Asbestos tiles look like ordinary tiles, which is the whole difficulty. Vinyl and thermoplastic floor tiles were made with and without asbestos in identical colours, patterns and sizes, and so were ceiling tiles. What is worth looking at is format, age and what is underneath, and none of that identifies anything: it tells you which tile is worth a sample.
Floor tiles: the clues worth having
Nine inch squares are more often suspect than modern sizes, because that imperial format dates the tile. A black tarry adhesive bed underneath is a companion clue, and the adhesive is its own material. Brittleness and a slightly chalky broken edge are sometimes noted. Colour and pattern tell you nothing at all: the same tile came in marbled cream, red, green and grey.
Ceiling tiles
Suspended ceiling tiles from the middle of the last century were sometimes made with asbestos, and they look like any other mineral tile in a grid. The tile above the grid and the material of the grid itself are different questions, and what is in the void above them is a third. A ceiling of the right age is worth sampling before anything is lifted for cabling.
Why pictures do not settle it
Every photograph on the internet of an asbestos floor tile has a twin that contains none. Nobody can see a fibre, the products were made identically, and the fibre content of a tile is low enough that the surface gives nothing away. A picture is a prompt to sample, and it is never an answer.
What to do instead
Sample the tile and, separately, the adhesive under it. Two analyses, two certificates, and a decision you can act on. If the floor is sound and staying, record it and cover it. If it is coming up, use the certificates to get comparable quotes rather than guesses.
Questions people ask about what do asbestos tiles look like
How do I identify asbestos floor tiles?
Format and age raise the question. A laboratory analysis of a piece of the tile answers it, and the adhesive underneath is sampled separately.
Are all nine inch tiles asbestos?
No. The size dates the tile rather than identifying it, and plenty of imperial format tiles contain none.
Can I check a ceiling tile the same way?
Yes, and the void above should be looked at while the tile is out, because insulating board and lagging frequently live up there.