The North Carolina State Building Codes are handled by the Office of the State Fire Marshall, Engineering and Codes Division, State Building Codes section. The 2018 North Carolina State Building Code: Building Code, and the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code: Residential Code, came into effect January 1, 2019. The codes are based on the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) and the 2015 International Residential Code (IRC).
Building Code Compliance Software for North Carolina
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 North Carolina have included:
| Caldwell County | Abee Architect PA |
| Catawba County | Cedar Grove Maintenance Inc. |
| City of Hickory | Giffels |
| City of Jacksonville | Gontram Architecture |
| City of Monroe | Gupton & Associates, PA |
| Pitt County | Johnson Mackie Architect |
| Scotland County | Phillips Architecture |
| Town of Cary | Sawyer Sherwood & Associate Architecture |
Building and Residential Code Resources in North Carolina
- View the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code: Building Code free online via ICC
- View the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code: Residential Code free online via ICC
- Buy the North Carolina I-Codes from ICC
- Purchase Plan Analyst for the IBC and or IRC to automate and simplify your plan reviews / code studies plananalyst.com.
Energy Code Compliance Software for North Carolina
Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina’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. North Carolina is in FEMA Region 4. Read the 2023 Region 4 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in North Carolina.
AIA and ICC
American Institute of Architects – AIA North Carolina represents architects in the state. There are nearly 6,000 registered and reciprocal architects in North Carolina .
North Carolina has several ICC Chapters.
North Carolina code adoption status on the ICC website