District of Columbia construction codes plan review: the 2017 DC Construction Codes, DOB and third-party review, federal premises, and the net-zero dates

Which DC construction codes apply to a set of drawings?

The District adopts its own construction codes under the Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986, and D.C. Code § 6-1409 lets the Mayor adopt new editions of the model codes by rulemaking, with a 45-day Council review that excludes weekends, holidays, and recess. The result is Title 12 of the DC Municipal Regulations, the Construction Codes Supplement of 2017, with Subtitles 12-A (Building) through 12-L (Swimming Pool and Spa) and 12-M (Fees). 12-A DCMR § 101.1 defines the Construction Codes as twelve model codes plus all the additions, insertions, and deletions in the supplement, and says model code appendices do not apply unless the supplement adopts them. Chapter 1 of 12-A is the administrative chapter for every code except the Property Maintenance Code and the Fire Code, which have their own first chapters in 12-G and 12-H. Under 12-A DCMR § 102.1.1 the supplement takes precedence over the model codes, and the Construction Codes neither modify nor are modified by the Zoning Regulations; a conflict needs a waiver from the code official or relief from the Board of Zoning Adjustment. The Building Code covers every building and structure, with three exceptions: detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of no more than three stories above grade plane with a separate means of egress may follow the Residential Code together with Building Code Chapters 17, 18, 32, and 33; existing buildings undergoing repair, alteration, addition, or change of occupancy may follow the Existing Building Code; and home day care in Group R-3 dwellings may follow Appendix M of the Residential Code. Under 12-A DCMR § 101.14 the codes apply within the District, including premises owned, occupied, or controlled by the District government and its independent agencies, but not to premises owned by the United States.

The 2017 DC Construction Codes took effect on May 29, 2020 (67 DCR 5690). 12-A DCMR § 101.1 lists the 2015 International Building, Residential, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Plumbing, Property Maintenance, Fire, Existing Building, and Swimming Pool and Spa Codes, the 2014 National Electrical Code, ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013 for the commercial energy provisions and the residential provisions of the 2015 IECC, and the 2012 International Green Construction Code. A final rulemaking published July 30, 2021 (68 DCR 7439) amended Sections 102, 106, and 109 of 12-A. DOB links integrated versions of the 2017 Building, Energy Conservation, and Green Construction Codes, but says they do not show amendments adopted after May 29, 2020 and that Title 12 DCMR is the official text, so cite the DCMR section, not only the integrated PDF. The sources disagree on the green code: 12-A § 101.1 and § 101.12 and the editor’s note to 12-K DCMR § 101 name the 2012 IgCC, while DOEE’s green building page and DOB’s sample cover sheet describe the Green Construction Code as based on the 2015 IgCC; the regulation governs, so cite the 2012 IgCC with 12-K and confirm with DOB if a reviewer asks for the other.

Nothing newer has been adopted. Since the Construction Codes Coordinating Board sunset on February 10, 2026, DOB has led code development under Mayor’s Orders 2026-021 and 2026-022, and its code development page and FAQs say it is updating all twelve codes, with a first proposed rulemaking and 45-day comment period planned for fall 2026, a second proposed rulemaking in summer 2027, Council review in fall 2027, final codes in late 2027, and a target completion date of December 31, 2027. The DOB pages read here do not name the model code editions the next codes will use, and a proposed rule is not adopted code. When a new edition arrives, 12-A DCMR § 123 keeps the prior edition for work under a permit issued before the effective date; for an application whose filing deposit was paid before that date with documents complete enough to process without substantial change, if the permit is obtained within 12 months; for a design contract executed before that date, if the application is filed within 12 months with a copy of the contract and a notarized affidavit; for first-time tenant layouts in a new building and in certain Level 3 alteration projects; and, at the owner’s option, for revisions of an active permit. Record the filing date and design contract date of any set near a code change.

Energy has its own layers. 12-A DCMR § 101.10 adopts ASHRAE 90.1-2013 with Normative Appendices A, B, C, D, and G for commercial buildings and the 2015 IECC residential provisions for residential buildings, with each occupancy of a mixed building meeting its own provisions, and lists alternative compliance paths: Appendix Z, the District’s net-zero energy path (all of it except Z5.2), and certification under the Living Building Challenge, ILFI Zero Energy, PHIUS+ or PHI with on-site solar, or LEED with LEED Zero Carbon or Zero Energy, with an Energy Rating Index of 0 and the department’s residential net-zero energy program among the residential paths. 12-I[CE] DCMR § 13.1 requires on-site renewable energy systems for new construction, additions, and Level 3 alterations of 10,000 square feet or more (first-time tenant fit-outs in a new core and shell excepted), through a standard approach sized by gross roof area or an alternate approach that pairs a smaller system with higher-efficiency equipment from ASHRAE 189.1, unless the project shows both low available solar radiation and a commitment to buy certified renewable electricity. The net-zero statute is in flux. D.C. Code § 6-1453.01, as compiled on the Council’s site with emergency amendments that expire November 11, 2026 and January 27, 2027, requires final net-zero regulations for new construction and Level 3 alterations of covered buildings (those under the commercial energy provisions) by December 31, 2027, bars approval of a permit application submitted after December 31, 2026 for a new covered building or an addition over 10,000 square feet whose design uses on-site fuel combustion for space heating and water heating, and bars approval of such applications, including Level 3 alterations, unless the design conserves at least as much energy as the 2024 IECC would. The permanent text of D.C. Law 24-177 instead required net-zero regulations by December 31, 2026 and, failing them, Appendix Z compliance for applications submitted after that date, and DOEE’s green building page still gives December 31, 2026 for the net-zero code. Confirm with DOB and DOEE which text governs on the day you file. All checked November 8, 2026.

DOB reviews the plans. D.C. Code § 10-561.02 establishes the Department of Buildings to review proposed plans for technical sufficiency, issue permits, and enforce the building codes, although 12-A DCMR § 103 still names the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Its Director is the code official, and the Fire Chief is the code official for the Fire Code, except that the Director enforces every Fire Code provision on the approval, design, installation, testing, and inspection of new fire protection systems and modifications of existing ones, while the Fire Chief keeps maintenance, testing, and inspection of existing systems (12-H DCMR § 103.1). DC Fire and EMS’s Office of the Fire Marshal says its Technical Inspections Plans and Permits Branch reviews plans, fire evacuation plans, public space waivers, and public assembly events and issues the Fire Code’s operational permits. Submittals are electronic under 12-A DCMR § 106.1.1; DOB’s plan review page requires an online commercial or residential checklist before a ProjectDox submission, offers a Preliminary Design Review Meeting for large projects and a paid Accelerated Plan Review with meetings scheduled within 15 business days, and its service level agreements give 30 business days for DOB’s own review of filed projects, with other agencies’ reviews taking additional time. Section 106 asks for documents prepared and sealed by an architect or engineer licensed in the District where the work is architecture or engineering, drawn at no less than 1/8 inch to the foot (site plans and plats excepted), with occupant numbers for every floor and room outside Groups R-2, R-3, and I-1, an official building plat from the DC Office of the Surveyor, zoning data, and a statement of special inspections where Chapter 17 requires one.

Third-party review is the applicant’s choice. 12-A DCMR § 105.5.1 lets an applicant use an approved third-party agency for the code compliance review at its own expense, after notifying DOB of its intent, and DOB completes its review within 15 business days of a complete package that includes the certification, with permits still subject to other agencies’ approvals and adjoining-premises notification. D.C. Code § 6-1405.02 requires the reviewer to hold a District architecture or engineering license, bars anyone who designed, owns, builds, or advised the project on code matters, and keeps the District’s own obligation to review the documents. DOB’s Third-Party Program Procedure Manual (revised May 15, 2023) excludes work that needs the review or approval of DOEE, DC Health, the Historic Preservation Review Board, the Commission of Fine Arts, DC Water, WMATA, or DDOT, floodplain properties without DOB’s written approval, code modifications, alternative materials and methods, and vaults or projections into public space without DDOT’s written approval. Third-party and special inspections are arranged through Tertius under Section 109.

Other agencies sign off on their own parts, and 12-A DCMR § 106.5.1 makes the applicant responsible for those approvals, including the Historic Preservation Office and Review Board, DOEE, the Public Space Committee, DDOT, the Commission of Fine Arts, the Chinatown Steering Committee, and DC Water, whose conditions become permit conditions. Plumbing plans need a diagram of the lowest fixture against the top of the public sewer on DC Water’s datum, the main’s minimum pressure in front of the building, and a DC Water Certificate of Approval wherever DC Water is asked for new water or sewer connections. Section 102.2 sends work in public space to DDOT’s and DC Water’s standards and permits; Section 105.5.2 holds a permit for a major substantial improvement or land-disturbing activity until the plans reflect the stormwater and erosion control features approved under 21 DCMR Chapter 5; and Section 105.5.3 needs the Floodplain Administrator’s comments for work under Appendix G.

Federal premises fall outside the codes. 12-A DCMR § 101.14.1 excludes premises owned by the United States, counting premises under the exclusive control of a federal officer as federally owned, but not premises leased to the United States where the lessor maintains and repairs them, or federal land leased to others for development under a long-term ground lease. Even on federal premises, Section 101.14.1.1 still requires a permit for major substantial improvement or land-disturbing activities that involve stormwater, erosion and sediment control, or floodplain measures. Embassies and chanceries must substantially comply with the codes as the U.S. Secretary of State requires under the Foreign Missions Act, with permits for land-disturbing work; no permit issues near the official residence of the President or Vice President where the U.S. Secret Service establishes that it would adversely affect their safety and security; and piers, wharves, and other structures in or beside the District’s rivers are covered, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting work in navigable waters. DC Fire and EMS’s routine inspections also exclude federally owned or occupied buildings. Department of Defense work follows its own criteria, described in the UFC 1-200-01 guide.

The Green Building Act and DOEE’s programs touch the drawings at permit. Under 12-A DCMR § 101.12.3 the Green Construction Code applies to new construction, additions, alterations, and demolition of 10,000 square feet or more, measured by the work area or the addition alone, but not to one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of three stories or less or to Group R-3 buildings, and it does not apply where a project within the Green Building Act complies with it or certifies under LEED at the Certified level or the Living Building Challenge, or, for Group R-2, under Enterprise Green Communities (affordable housing) or ICC 700 at bronze with ENERGY STAR. For private projects of 50,000 square feet or more, D.C. Code § 6-1451.03 requires nonresidential new construction and substantial improvements to submit a green building checklist with the permit application and verify LEED certification within two years of the certificate of occupancy, and requires new construction or substantial improvement of a building type ENERGY STAR tools cover, with a first permit application after January 1, 2012, to estimate its energy performance with ENERGY STAR Target Finder before construction. For District-owned projects and projects at least 15 percent District-financed, D.C. Code § 6-1451.02 and 12-K DCMR § 302 require LEED Silver for nonresidential projects (public schools differ), a design score of 75 on Target Finder for new construction of 10,000 square feet or more, and, with listed exceptions, the net-zero energy standard. Annual ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking, now required from 10,000 square feet, and DOEE’s Building Energy Performance Standards govern operation of existing buildings rather than the permit set. Two more statutes change sheets: D.C. Code § 6-1451.03a requires electric vehicle make-ready infrastructure for at least 20 percent of parking spaces in new construction or substantial improvement of commercial and multi-unit buildings with three or more spaces, for permits issued after January 1, 2022, and D.C. Code § 8-2241.02 requires bird-friendly materials on facades and fenestration up to 100 feet above grade for new construction, or replacement of all or substantially all exterior glazing, of commercial, multi-unit residential, institutional, and District-owned or operated buildings applied for on or after January 1, 2025, and, for installations whose construction begins after October 1, 2024, at glazed corners and fly-through conditions up to 100 feet and on glazing within 24 feet above green roofs and roof terraces; historic landmarks are exempt. DOEE’s summary says permits issued after January 1, 2025, so check the application date against the statute.

Accessibility follows the Building Code. 12-A DCMR § 1101.1 makes Chapter 11 and Appendix E of the IBC, except Section E110 on airports, control accessible design, and Section 1101.3 rounds fractional results in Section 1107 up to the next whole number. Section 1107 requires at least 15 percent Type A units in Group R-2 buildings with more than ten units, counting all units on the site, with at least 1 percent of them and never fewer than one served by a roll-in shower with a folding seat; makes every unit a Type B unit where a single structure has four or more units intended as residences, subject to the Section 1107.7 reductions; and requires at least 5 percent accessible sleeping units in Group I-3. Section 1103 exempts equipment spaces visited only for maintenance and sends existing buildings to the Existing Building Code. Federal accessibility requirements apply separately; see the ADA Standards guide. Neighboring jurisdictions are in the Maryland Building Performance Standards guide and the Virginia USBC guide, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IFC, IEBC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, NFPA 70, ASHRAE 90.1, and ISPSC.

Gather the code analysis, the filing facts, and each discipline’s DC references

Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with every code and edition cited; the official building plat and site plan with the zoning data; floor plans with occupant numbers by floor and room, sections, elevations, and door, window, and glazing schedules; the life safety plan with exits, travel distances, rated assemblies, fire doors and dampers, firestop details, exit signs, and emergency lighting; the fire protection drawings with risers, valves, flow and pressure sensors, fire department connections, fire and jockey pumps, smoke control and stair pressurization calculations, and, for work in part of an existing building, the floor-by-floor sprinkler scoping document; the structural drawings with superimposed dead loads, snow and wind design loads, drift loads on adjacent roofs, and the statement of special inspections; the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical drawings with drainage fixture units, the public sewer diagram, and the DC Water Certificate of Approval; the energy compliance documents the code lists (envelope R-values, fenestration U-factors and SHGC, equipment efficiencies, economizers, fan power, duct sealing, lighting and controls, and air sealing details) with the renewable energy system or exception; the green building checklist and Target Finder estimate; the parking plan with EV make-ready spaces; the accessibility plans and unit matrix; and the specifications.

Add who owns or controls the land (the United States, a foreign mission, the District, or a private owner, and any lease or ground lease), whether the District owns the project or finances at least 15 percent of its cost, the gross floor area and the work area, the planned application date and the date of the design contract, whether a third-party agency will review, and any work in public space, new water or sewer connections, a flood hazard area, a historic district, or land disturbance. Read the regulations on DCRegs, the statutes on the Council’s D.C. Code site, the editions and code development notices on DOB’s construction codes page, the submittal steps on DOB’s plan review page, and the green building requirements on DOEE’s green building page.

Trace the DC codes and reviewers through the set

Fire code sheets continue in the IFC guide, the IBC Chapter 9 guide, the means of egress guide, and the IBC Chapter 7 guide, sprinkler and alarm documents in the NFPA 13 and NFPA 72 guides, the fire sprinkler checklist, and the fire alarm drawing checklist, structural loads in the ASCE 7 guide and the structural drawing checklist, special inspections in the special inspections guide, energy in the ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC guides and the solar PV checklist, glazing in the glazing specifications guide, stormwater in the stormwater and utility guide, flood-resistant work in the ASCE 24 guide, plumbing in the IPC guide and the plumbing fixture count guide, existing buildings in the IEBC guide, and accessible details in the ICC A117.1 and ADA Standards guides and the accessibility checklist. Neighboring codes are in the Maryland guide and the Virginia guide, and another city code with its own amendments is in the NYC Construction Codes guide.

Example: a seven-story apartment building beside rowhouses

Hypothetical example. A developer plans a privately financed, seven-story apartment building of about 115,000 square feet with 110 units and ground-floor retail, next to a row of three-story rowhouses, and plans to file the permit application in February 2027. The architect reused a cover sheet from a project outside the District that cites the 2021 IBC and the 2021 IECC; the unit matrix shows six Type A units; the roof plan has mechanical equipment but no photovoltaic array; the mechanical and plumbing schedules list gas-fired boilers for heating and gas-fired water heaters for domestic hot water; and the structural notes give roof snow loads for the new building only.

A DOB application today is reviewed against the 2017 DC Construction Codes: 12-A DCMR Section 101.1 adopts the 2015 IBC, ASHRAE 90.1-2013 for the commercial energy provisions, and the 2012 IgCC, each with its 12 DCMR supplement, not the 2021 editions on the cover sheet. Section 1107.6.2.2.1 of the Building Code supplement requires at least 15 percent Type A units in a Group R-2 building with more than ten units, and Section 1101.3 rounds up, so 110 units need 17 Type A units, with at least one roll-in shower; the matrix shows six. Section 13.1 of the commercial energy supplement requires on-site renewable energy systems for new construction of 10,000 square feet or more unless both exceptions are shown. Section 1603.1.3.1 requires the application to state the added snow drift load on the adjacent rowhouse roofs and whether they can carry it. And under D.C. Code Section 6-1453.01 as compiled with the 2026 emergency amendments, an application for a new covered building submitted after December 31, 2026 cannot be approved if its design uses on-site fuel combustion for space heating and water heating, while the permanent text points to Appendix Z instead. Confirm the edition, the Type A count, the renewable path, the drift analysis, and the filing-date rules with DOB before filing.

The architect rewrites the code analysis to the 2017 DC Construction Codes and redraws the unit matrix with 17 Type A units, one with a roll-in shower; the engineers add a rooftop photovoltaic system sized under the standard renewables approach, change the boilers and water heaters to electric heat pump equipment, and add drift loads on the neighbors’ roofs with notification of the adjoining owners; and the team confirms with DOB and DOEE which version of the net-zero statute applies on the filing date. The finding is a citation and coordination conflict; DOB’s code official decides compliance.

Review a DC set with Groundbook

Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The District’s Construction Codes Supplement is free on DCRegs, the D.C. Code is free on the Council’s site, and DOB and DOEE post their checklists, manuals, and green building requirements. Upload the 12 DCMR subtitles that apply, the D.C. Code sections on green building, net-zero energy, EV make-ready parking, and bird-friendly construction, and DOB’s checklists and Third-Party Program Procedure Manual as code files, with the 2015 IBC, IRC, IFC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IEBC, and ISPSC, the 2014 NEC, ASHRAE 90.1-2013, the 2015 IECC, the 2012 IgCC, and the referenced 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 cover sheet, code analysis, life safety plan, and every discipline’s general notes with the architectural, structural, fire protection, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, energy, green building, and accessibility documents. Flag a reviewing office that does not fit the land ownership in my instructions, code editions other than the 2017 DC Construction Codes and their 12 DCMR supplements, fire protection drawings missing the items 12-A DCMR Section 106.2.5 lists, structural notes without superimposed dead loads, the District minimum snow and wind loads, or drift loads on adjacent roofs, a project of 10,000 square feet or more without an on-site renewable system or both exceptions, on-site fuel combustion for space heating and water heating in a new covered building to be filed after December 31, 2026, a Type A unit count below 15 percent rounded up, missing EV make-ready spaces or bird-friendly glazing where the statutes require them, and plumbing plans without the public sewer diagram or DC Water Certificate of Approval. Use the supplied regulations, statutes, 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 DCMR section, D.C. Code section, DOB checklist, 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 DOB has jurisdiction over federal, leased, or foreign mission premises, which edition governs a filing near a code change, which version of the net-zero statute applies where the emergency and permanent texts differ, or whether a third-party certification will be accepted; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.

Document review does not certify compliance, issue a permit, plan approval, Certificate of Approval, or certificate of occupancy, or replace the design professional, DOB’s code official, a third-party plan reviewer, DC Fire and EMS, DOEE, DC Water, or DDOT.