The new North Dakota State Building Code went into effect January 1, 2023. The 2021 International Building Code (IBC) and 2021 International Residential Code were among the ICC Codes adopted.
The North Dakota Division of Community Services (DCS) updates and amends the North Dakota State Building Code.
Building Code Compliance Software for North Dakota
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 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 Dakota have included:
| City of Devils Lake | Anderson Architecture PC |
| City of Dickinson | Dakota West Inspection Services |
| City of West Fargo | Moore Engineering, Inc. |
| City of Williston | Prairie Design Studio Ltd |
| Hepper Olson Architects | SM Foss Architects, PC |
Building and Residential Code Resources in North Dakota
- North Dakota Building Officials Association
- View the 2021 International Building Code free online via ICC
- View the 2021 International Residential Code free online via 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 North Dakota
Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in North Dakota, 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 North Dakota’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 Dakota is in FEMA Region 8. Read the 2024 Region 8 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in North Dakota.
AIA and ICC
American Institute of Architects – AIA North Dakota represents architects in the state. There are just over 1,000 registered and reciprocal architects in North Dakota.
The North Dakota ICC Chapter is run by the North Dakota Building Officials Association.
North Dakota code adoption status on the ICC website