2022 California Standards for Accessible Design Guide (effective January 1, 2023)

11B-705.1.1.3.2.

Detectable warning surfaces shall provide a 70 percent minimum visual contrast with adjacent walking surfaces. Contrast in percent shall be determined by:

Contrast percent = [(B1-B2)/B1] x 100 percent where

B1 = light reflectance value (LRV) of the lighter area and

B2 = light reflectance value (LRV) of the darker area.

[2010 ADA Standards] 705.1.3 Contrast. Detectable warning surfaces shall contrast visually with adjacent walking surfaces either light-on-dark, or dark-on-light. 

Exception: Where the detectable warning surface does not provide a 70 percent minimum contrast with adjacent walking surfaces, a 1 inch (25 mm) wide minimum visually contrasting surface shall separate the detectable warning from adjacent walking surfaces. The visually contrasting surface shall contrast with both the detectable warning and adjacent walking surfaces either light-on-dark, or dark-on-light.