As a “home rule” state, local government in Colorado is able to make policy in all areas that have not been designated to be of interest statewide; building codes is one such area. Counties, cities and towns across Colorado independently adopt and enforce versions of the International Building and International Residential Codes (IBC and IRC) and amend as they see fit. This means that while some jurisdictions have adopted the 2021 IBC and IRC, others are still working with older versions.
Building Code Compliance Software for Colorado
Plan Analyst code compliance software programs make it easy for building officials, architects and other designers to quickly perform commercial and residential building code plan reviews/code studies.
Plan Analyst for the IBC and Plan Analyst for the IRC simplifies the plan review/code study process enabling compliance to specific code years. This proven software allows modifications to accommodate local amendments, where applicable. Users have the ability to add code requirements and to add to the checklist. Changes can be made permanent by changing the data file using the setup section of Plan Analyst, or specific reports can be edited for special conditions.
Plan Analyst Calculators: Deck – Sign – Beam & Column
Plan Analyst Deck, Sign and Beam & Column Calculators are additional simple and effective design and code review software tools that will quickly become your go-to resources when working on associated tasks.
Users of Plan Analyst in Colorado have included:
| City of Arvada | Code Consultants International |
| City of Longmont | Johnson Carter Architects |
| Commerce City | Neenan Company |
| Douglas County | River Studio Architects |
| Jefferson County | RMBA Architects |
| Town of Erie | Smith Associates Architects |
| Town of Parker | Stantec |
Building and residential code resources in Colorado
- Office of the State Architect (OSA) establishes minimum building codes for all construction by state agencies on state-owned or state lease-purchased properties or facilities.
- Purchase code books used across Colorado.
- Purchase Plan Analyst for the IBC and or IRC to automate and simplify your Colorado plan reviews/code studies www.plananalyst.com.
Energy Code Compliance Software for Colorado
Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in Colorado, including the use of COMcheck and REScheck Energy Code compliance software. COMcheck enables architects, builders, designers, and contractors to determine whether new commercial or high-rise residential buildings, additions, and alterations meet the requirements of the IECC and ASHRAE Standard 90.1. REScheck product enables builders, designers, and contractors to determine whether new homes, additions, and alterations meet the requirements of the IECC or a number of state energy codes.
The “Building Codes Assistance Project” also provides information on Colorado’s building energy codes.
FEMA Building Code Adoption Tracking
The FEMA Building Code Adoption Tracking program reports on the status of hazard-resistant building code adoption in each state. Colorado is in FEMA Region 8. Read the 2023 Region 8 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in Colorado.
AIA and ICC
American Institute of Architects – AIA Colorado – represents architects in the state. There are over 7,000 registered and reciprocal architects in Colorado.
The ICC Colorado Chapter includes a Code Change Committee whose mission it is to involve members in the development and review of code change proposals. The focus is to improve the various requirements in the published codes and help to make the codes easier to use by all.
Colorado code adoption status on the ICC website