Groundbook AI checks drawings against the building codes you select for the review, including local and state codes and amendments. It detects the codes your drawings cite and already has many in its library. For a code it does not have, upload the code PDF or add a link to a public code page. Save an uploaded code PDF once and reuse it on every future project. Uploaded codes are private to your account and are never shared with other customers.
How Groundbook finds the codes a project cites
When building-code checks are turned on for a review, Groundbook reads the code references in the uploaded drawings, usually from the code analysis, the cover sheet, and the general notes, and lists the codes it found for each drawing file. You can remove a code that does not apply and add one the drawings did not name.
Each code on that list is either already in Groundbook’s library or marked as needing a source. A code in the library needs nothing further. A code marked source needed is one Groundbook does not yet hold, which is common for a municipal amendment, a state supplement, a fire-district ordinance, or an older edition. That is where your own copy comes in.
Three ways to supply a local code
For any code Groundbook does not have, you choose the source for the review. Three options are available.
| Option | Use it when | What Groundbook does | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groundbook library | The code and edition are already listed as found in the library | Uses the library copy; nothing to upload | Included in the review price |
| Upload a code PDF | You hold the adopted code, amendment, or ordinance as a PDF | Processes the PDF, confirms it matches the cited code, and reviews the drawings against it | Priced by the PDF’s page count, shown before you pay |
| Add a public link | The jurisdiction publishes the code on a public web page | Reads the page you link; the link must be publicly accessible without signing in and legal to share | Adds $10 to that review |
A PDF you have already uploaded to the project as a code file can also be assigned to a code that needs a source. Groundbook tries to match uploaded code PDFs to the cited codes automatically and asks you to confirm when it cannot tell whether a file is the same code and edition.
Save a code once and reuse it on every project
Uploaded PDFs, including code PDFs, can be saved for later. Mark a processed file as saved, and it appears in your saved files, where any future project can add it without uploading or processing it again. The typical pattern for a firm that works in one or two jurisdictions is to upload the adopted codes and local amendments on the first project, save them, and add them from saved files on every project after that.
- Keep the edition visible. Name the saved file with the code, the edition year, and the jurisdiction, so the right version is easy to pick when the adopted edition changes.
- Save amendments separately from the model code. A state supplement or municipal ordinance is usually a separate document, and keeping it separate lets Groundbook cite it as its own source.
- Review the code list on each project. Detected codes come from the drawings, so a set that cites the wrong edition will show that edition. Correct the list before the review starts.
Who can see the codes you upload
A saved file belongs to the account that uploaded it. It is not visible to other Groundbook customers, it is not added to Groundbook’s shared library, and it is not used to train third-party AI models. Within your own organization, a project can be shared with the colleagues you choose, and the review results reference the code source you supplied; the saved file itself remains in your own account.
What a local-code finding looks like
A code finding pairs the drawing condition with the requirement it appears to conflict with, quotes the cited text, and links both. In the published waterfront hotel review, a door-rating finding placed the door schedule beside the separation requirement and the referenced opening-protection provision, so the reviewer could see the rated wall, the unrated door, and the section that applied before deciding anything. Findings include a severity, the disciplines involved, the possible impact, and a recommended fix. See the sample plan review report for that example and eight others.
The same structure applies to a local amendment. If a city’s ordinance requires a stricter guard height, a larger fire-flow, or a different egress width than the model code, the finding cites the ordinance you supplied, and the reviewer can check the exact clause.
What the review does not decide
Find the official authorities and reference documents for your project in our AI plan review guides for all 50 states and San Francisco.
Groundbook flags potential code issues with their evidence. It does not certify compliance, decide which edition governs a project, or interpret an exception on the jurisdiction’s behalf. Confirm the adopted editions and amendments with the project team or the authority having jurisdiction, and treat every code finding as a question for the responsible professional to close. For the review scope and workflow, see the building code compliance review.