District of Columbia Building and Residential Codes

The 2017 District of Columbia Building Code is based on the International Code Council’s 2015 International Building Code (IBC) is currently in force.

Building Code Compliance Software for Washington D.C. (District of Columbia)

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 2015 IBC and Plan Analyst for the 2015 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.

Building and residential code resources in the District of Columbia

Energy Code Compliance Software for the District of Columbia

Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in District of Columbia, 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 District of Columbia’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. District of Columbia is in FEMA Region 3. Read the 2023 Region 3 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in District of Columbia.

AIA and ICC

American Institute of Architects  – AIA District of Columbia represents architects.  There are over 3,000 registered and reciprocal architects in the District.