For a Hawaii project, first name the county, then check that the code analysis cites that county’s building code: in Honolulu, the 2018 IBC, IRC, and IEBC with state and city amendments (city amendments effective August 9, 2024, Addendum #1 effective March 11, 2025), the 2018 IECC with state and city amendments, the 2020 NEC and the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as interim codes, and the 2021 NFPA 1 fire code; in Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai counties, the county’s own adoption, which for energy the State Energy Office lists as the 2018 IECC. Then check the state amendments every county code carries, such as the Appendix W wind design data, debris impact protection where a dwelling uses the residential code, and termite protection, and, for state and county projects, the Disability and Communication Access Board review. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional and the county building official decide compliance.
Which Hawaii codes apply to a set of drawings?
HRS §107-25 establishes the Hawaii state building codes, applicable to all construction in the State, based on the state fire code adopted by the State Fire Council, the Uniform Plumbing Code, the IBC, IRC, and IECC, the NEC, Hawaii design standards for hurricane-resistant emergency shelters and essential government facilities, and other nationally published codes for subjects such as elevators, mechanical systems, flood and tsunami, existing buildings, and onsite sewage disposal. Under §107-24 the State Building Code Council establishes those codes, and §107-26 bars it from adopting the counties’ administrative, permitting, enforcement, and inspection procedures, which is why the State Building Code deletes IBC Sections 103 to 116 except the rule on posting live loads and lets each county require permits by ordinance. §107-28 has each county amend and adopt the state codes for its own building code ordinance no later than two years after the state adopts them; if a county does not, the state code becomes an interim county code. §107-27 requires the design of state building construction to comply with the state codes no later than one year after adoption, with exemptions from county codes that have not adopted the state codes and from inconsistent county amendments. So a private project’s permit is reviewed against the county code, and a state project is designed to the state code. The council has twelve voting members, among them a building official from each of the four counties, under §107-22.
The council’s Building Code Rules page lists the current state codes as adopted by the council: the 2018 IRC, IBC, IECC, and IEBC, the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, the State Electric Code, and the State Fire Code on the 2024 NFPA 1. The adopting documents give the dates. The State Building Code adopts the 2018 IBC with amendments, effective April 20, 2021, with errata and addenda approved August 17, 2021, and its cover memo says state building construction had to comply by April 20, 2022 and each county had to amend and adopt it by April 20, 2023. The State Residential Code (2018 IRC) and the State Existing Building Code (2018 IEBC) took effect November 17, 2020, the State Energy Code amendments to the 2018 IECC were adopted December 15, 2020, and the State Plumbing Code on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code is effective May 19, 2020. The State Electrical Code adopts the 2020 NEC, effective March 15, 2022, with a county deadline of March 14, 2024, although the council’s page labels the State Electric Code “2018 NFPA 70”; use the 2020 edition the adopting document names. The State Fire Code, adopted by the State Fire Council under HRS §132-3 and part of the state codes under §107-25, adopts the 2024 NFPA 1, effective September 5, 2025, and provides that the building code governs the design and construction of new buildings where the two differ. The Legislature’s note to §107-31 points to Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 3-180, the State Building Code defines the energy code as chapter 3-181.1, and the State Plumbing Code calls itself chapter 3-183, but §107-24(c) now has the council adopt codes under chapter 92, exempt from chapter 91, and the council posts the 2018 codes as council documents, so cite each by its title and adoption date. All checked November 6, 2026.
Which edition is the state code today is not settled in the sources. Section 107-24(c) says that if the council does not adopt a code within two years of its publication date, the code automatically becomes part of the Hawaii state building code until the council adopts an amended version. The Governor’s Fifteenth Proclamation Relating to Affordable Housing of September 23, 2025, cited on the council’s page, suspends §107-24(c) to stop the council from amending or updating the codes, §107-27(a) and §107-31 for codes the council has not adopted, and the two-year county deadline in §107-28, while letting the counties update their own codes; it recites that the automatic adoption of unamended state codes would otherwise require the counties to adopt them as interim codes. The Twenty-First Proclamation, posted September 8, 2026, repeats those suspensions and runs through November 7, 2026 unless terminated or superseded, so check the Governor’s emergency proclamations for a later one. The council’s December 2025 annual report says the council did not meet and, as a result, the 2021 IBC, IRC, and IECC were adopted by default in the State without state amendments, while the 2018 suite of I-codes is in effect at the county level; the council’s page still lists the 2018 codes as the current state codes. For a county permit, design to the county’s adopted code; for state building construction, confirm the edition with the agency and the Department of Accounting and General Services before design starts.
The counties administer and enforce the codes, as the annual report puts it. The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting lists the codes currently in effect: the 2018 IBC, IRC, and IEBC with state and city amendments in ROH Chapter 16, with the city amendments effective August 9, 2024 and City Addendum #1 effective March 11, 2025; the 2018 IECC with state and city amendments in Chapter 16B; the 2020 NEC in Chapter 17 and the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code in Chapter 19 as interim codes; and the 2021 NFPA 1 fire code in Chapter 20, which the Honolulu Fire Department says was adopted with state and county amendments effective January 3, 2025. The department’s ordinances page gives the interim dates, April 20, 2023 for the building code and November 17, 2022 for the residential and existing building codes, and dates the energy code December 15, 2022 as an interim code, with city amendments effective November 23, 2023. Ask the department about two entries: it lists the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as the interim plumbing code effective March 1, 2024, while the State Plumbing Code is on the 2018 edition, and it dates the 2020 NEC March 14, 2024 on the ordinances page and March 15, 2024 on the building permits page. Honolulu’s fire code is also an earlier NFPA 1 edition than the 2024 State Fire Code. Hawaii County, Maui County, and Kauai County adopt and amend the state codes by their own ordinances; their building agency sites refused automated reading for this guide, so get the adopted editions, county amendments, and effective dates from the county before relying on them.
Energy follows the same county path. The State Energy Office’s building energy codes page says that as of 2024 all four counties had adopted the 2018 IECC, some with county amendments, and that these are the energy codes enforced for new construction; its May 2025 residential training deck lists Hawaii County with no county amendments, Kauai adopting October 10, 2024, Maui November 23, 2022, and Honolulu adopting August 23, 2023, effective November 23, 2023. The same deck applies the residential provisions to one- and two-family dwellings and to Group R-2 and R-4 buildings of three stories or less, and the commercial provisions to all other buildings, including hotels and R-2 buildings of four stories or more. The annual report’s statement that the 2021 IECC was adopted by default at the state level does not change the county energy code a permit is reviewed against.
The state amendments carry Hawaii conditions into every county code that adopts them. The State Building Code adopts Appendix U on hurricane sheltering, which covers community storm shelters, residential safe rooms, and enhanced hurricane protection areas, Appendix W on wind design, which amends the wind design data the construction documents must show and the wind load provisions, and Appendix X on indigenous Hawaiian architecture structures, and the council posts wind topographic factor maps for use with it. Detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of three stories or less with a separate means of egress may follow the State Residential Code only if they have debris impact protection under IBC Section 1609.2, without its Exception 3. References to the International Fuel Gas Code and the International Plumbing Code mean the State Plumbing Code, references to the IFC mean the State Fire Code, and referenced codes the amendment does not list are guidelines, not requirements. The amendments delete occupant evacuation elevators, require roof drains at each low point unless the roof drains over its edges, list the structural data that construction documents for conventional light-frame buildings must show, including wind speeds, seismic design category and site class, flood design data, soil bearing values, and rain load data, amend the seismic design category tables, and amend Section 2304.12 on protection against decay and termites. Buildings with a Group R fire area are sprinklered throughout, but HRS §46-19.8, which is repealed June 30, 2027, bars the counties from requiring sprinklers in new or existing detached one- or two-family dwellings used only as residences and in nonresidential agricultural and aquacultural buildings outside an urban area, except new homes that need a variance from access road or firefighting water supply requirements. The State Plumbing Code starts the building sewer five feet outside the building wall, adds seismic supports for piping, takes minimum fixture counts from the State Building Code, and, unless the authority having jurisdiction requires otherwise, sizes primary roof drainage for a 100-year, 60-minute storm from the National Weather Service rainfall map.
Accessibility review is separate. HRS §103-50 requires plans and specifications for public buildings, facilities, and sites to conform to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines and the Fair Housing Amendments Act design requirements as the Disability and Communication Access Board adopts and amends them, has state and county agencies seek the board’s advice on construction plans before construction starts, and sets a review fee. Private projects still follow federal accessibility law. Permit routing is on the Hawaii page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IEBC, IECC, UPC, NFPA 70, and NFPA 1.
Gather the county code, the state amendments, and the project route
Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with the county, every code and edition cited, the occupancy classification, construction type, and the state and county amendment documents relied on; the site plan with the flood zone, fire apparatus access, and water supply; floor plans, elevations, sections, and wall types with fire ratings; the life safety plan with egress, sprinklers, and alarms; structural general notes with the basic wind speed, exposure, topographic factor, seismic design category and site class, flood design data, soil bearing values, and rain load data; opening protection and debris impact details; termite protection and wood treatment notes; plumbing riser diagrams, fixture counts, and roof drainage; electrical drawings; the energy compliance documents; accessible route and parking plans; and the specifications.
Add whether the project is state building construction, a county project, or private work, whether it relies on state or county affordable housing approvals, the permit application date, and, for state or county projects, the Disability and Communication Access Board submittal. Download the state codes from the Building Code Council, the State Fire Code, and the county’s adopted code and amendments from the county; in Honolulu, the DPP ordinances page links the city amendments.
Trace the state and county codes through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| County and code editions | Cover sheet, code analysis, general notes, the county’s code listing | Confirm the county’s adopted edition with state and county amendments, such as the 2018 IBC with Honolulu’s amendments, and flag 2021 or 2024 model code citations the county has not adopted. |
| State or county project | Owner, funding, project description, the agency’s direction | Record whether §107-27 makes the state code govern the design, and which edition the agency confirms while the council’s updates are suspended. |
| Wind and hurricane design | Structural general notes, wind design data, topographic factor maps, opening protection details | Check the Appendix W wind design data and topographic factor, debris impact protection where a dwelling uses the residential code, and any Appendix U shelter or safe room provisions. |
| Seismic, flood, and soils | Structural notes, geotechnical report, flood zone, foundation plans | Check the seismic design category and site class against the amended tables, and confirm the flood design data and soil bearing values shown on the documents. |
| Termites and wood | Wood framing notes, treatment specifications, connection details | Check the decay and termite protection notes against the state amendment to Section 2304.12 and the specified wood treatment. |
| Fire code and sprinklers | Life safety plan, sprinkler notes, the county fire code | Confirm the county fire code edition, sprinklers for buildings with a Group R fire area, and any dwelling or agricultural building relying on HRS §46-19.8. |
| Plumbing, electrical, energy, and access | Plumbing notes, roof drainage, electrical notes, IECC compliance forms, accessible route plans | Confirm the county’s plumbing and electrical editions, the 2018 IECC residential or commercial path with county amendments, and Access Board review for state or county work. |
Life safety sheets continue in the means of egress guide, the IBC Chapter 9 guide, the IBC Chapter 7 guide, and the NFPA 1 guide, sprinkler documents in the NFPA 13 and NFPA 13R guides and the fire sprinkler checklist, alarm documents in the NFPA 72 guide, wind, seismic, and flood loads in the ASCE 7 and ASCE 24 guides, elevators in the ASME A17.1 guide, and accessible details in the 2010 ADA Standards guide and the accessibility checklist. Other Pacific and hurricane-coast state codes are in the California Building Code guide, the Washington guide, and the Florida Building Code guide.
Example: a mainland set filed in Honolulu
Hypothetical example. A developer plans a four-story mixed-use building in Honolulu with ground-floor retail and apartments above, using drawings adapted from a mainland project. The code analysis cites the 2021 IBC and the 2024 NFPA 1, the structural notes take the wind speed from the ASCE 7 hazard tool with no topographic factor, the wood framing notes have no termite protection, the plumbing notes cite the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, and the energy compliance forms use the 2021 IECC residential provisions for the apartment floors.
Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting enforces the 2018 IBC with state and city amendments, not the 2021 IBC, and the Honolulu Fire Department’s fire code is the 2021 NFPA 1 with state and county amendments, not the 2024 edition. The state amendments adopt Appendix W, which changes the wind design data the construction documents must show, the council posts wind topographic factor maps for that use, and the state amendment to Section 2304.12 covers protection against decay and termites. The department lists the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as the interim plumbing code, and Honolulu’s energy code is the 2018 IECC with state and city amendments, whose commercial provisions apply to a Group R-2 building of four stories or more. Confirm the code basis, the wind data, the termite protection, the plumbing edition, and the energy path with the department.
The architect rewrites the code analysis on Honolulu’s adopted codes, the structural engineer adds the Appendix W wind data with the topographic factor from the council’s maps, the architect adds the termite protection the amended Section 2304.12 calls for, the plumbing engineer confirms the plumbing edition with the department, and the energy consultant redoes the compliance forms under the 2018 IECC commercial provisions with the city amendments. The finding is a citation and edition conflict; the Department of Planning and Permitting and the Honolulu Fire Department decide compliance.
Review a Hawaii set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The Building Code Council and the State Fire Council post the state codes as free PDFs, the statutes are on the Legislature’s site, and Honolulu links its city amendments from its ordinances page. Upload those and the county’s amendments as code files, with the 2018 IBC, IRC, IEBC, and IECC, the Uniform Plumbing Code and NEC editions the county uses, NFPA 1, and the referenced standards 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, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fire protection, energy, and accessibility documents. Flag IBC, IRC, IEBC, or IECC editions other than the ones the county code in my instructions adopts, missing state amendments such as the Appendix W wind design data and the Section 2304.12 termite protection, dwellings using the residential code without debris impact protection, fire code citations that do not match the county fire code, plumbing and electrical editions the county does not use, and energy forms on the wrong residential or commercial path. Use the supplied state and county 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 Hawaii statute, state code, county 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 which edition is the state code while the council is suspended, whether §107-27 applies to a project, or whether a county amendment governs; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.
Document review does not certify compliance, issue a building permit, or replace the design professional, the county building official and plans examiners, the county fire department, the Disability and Communication Access Board, or the agency responsible for state building construction.