Arkansas Fire Prevention Code plan review: the 2021 AFPC volumes, local or State Fire Marshal review, and other state codes

Which Arkansas codes apply to a set of drawings?

12 CAR pt. 15, the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Rules (PDF), makes the 2021 International Fire Code, International Building Code, and International Residential Code, with the Arkansas amendments, the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2021 edition, superseding the 2012 edition. It redefines the other I-codes as state codes: the International Plumbing Code means the Arkansas State Plumbing Code, the private sewage code is replaced by the Department of Health’s onsite wastewater rules, the IMC means the mechanical code for Arkansas, the IFGC means the Arkansas State Gas Code, the IECC means the Arkansas Energy Code, and the NEC means the electric code for the state. Volume I adopts Appendices B, C, D, E, F, G, and K, sends LP-gas to the Arkansas Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, and in Section 101.2.2 lets every district, county, and municipality adopt and enforce only the AFPC, with more stringent provisions allowed and the State Fire Marshal advising on any that are less stringent. Volume II adopts Appendices C, D, E, and O (Appendix C locally only with the building official’s approval), sends gas and plumbing to the Department of Health’s codes and energy to the Arkansas Energy Code, and deletes Chapter 27 for the NEC as adopted by the Board of Electrical Examiners and Chapter 29 for the Arkansas Plumbing Code. Volume II lets detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of not more than three stories with a separate means of egress, and their accessory structures, follow Volume III instead. Volume III adopts none of Appendices AA through AW, does not require automatic sprinklers in townhouses or one- and two-family dwellings (NFPA 13D applies where one is provided), and deletes the IRC’s energy, fuel gas, plumbing, and electrical chapters in favor of the state codes. The trade codes sit in other rules: 17 CAR §261-122 has the HVACR Licensing Board adopt the 2021 IMC as the standard for HVACR work, and 17 CAR §210-601 has the Board of Electrical Examiners adopt the 2026 NEC (effective September 3, 2026) with Arkansas exceptions for AFCI and GFCI protection on certain dwelling circuits and for island and peninsula receptacles.

The AFPC order in 12 CAR pt. 15 was signed in 2022 by the Director of the Division of Arkansas State Police and took effect January 1, 2023, under A.C.A. §12-13-101 et seq. Act 841 of 2023, effective July 1, 2023, created the State Fire Marshal within the Office of Fire Protection Services of the Division of Emergency Management (A.C.A. §20-22-1009), charged that office with enforcing and periodically updating the AFPC (§20-22-1010), repealed the old State Police sections, and kept the State Police fire rules in effect as rules of the new office. The Code of Arkansas Rules now files Part 15 under the Office of Fire Protection Services but still shows the 2022 State Police text. In October 2024 the Division of Emergency Management published a proposed re-promulgation of the same 2021 rules under Act 841, to take effect ten days after final filing; we did not find it filed as final, and its definitions point the IRC to Volume II and repeat the Volume II link for Volume III, so cite 12 CAR pt. 15 and ask the State Fire Marshal whether a new filing has replaced it. The department’s Facility Reviews page lists the 2021 volumes as effective January 1, 2023 alongside the 2012 volumes, so check that a local ordinance or an older office template has not kept the 2012 edition. Energy has its own gap: the Arkansas Energy Office building energy codes page says Arkansas currently uses the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code, based on the 2009 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2007 and effective January 1, 2015, but still shows a December 2019 notice of an update based on the 2018 IECC and a draft 2021 amendments file, and 15 CAR pt. 233 bundles the older 2011 code with the 2014 code. The 2014 code makes enforcement the job of the Energy Office or the local government, requires every city or county that issues building permits to adopt it, accepts REScheck and COMcheck, and requires a residential energy label. We did not find the current edition of the Arkansas Plumbing Code or Gas Code in a source we read; confirm it with the Department of Health. All checked November 6, 2026.

Plan review starts with the local building department. AFPC Volume II Section 103.1 lets local jurisdictions establish a building department and building official, and Volume I Section 104.3.2 gives that official primary responsibility for Volume II, the local fire official primary responsibility for fire safety in the jurisdiction, and the State Fire Marshal statewide jurisdiction. Under Volume II Section 105.1, where no building official is appointed, the owner, agent, or contractor applies to the State Fire Marshal. Section 107.2.11 requires State Fire Marshal approval before construction, substantial remodeling, or a change of occupancy, if the local authority having jurisdiction has not approved the plans, for hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities of any capacity, schools of more than 50 pupils and residence buildings sleeping 50 or more, auditoriums, theaters, gymnasiums, churches, and other assembly spaces over 100 persons, and department stores or factories over 200 persons. Section 107.1 requires the seal of an architect or engineer registered in Arkansas for all Group A, E, and I occupancies except assembly with an occupant load of 50 or less, for buildings of three or more stories, and for buildings of 5,000 square feet or more. Section 107.2.12 asks for the stamp on every sheet, a signed compliance certification on the front page, and front-page data: occupancy classification, construction type and whether the building is sprinklered, allowable height and area, gross and net floor areas and occupant loads, separation distances to property lines, corridor and shaft protection, rated assemblies and firestop systems with their listings, and the statement of special inspections; structural plans of public buildings must carry an Arkansas engineer’s seal and state the seismic design basis under Act 1100 of 1991. Section 107.2.9 asks plans to show how fire resistance is kept at penetrations, floor and exterior wall intersections, and joints. For health care, the AFPC’s memorandum of understanding gives the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services’ Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance concurrent inspection authority and lets the health care chapters of NFPA 101, as adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, govern where they conflict with the AFPC.

State buildings and schools have their own reviewers. The State Fire Marshal’s office reviews plans for state buildings and state building projects and helps local jurisdictions with state building reviews on request (Facility Reviews). For state capital projects, the Building Authority Division’s Design Review Section applies the AFPC under 22 CAR §111-407, with state law and its own standards taking precedence where they are stricter, and 22 CAR §111-408 makes review by the local fire official mandatory and lists other reviewers, among them the Department of Health’s Plumbing and Natural Gas Section, the Elevator Safety Board, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, the Office of Long-Term Care, and the Energy Office for the energy code; both sections still name the Division of Arkansas State Police as the State Fire Marshal’s home. Accessibility runs on three statements that do not quite match: A.C.A. §20-22-1015 lets the 2010 ADA Standards control where the AFPC conflicts with them, 22 CAR §111-1003 tells state project designers to meet the most stringent of the 2010 ADA Standards and the ANSI A117.1 the AFPC adopts, and A.C.A. §6-20-1407(f), as Act 841 amended it, sends final construction documents for public school additions and renovations to the State Fire Marshal for review against the “Arkansas-adopted” ADA Accessibility Guidelines, with written comments and approved corrections before bidding or construction. Permit routing is on the Arkansas page, and the model codes have their own guides: IFC, IBC, IRC, IMC, and IECC.

Gather the code analysis, the reviewing office, and each discipline’s Arkansas references

Collect the front sheet with the seal, signed certification, and code data Volume II Section 107.2.12 lists, the code analysis with every code and edition cited, the life safety plan with exits, rated assemblies, firestop listings, and sprinkler and alarm coverage, the site plan with fire apparatus access and hydrants, floor plans, sections, and elevations, the structural drawings with the engineer’s seal, seismic design basis, and statement of special inspections, the sprinkler and fire alarm shop drawings, the mechanical, plumbing, gas, and electrical drawings, the energy compliance documents and label, the accessibility plans and details, and the specifications.

Add the city or county, whether it has a building department and building official and the AFPC edition its ordinance adopts, whether the project is a state building or a state-funded capital project, a public school addition or renovation, a health care or long-term care facility, a school over 50 pupils, a dormitory sleeping 50 or more, an assembly space over 100 persons, or a store or factory over 200 persons, and the dates of the permit application and of any state reviews. Read the rules in the Code of Arkansas Rules.

Trace the AFPC and the state codes through the set

Fire code sheets continue in the IFC guide, sprinkler and alarm documents in the NFPA 13, NFPA 13D, and NFPA 72 guides, the fire sprinkler checklist, and the fire alarm drawing checklist, health care in the NFPA 101 guide, storm shelters in the ICC 500 guide, electrical notes in the NFPA 70 guide, energy in the IECC and ASHRAE 90.1 guides, accessible details in the ADA Standards and ICC A117.1 guides and the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Neighboring state codes are in the Oklahoma guide, the Louisiana guide, the Tennessee guide, and the Texas Accessibility Standards guide.

Example: a church fellowship hall in a town without a building official

Hypothetical example. A congregation plans a one-story fellowship hall of about 9,000 square feet seating 300 in an Arkansas town that has a volunteer fire department but no building official. The architect’s office template cites the 2012 AFPC, the front sheet gives the occupancy but not the construction type, sprinkler status, occupant loads, or rated assembly listings, the structural sheets carry the seal of an engineer registered only in a neighboring state and no seismic design statement, the energy notes cite the 2021 IECC, the electrical notes cite the 2023 NEC, and the contractor plans to start once the town clerk accepts the drawings.

With no building official appointed, AFPC Volume II Section 105.1 sends the permit application to the State Fire Marshal, and Section 107.2.11 requires State Fire Marshal approval before construction of an assembly space over 100 persons that the local authority has not approved. The 2021 AFPC has replaced the 2012 edition. Section 107.1 requires an Arkansas-registered architect or engineer for a Group A occupancy over 50, Section 107.2.12 lists construction type, sprinkler status, occupant loads, and rated assembly listings for the front sheet, and structural plans of public buildings need an Arkansas engineer’s seal and seismic design basis. The Energy Office lists the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code, and 17 CAR §210-601 adopts the 2026 NEC. Confirm the reviewing office, the code editions, and the seals.

The architect updates the code analysis to the 2021 AFPC and completes the front sheet, an Arkansas-registered engineer seals the structural sheets with the seismic basis, the energy and electrical engineers confirm the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code and 2026 NEC, and the congregation submits to the State Fire Marshal and waits for approval before starting. The finding is a citation and sequence conflict; the State Fire Marshal decides compliance.

Review an Arkansas set with Groundbook

Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The AFPC rules, the trade board rules, and the state building standards are free in the Code of Arkansas Rules, the Energy Office publishes the 2014 energy code, and the ICC publishes the AFPC volumes. Upload 12 CAR pt. 15, the AFPC volumes the project uses, 17 CAR §210-601 and §261-122, the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code, the city or county ordinance, and for state projects 22 CAR pt. 111 as code files, with the 2021 IFC, IBC, and IRC, the 2021 IMC, the 2026 NEC, and the NFPA and ICC standards the project relies on from copies you are licensed to use where the license permits uploading them. See how Groundbook works with local and licensed codes.

Compare the front sheet, code analysis, life safety plan, and every discipline’s general notes with the architectural, structural, fire protection, mechanical, plumbing, gas, electrical, energy, and accessibility documents. Flag AFPC editions other than 2021, unamended IBC, IRC, IPC, or IFGC citations, front sheet items from AFPC Volume II Section 107.2.12 that are missing, seals not from Arkansas-registered professionals where Section 107.1 requires them, structural sheets without a seismic design statement, electrical notes not on the 2026 NEC with the Arkansas exceptions, energy notes not on the 2014 Arkansas Energy Code, and a reviewing office that does not fit the local building official, occupancy, capacity, and ownership in my instructions. Use the supplied rules, AFPC volumes, ordinance, and model codes and cite both sources.

Groundbook compares the set with reference documents you upload, including licensed codes and standards you hold, and links each potential finding to the note or sheet and to the Arkansas rule, AFPC volume, ordinance, or model code. It has no built-in library of licensed codes, runs no calculations, and does not design anything. It does not decide whether the local building department or the State Fire Marshal reviews the plans, which accessibility standard governs, or whether a proposed rule has taken effect; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.

Document review does not certify compliance, issue a permit or plan approval, or replace the design professional, the local building official and fire official, the State Fire Marshal, the Building Authority Division, the Department of Health, the state electrical and HVACR programs, or the Arkansas Energy Office.