Rhode Island Building and Residential Codes

The Rhode Island Building Code Commission (BCC) establishes the state’s minimum standards of construction.  The RISBC-1 Rhode Island Building Code incorporates the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) by reference.

The RISBC-2 Rhode Island One and Two Family Dwelling Code incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) by reference.

Building Code Compliance Software for Rhode Island

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 2018 IBC and Plan Analyst for the 2018 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 Rhode Island have included:

City of Woonsocket
Town of Bristol
Towns of Hopkinton
Town of Westerly
Town of West Warwick

Building and Residential Code Resources in Rhode Island

Energy Code Compliance Software for Rhode Island

Visit the U.S. Department of Energy website to see the latest on energy code adoption in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island’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. Rhode Island is in FEMA Region 1. Read the 2024 Region 1 fact sheet showing the annual metric of the percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in Rhode Island.

AIA and ICC

American Institute of Architects – AIA Rhode Island – represents architects in the state.  There are over 1,500 registered and reciprocal architects in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island has two ICC Chapters the state.

Rhode Island code adoption status on the ICC website