Restroom Access Laws in the US: Ally's Law, State by State

What the Restroom Access Act actually guarantees, which states have it, and what to do when a store says "employees only."

If you live with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or another condition that can turn a bathroom emergency into a medical event, you know the moment: you ask a clerk to use the restroom, and they point to a "No public restroom" sign. In roughly twenty states, a law commonly known as Ally's Law says that, under specific conditions, they have to let you in anyway. Here's what it covers, where it applies, and how to use it.

What Is the Restroom Access Act (Ally's Law)?

The Restroom Access Act — nicknamed Ally's Law — requires retail businesses that do not have a public restroom to allow customers with certain medical conditions to use their employee-only restroom, provided a few conditions are met. It is a narrow but meaningful right: it doesn't force businesses to build bathrooms or open them to everyone, but it does mean that a person mid-flare with inflammatory bowel disease can't simply be turned away.

The law is named for Ally Bain, an Illinois teenager with Crohn's disease. In 2004, at age 14, Ally was shopping at a large retail store when a flare-up hit. The manager refused to let her use the employee restroom, and she had an accident in the store. Rather than let the humiliation stand, Ally and her mother took the issue to Illinois state representative Kathleen Ryg, and in 2005 Illinois passed the nation's first Restroom Access Act. Ally went on to advocate for similar laws nationwide, and a wave of states followed.

Which States Have a Restroom Access Act?

There is no federal Restroom Access Act — this is state law, and the details vary. The list below reflects states that are widely cited as having enacted a version of Ally's Law. Where the year of enactment is well documented, it's listed; where sources disagree or we couldn't verify confidently, that's noted. Because legislation changes, always check your state's current statute before relying on it.

A few other states appear in some advocacy materials, and bills have been introduced (but not always passed) in states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If your state isn't listed, search your state legislature's website for "restroom access act" — the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation also tracks this legislation.

What the Law Requires — and What It Doesn't

Most state versions follow the Illinois template closely. In general, a retail establishment must allow an eligible customer to use its employee restroom when all of the following are true:

• The customer has an eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device, and requests access during normal business hours.
• The customer presents reasonable evidence of the condition — typically a signed note from a medical professional or an identification card (more on this below).
• No public restroom is immediately accessible at that location.
• The employee restroom is reasonably safe to reach — access wouldn't create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or a security risk to the business (for example, walking through an active kitchen or a stockroom with heavy machinery).
• In most states, at least two or three employees are working at the time, so one can accompany the customer without leaving the store unattended.

Just as important is what these laws do not do:

• They don't require any business to build or add a restroom.
• They don't open employee restrooms to the general public — only to people with qualifying conditions.
• They generally don't require the business to make the restroom ADA-accessible or to modify it in any way.
• They typically shield the business from civil liability if a customer is injured while using the employee restroom (as long as the injury wasn't caused by willful negligence).
• Penalties for refusal are modest — in Illinois, for example, a violation is a petty offense with a fine of around $100. This is a dignity law, not a big-ticket liability law.

Who Qualifies, and What Documentation Helps

Eligible conditions are defined by each statute, but the lists are similar. They generally include:

• Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (inflammatory bowel disease)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), in many states
• Any condition requiring use of an ostomy device
• Other medical conditions that require immediate access to a restroom — some states include pregnancy or leave the category open to a physician's judgment

You do not need to explain your diagnosis in detail at the counter, but the law does let a business ask for evidence. The most practical option is a wallet card:

• The "I Can't Wait" card from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, available to members, states that the holder has a medical condition requiring urgent restroom access.
• A doctor's note — a brief signed statement that you have a medical condition requiring immediate restroom access satisfies most statutes. It doesn't need to name the condition.
• Some ostomy associations and IBS organizations offer similar restroom access cards.

Keep a photo of your card or note on your phone as a backup, but carry the physical version if you can — a laminated card handed across a counter tends to end conversations quickly and gracefully.

What to Do If You're Refused

Even in states with the law, plenty of employees have never heard of it. If you're refused:

• Stay calm and ask for a manager. Front-line staff often can't make exceptions; managers usually can.
• Name the law. "My state has a Restroom Access Act — Ally's Law — that requires you to let me use the employee restroom because I have a medical condition. Here's my card." Many refusals evaporate at this point.
• Don't escalate past a firm no. If they still refuse, your remedy is legal, not physical. Note the store, date, time, and the name of the person you spoke with.
• Report it afterward. Depending on the state, you can report violations to local police (as a petty offense), the state attorney general's consumer office, or the company's corporate customer service — which often produces an apology and retraining faster than any fine.
• Have a plan B. In the moment, finding another bathroom matters more than winning the argument. Coffee shops, grocery stores, hotel lobbies, libraries, and fast-food restaurants are reliably good bets — or find the nearest public restroom with Gotta Go and get walking directions in seconds.

California: A Different Approach

California does not have a classic Ally's Law; bills to create one have been introduced without passing. Instead, California leans on building and food-safety rules: the state's Retail Food Code requires many food facilities where customers eat on site — generally those built or extensively remodeled since the mid-1980s — to provide patron restrooms, and plumbing codes require toilet facilities in many businesses serving the public. The upshot: a sit-down restaurant or café usually must have a customer restroom, but a small retail shop is generally free to say no, even to someone with a medical condition. Some California cities have their own, more generous ordinances.

The Bigger Problem: America's Public Restroom Shortage

Ally's Law exists partly because the United States has remarkably few truly public restrooms — surveys regularly rank the US near the bottom of wealthy nations, with only a handful per 100,000 residents in most cities. Decades of closures, driven by maintenance costs and liability fears, pushed the burden onto private businesses, which is exactly where conflicts like Ally Bain's happen. Some cities are reversing course, but for now, knowing your rights and knowing your options are both essential. Before a long day out, it's worth checking the map — you can find the nearest public restroom with Gotta Go for free, no account required.

What Cities Are Doing: Portland and New York

State-level Restroom Access Acts only help a narrow group of people with qualifying medical conditions, and only inside businesses that happen to have a restroom. The more interesting recent movement is municipal, and it is taking two very different forms.

New York City: a plan to build them

On April 10, 2025, the New York City Council passed Introduction 694-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse. It sets a target of at least 2,120 public bathrooms by 2035, with at least half publicly owned, and creates a citywide planning process run by a Deputy Mayor alongside the Departments of City Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation, with a strategic report updated every four years.

The scale of the gap is the point. The city has roughly 1,100 public toilets for about 8.6 million residents — about one for every 7,820 people. The 2025 law builds on Local Law 114 of 2022, which required the city to identify at least one feasible new bathroom location in every ZIP code. Two further bills introduced in 2026 would require ADA-accessible bathrooms in publicly owned buildings and a capital funding plan for the locations already identified.

Read it accurately: this is a planning and target-setting law, not a guarantee. It commits the city to a number and a process, and it does not put a restroom near you tomorrow. Whether the 2035 target is met depends on capital funding that later councils control.

Portland: a plan to label the ones that exist

Portland took the cheaper path. On February 11, 2026, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring all-user, gender-neutral signage on single-occupancy restrooms in places of public accommodation. It requires no construction and no remodeling — only that the sign on the door of an existing single-stall restroom stop restricting it by gender. The city has noted that compliant signs can cost as little as $5, and has planned to mail signage to businesses. It extends to the private sector what a 2015 city resolution already did for city-owned buildings.

The effect is larger than “just a sign.” A single-occupancy restroom marked for one gender is a restroom that is unavailable to half the people standing in front of it, and to anyone whose need does not fit the label — a parent with a child of a different gender, an adult with a caregiver or personal attendant, someone with a health-related need, and transgender, nonbinary, and other LGBTQ+ people who face a confrontation every time they pick a door.

What this means for you

These are two different bets: New York is spending capital to increase supply, Portland is spending almost nothing to increase access to supply that already exists. Signage rules produce results in months; construction targets produce them across a decade, if funding holds.

Neither one is a right you can invoke at a counter the way Ally's Law is. If you are refused entry today, the sections above are still your practical playbook. But it does mean city rules are now worth checking alongside your state's Restroom Access Act — and if your city is considering something similar, these two ordinances are the templates being copied.

Practical Etiquette for Asking

• Ask politely and privately — a quiet word at the counter works better than an announcement.
• Lead with the medical need: "I have a medical condition and urgently need a restroom. Do you have one I could use?"
• Offer your card or note before being asked; it signals you're making a legal, legitimate request.
• If a store lets you in, say thank you — and consider buying something small. Goodwill keeps doors open for the next person.
• Leave the restroom as you found it. Employee restrooms are a courtesy backed by law, and courtesy runs both ways.

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Restroom access laws vary by state, contain exceptions, and change over time — some details above are drawn from commonly cited summaries rather than a fresh reading of every statute. For advice about a specific situation, consult your state's current law or a licensed attorney.

FAQ

Does my city have an all-gender or public-restroom law?

It varies and it is changing fast. Portland now requires all-user signage on single-occupancy restrooms in places of public accommodation, and New York City has committed to 2,120 public bathrooms by 2035. Many cities have neither. Check your city clerk or council site for recent ordinances, and remember these municipal rules are separate from your state's Restroom Access Act.

Do stores have to let you use the bathroom?

In general, no — a private business with no public restroom can refuse. The exception is in states with a Restroom Access Act, where retail businesses must allow customers with qualifying medical conditions (like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or an ostomy) to use the employee restroom if they present documentation, enough staff are on duty, and access is safe. Restaurants that serve dine-in customers are separately required to provide restrooms in many states under health and building codes.

What states have Ally's Law?

Roughly 17 to 20 states have enacted a version, including Illinois (the first, in 2005), Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware, Ohio, and New York. Exact lists vary between sources, and bills are pending elsewhere, so check your state legislature's website for the current status.

What proof do I need to use an employee restroom under Ally's Law?

Most statutes accept either a signed statement from a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant saying you have a condition requiring immediate restroom access, or an identification card issued for that purpose — such as the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's "I Can't Wait" card. The document does not need to disclose your specific diagnosis.

Does Ally's Law apply to gas stations and restaurants?

It applies to "retail establishments" as defined by each state, which typically includes gas station convenience stores and shops without public restrooms. Restaurants are usually already required to have customer restrooms under separate health codes if they offer dine-in service. The law generally does not apply if the only employee restroom is somewhere unsafe for customers to reach, or if too few employees are on duty.

What happens to a business that refuses?

Penalties are small — typically a civil fine, around $100 in Illinois for a first offense. There's no right to sue for damages in most states. In practice, the most effective follow-up after an unlawful refusal is a report to the state attorney general's consumer protection office or the company's corporate office, which frequently leads to staff retraining.