Accessibility

Two people look up at a large peach, tan, and ivory art installation in a gallery. The person with medium skin tone and tattoos on their right arm sits in a wheelchair and wears a red t-shirt, gray pants, gray-and-black striped winter hat, and black face mask. A person with medium skin tone, long curly black hair stands behind, wearing a burnt orange tank top, black jeans, and a black face mask. A large checkered blue artwork unfolds onto the gallery floor behind the pair.
The museum strives to create an environment friendly to visitors of all abilities.

Planning Your Visit

We are committed to ensuring that the museum’s facilities, services, exhibitions, and programs comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. We design and present our programs to be inclusive to ensure that people with disabilities have equal physical and communications accessibility, as defined by federal law.

If you have questions or concerns not addressed on this page, please call 202-783-5000 or email accessibility@nmwa.org before your visit. To contact the museum using TTY (text telephone service), please dial 711 to connect to District of Columbia Relay.

General Information

Please review the Plan Your Visit page for details on museum admission, hours, and other offerings.

Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Getting Here

Explore some important information about getting to the museum. Still have questions? Email accessibility@nmwa.org.

The museum’s New York Avenue entrance has a ramp to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers. The address for accessible drop-off is 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005.

The nearest accessible parking garages that are wheelchair accessible are:

  • One Parking, 1250 I St NW, Washington DC, 20005 (0.1 miles from the museum)
  • One Parking, 1325 G St NW, Washington DC, 20005 (0.2 miles from the museum.) Due to size constraints, standard-sized vehicles only. This location cannot accommodate minivans, midsize and large SUVs, pickup trucks, and passenger vans).
  • Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004 (0.4 miles from the museum)

MetroAccess is a shared-ride, door-to-door, paratransit service for people whose disability prevents them from using bus or rail. The address for accessible drop-off is 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005. Please visit the MetroAccess website for information about how to book transportation.

Accessibility Inside the Museum

Explore the museum’s most commonly requested information. Still have questions? Email accessibility@nmwa.org.   

  • The floor of the lobby and Museum Shop is porcelain tile.
  • The Mezzanine level and Library and Research Center are covered with low-pile carpet.
  • The museum galleries and the Studio are linoleum.

Please be aware that the floors may be slippery when wet.

Benches, some of which include backs and arms, are available on each floor, and portable folding stools are available in the second- and third-floor galleries near the passenger elevators and the marble staircase. Ask a security officer for assistance in locating them.

Museum staff seek to tailor experiences to individuals and groups who participate in program and tour offerings.

If you are unable to register for a program online or would like to indicate any accessibility services you require during the program, please email accessibility@nmwa.org. Two weeks’ notice to request accessibility services is appreciated but not required. We will make every attempt to fulfill requests.

If you are interested in booking a tour, please review the museum’s tour offerings and indicate any accessibility services you require on the request form or by emailing reservations@nmwa.org.

To request American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for onsite and online programs or guided tours, email acccessibility@nmwa.org. Two weeks’ notice is appreciated but not required.

All public areas of the museum are wheelchair accessible, and there is elevator access to all floors.

The museum’s doorways, hallways, galleries, program spaces, water fountains, restroom stalls, sinks, and faucets are accessible for people who use wheelchairs and assistive walking devices.

There are spaces at the first and fourth seating tiers of the fifth-floor Performance Hall to accommodate wheelchair users and their companions.

A limited number of wheelchairs are available for loan at the Security Desk, located in the lobby, for use within the museum. Wheelchair options include a 20” and 22” seat width, desk length removable arm rests or desk length flip back arm rests, and both will have swing away footrests with heel loops. Please ask a security officer or visitor services associate for assistance.

Large‐print versions of collection gallery and special exhibition object labels are available by request at the Information Desk and on the website.

Not all exhibitions have an audio guide; for those that do, transcripts are available by request at the Information Desk and on the exhibition’s webpage.

Videos and films shown at the museum have closed captions. Additionally, transcripts are available by request at the Information Desk and online.

Assistive listening technology will be provided in the Great Hall, Reading Room, the Studio, and Performance Hall.

All restrooms are accessible. They are available on every floor, and visitors are welcome to use the restroom that most comfortably meets their needs. All-gender and companion restrooms are available on the Mezzanine, second, and third floors. Every restroom is equipped with a children’s changing table.

Service animals are welcome.

Please note that food and drink are not permitted in the galleries or the Performance Hall. If you require any accommodation to this policy, please feel free to reach out to accessibility@nmwa.org.

The museum’s fire alarms operate with both visual and audible signals, and security staff is trained to assist visitors with disabilities in the event of emergency evacuation of the building. In case of an emergency, please follow the signs to the “Posted Area of Refuge”.

Additional Visitor Information