The Iowa State Building Code is the 2015 International Building Code (IBC), for certain types of buildings only. The 2015 International Residential Code (IRC) has also been adopted for certain types of buildings only.
Building Code Compliance Software for Iowa
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.
Users of Plan Analyst in Iowa have included:
| City of Ames | Allers Associates Architects, PC |
| City of Jefferson | Baldwin White Architects |
| City of North Liberty | CONNECT Architecture |
| City of Sioux Center | Plum Building Systems |
| City of Spirit Lake | RDG Planning & Design |
| City of Urbandale | Rose City Canopy & Sign |
| City of Washington | Sande Design |
| County of Polk | Showmaker & Haaland |
| Linn County | Wells & Associates |
Building and Residential Code Resources in Iowa
- Iowa Association of Building Officials
- An introduction to Iowa building codes
- View the 2015 International Building Code free online via ICC
- View the 2015 International Residential Code free online via ICC
- Buy the Iowa I-Codes from ICC
- Purchase Plan Analyst for the IBC and or IRC to automate and simplify your plan reviews / code studies plananalyst.com.
- The ICC General Code website provides access to some municipal codes.
Energy Code Compliance Software for Iowa
Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in Iowa, 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.
DOE’s EnergyPlus™ is a whole building energy simulation (BEM) program that engineers, architects, and researchers use to model both energy consumption (for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and plug and process loads) and water use in buildings. It supports a number of public and private-sector tools and services including EP3. EP3 is a user interface for EnergyPlus™ designed to streamline workflows for building energy modelers. EP3 is well-suited for tasks like modeling ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G baselines and evaluating energy efficiency measures in new and existing buildings.
The “Building Codes Assistance Project” also provides information on Iowa ’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. Iowa is in FEMA Region 7. Read the 2024 Region 7 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in Iowa.
AIA and ICC
American Institute of Architects – AIA Iowa represents architects in the state. There are just over 2,000 registered and reciprocal architects in Iowa .
Iowa has a couple of ICC Chapters.
Iowa code adoption status on the ICC website