California Building Code Requirements for Assistive Listening – Updated 2021

The State of California relies on the California Building Code (CBC) to outline the compliance laws for facilities that serve people with hearing disabilities in California. The most recent version of the CBC is the 2019 California Building Code, Title 24, Part 2 (Volumes 1 & 2) with Oct 2020 Errata

According to the website, the new Building Code standards are for sale and can be purchased from any local library.

While California has adopted the format of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the exact code was not adopted. For example, ADA sections 219 & 706 are listed in the California Building Code as 11B-219 and 11B-706.

Number of Receivers Required

The chart below highlights the CBC’s requirements for the number of assistive listening receivers required in an assembly area:

If a building contains more than one assembly area, which requires an Assistive Listening System, the total number of receivers can be calculated according to the total number of seats in the assembly areas, as long as the receivers are useable with all the systems.
If all the seats in an assembly area are served by a Hearing Loop System, the minimum number of receivers required to be hearing aid compatible will not be required to be provided.