buildings, weather office, warehouse, or industrial are required to have all exit routes and exits clearly marked to facilitate vacating the facility in the case of fire or other emergency. Depending upon the design and usage of your building, this may require installing signs at the exit doors, hallways, and installing signs to direct people away from areas that are not exits.

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Defining Exit Routes:

OSHA defines exit routes as starting from any point within the workplace to a place of safety in the case of emergency. This includes: all access routes to exits, the exits themselves, and the exit discharge or walkway outside the building from the exit door to a public way or other safe area.

All the exit signs offered through our online store are UL 934 Listed and compliant for the United States. Models begin at less than $20.

Requirements for Exit Sign Design:

Exit signs must have the word “EXIT” in clearly readable letters that are at least six inches high and a stroke width (width of the lines of the letter) of at least 3/4 inch. Signs and lettering must be of a distinctive color, providing a high contrast between the letters and the background. New York City and Chicago have specific exit sign regulations pertaining to lettering size, construction materials, and power source.

Most exit signs require electricity and utilize LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) as the source of illumination. Electrical exit signs are required to feature a battery backup system that operates the sign for a minimum 90 minutes during a power outage.

Browse Our Selection of LED Exit Signs

If a power source is not available, self-luminous exit signs may be used in the place of electrically illuminated signs, as long as they have a minimum luminance surface value of at least .06 foot-lamberts. Self-luminous exit signs glow regardless of power by using tritium, a glowing type of hydrogen gas.

View Our Selection of Self-Luminous Exit Signs

Photoluminescent (glow in the dark) exit signs are another type of non-electrical exit sign. Photoluminescent exit signs require light to be available on the face of the sign so that the glow in the dark pigment can properly charge and be ready to glow in dark conditions. These signs must be illuminated to a surface value of at least five foot-candles or 54 lux by a fluorescent, halogen, incandescent, or gas vapor light source. They must also meet the minimum luminance surface value of at least .06 foot-lamberts.

View Our Selection of Photoluminescent Exit Signs

Glow In The Dark Exit Signs are easy to install and last up to 25 years. A great choice if electricity is not available. UL Listed.

All lettering on exit signs must be of a fire-retardant material. These must be renewed as often as necessary to maintain their visibility and fire-retardant capability.

Exit signs may be combined with an emergency lighting fixture, creating a combo emergency exit sign. A combination unit fulfills both two requirements, that of an exit sign and of an emergency light fixture. In these cases, a larger battery must be used to insure that the emergency exit combo will remain lit for the full 90 minutes, even with the added current draw of the emergency light.

Placement of Exit Signs:

Each personnel exit must be clearly marked with an exit sign as stated above. Additionally, if the exit route from a particular work area is not immediately apparent, signs must be posted along the route, indicating the direction of travel to the exit.

If there are doorways or passages along an exit route that do not lead to an exit, and could be mistaken for an exit, they must be clearly marked “Not an Exit” or marked with a sign designating a purpose for that area which clearly indicates that it is not an exit.

Exit signs must be placed where they are clearly visible, with a clear line of site from any work area. No decorations, curtains, or other signs may be placed where they will even partially impede visibility of exit signs.

Special Regulations exist for New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles:

If your facility is in New York City the letters on your exit signs must be red in color and the sign must be constructed from metal, such as steel or aluminum. Letters for NYC approved exit signs are at least eight inches high and one inch wide, as opposed to the standard lettering height of six inches. Both New York and Chicago only allow electrical exit signs, photoluminescent and self-luminous models are not accepted.

Browse Our Selection of New York City Exit Signs

Chicago exit sign regulations are even more stringent; each model must be evaluated and approved by the City of Chicago. Standard box style exit signs are required to have a glass exit panel that is white with red letters. Edge-Lit exit signs are the only type of Chicago approved exit sign that is not required to have a glass panel as it can pose a safety hazard if broken. Edge-Lit exit signs feature acrylic panels.

View Our Selection of Chicago Approved Exit Signs

Additionally, there may be a change in the minimum luminosity requirements in these cities. Check with your local building inspection office to be sure you have the latest information before buying your lighting.

By Jonathan Carter+