The codes are maintained by the California Building Standards Commission which oversees processes related to the California building codes by California Building Standards Law.
New editions of the California Building Standards Code are published every three years in a triennial cycle with supplemental information published during other years. The most recent version of the code is the 2022 edition, published July 1, 2022, with an effective date of January 1, 2023.
2022 California Building Code, Title 24, Part 2 (Volumes 1 & 2)
The California Building Code (CBC) contains general building design and construction requirements relating to fire and life safety, structural safety, and access compliance. CBC provisions provide minimum standards to safeguard life or limb, health, property, and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, use and occupancy, location, and maintenance of all buildings and structures and certain equipment. Matrix Adoption tables are provided at the beginning of every chapter in Part 2 to indicate which chapters and sections are adopted by state agencies (for application to their respective occupancies). The code is based on the 2021 International Building Code®.
Use Plan Analyst for the 2021 IBC to automate your commercial plan reviews / code studies so you complete them accurately and quickly!
2022 California Residential Code, Title 24, Part 2.5
California Residential Code (CRC) contains building provisions that cover construction of one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses that are three stories or less. This is a fully integrated code based on the 2021 International Residential Code®. California amendments provide consistency with model code format, state and federal laws and regulations, and unique California conditions about the construction of one- and two- family dwellings and townhouses. This code does not include Energy, Mechanical, Plumbing, or Electrical standards, which are found in other parts of Title 24.
Use Plan Analyst for the 2021 IRC to automate your residential plan reviews / code studies so you complete them accurately and quickly!
Plan review and building code resources for California:
- Access the CBC/Title 24, or find a resource to purchase it from.
- Purchase Plan Analyst for the 2021 IBC and or IRC to automate and simplify your California plan reviews / code studies plananalyst.com
- Stay up to date with California code happenings with CALCode Quarterly Newsletters and Information Bulletins.
- AB 3002, Business License, Building Permit Model Notice, is intended to provide access information and resources to business license and commercial building permit applicants. Model Notice to Applicants for Business Licenses and Commercial Building Permits Background
- Learn about the role of the Division of the State Architect (DSA) in proposing changes to the building code regulations related to access compliance Access Compliance Code Development
- Locate reference materials on the application and use of the accessibility provisions of the California Building Code (CBC) Access Compliance Reference Materials
- Use a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) through the Division of the State Architect (DSA) to inspect buildings and sites for compliance with applicable state and federal construction-related accessibility standards. Certified Access Specialist (CASp) Property Inspection
- The ICC General Code Website provides access to some municipal codes.
Building Code Compliance Software for California
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 2021 IBC and Plan Analyst for the 2021 IRC (the basis for the California Building and Residential Codes) simplifies the plan review / code study process enabling compliance with the state code and allowing modifications to accommodate state amendments, where applicable. Specifically, all of the questions in the checklist and most of the analysis report items are stored in files that can be edited. 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 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 California have included:
| City of Hemmet | Choi Robles Architecture, LLP |
| City of Dublin | Architects Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker |
| City of Visalia | Beeler Consulting Architects |
| City of Humboldt | Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) |
| City of Santa Maria | GAA Architects |
| City of Paramount | Oculus Architects |
California Energy Codes – Approved Analysis Computer Programs
The California Energy Commission website provides links to approved energy analysis computer programs (2022).
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. California is in FEMA Region 9. Read the 2023 Region 9 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in California.
AIA and ICC
American Institute of Architects (The American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC) – AIA California represents the interests of over 11,000 architects and various others.
California code adoption status on the ICC website