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Quick links: Unified English Braille, IPA Braille, Developing Braille Codes for Languages other than English: Best Practices, Committees, Contact Us, Site Map
Braille, a system of raised dots, is the primary literacy medium for people who are blind, deafblind, or have severe low vision. The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) coordinates and promotes the use of braille throughout the English-speaking world.
In recognition of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, ICEB has issued a statement highlighting the important role of accessibility especially in this 200th year of braille.
the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) is delighted to announce the completion of the third edition of The Rules of Unified English Braille, superseding the second edition published in 2013.
This edition introduces several new features including:
All changes to the UEB code since 2013 have been incorporated into this new edition. In particular:
The Rules of Unified English Braille is the definitive UEB Rulebook produced by ICEB. The electronic files are available below for free download and can be printed or embossed for personal use.
The PDF version is designed for printing. See:
Rules of Unified English Braille 2024.pdf.
The braille edition of the UEB Rulebook, in seven volumes, is available as
formatted braille (BRF) files with page size 25 lines by 30 cells:
Rules of Unified English Braille 2024 brf files zipped
The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) held its 8th General Assembly from Saturday, 25 May 2024 to Thursday, 30 May 2024 in Auckland New Zealand.
As of July 2022, the ICEB Executive and Code Maintenance Committee have approved the following changes to the Rules of Unified English Braille (2013).
These changes and all previous updates can be downloaded from the UEB page.
This document gives an overview of braille and explains some of the most important terminology around the various different codes of braille that may be encountered. It also gives details about how braille is typically stored and processed by today's computers and summarises the file formats commonly used to store braille documents. It concludes with links to other resources that may provide more information on specific topics.
ICEB has developed a document to provide an overview of best practices and issues to consider regarding the development of braille codes to represent a particular language.
The ICEB quarterly newsletter has up-to-date stories on ICEB activities, and braille news and events from around the world. The most recent issue was released in September 2023.
See the Braille Promotion page for back issues and a link to automatically receive the newsletter when it is released.
The executive of the ICEB meets face-to-face once every two years, at the start and end of the General Assembly and at a two year interval between Assemblies.
The most recent meeting was The 2024 meeting of the Executive Committee held may 30 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand.
The next in-person meeting of the Executive Committee will be the 2026 mid-term meeting held in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States from 22-26 June.
ICEB's Braille Music Committee has compiled a list of resources on how Braille Music and UEB can be used together.
ICEB has compiled a list of UEB training and resource materials available from its member countries. This list was last updated in February 2018.
The purpose of the International Council on English Braille is to coordinate and improve standards for braille usage for all English-speaking users of braille. Refer to the ICEB Committee page for details of its organization, committees and representatives.
The members of the ICEB are the various countries where English is spoken, and membership is open to all such countries. The present membership consists the following eight countries:
The ICEB Constitution was adopted May 31, 1991, and last revised May 27, 2024.
The ICEB General Assembly meets every four years.
The following resource documents are the outcomes of 2020 resolutions.
For further information about the ICEB, see ICEB contact information.
See also the current ICEB Brochure for a more complete mission statement, information on activities and sources of funding, the membership application form, and other ways of contacting ICEB.
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A globe, marked with a grid, tilts at an angle. A keyhole is cut
into its surface.
(This symbol, defined and used with the permission of NCAM, signifies that this site is designed for accessibility.)