For a building in Maine, check that the code analysis cites the MUBEC: the 2021 IBC, IEBC, IRC, IECC, and IMC with the Maine amendments in 08-003 CMR Chapters 4 to 8, ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1 in their 2019 editions without addenda, and ASTM E1465-08 for radon control, in force since April 7, 2025. Then check the codes that sit beside it: the State Fire Marshal’s NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and NFPA 1, both 2018 editions, which govern the construction permit every public building needs, the Maine plumbing and electrical codes, and the 2010 ADA Standards under the Maine Human Rights Act. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional, the code enforcement officer, and the Fire Marshal’s plans reviewers decide compliance.
Which Maine codes apply to a set of drawings?
10 M.R.S. §9722 has the Technical Building Codes and Standards Board adopt and maintain the MUBEC from the IBC, IEBC, IRC, IECC, and IMC, ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1, and the ASTM radon standard, and since PL 2025, chapter 736 the ICC/MBI 1200 off-site construction standard, each at either the most recent edition or the one before it. 08-003 CMR Chapter 2 says the MUBEC applies to all buildings constructed or renovated in Maine regardless of municipal population, and MOCA’s building codes page says compliance is mandatory and the owner’s responsibility whether or not the town enforces it. 10 M.R.S. §9724 limits home rule: a municipality of more than 4,000 residents must enforce the MUBEC, a smaller one need not but may not adopt or enforce any other building code, and a local building code ordinance inconsistent with the MUBEC has been void since December 1, 2010, although towns keep their own permit, fee, appeal, and enforcement ordinances. Chapter 2 and the Fire Marshal’s MUBEC standards list instead require enforcement at 4,000 residents or more, so confirm the status of a town near that figure with its code office. The code does not apply to log homes, manufactured housing, post and beam or timber frame construction, or warehouses and silos that store harvested crops, nor to buildings that house livestock, store or cultivate crops other than cannabis, or process or store maple sap or syrup, and Chapter 2 excuses seasonal dwellings, as it defines them, from the energy code. 10 M.R.S. §9725 keeps the fire safety codes adopted under 25 M.R.S. §§2452 and 2465 and the electrical, plumbing, oil and solid fuel, propane and natural gas, boiler and pressure vessel, and elevator standards in force in their entirety unless the Board publishes a conflict resolution.
Section 6 of Chapter 2 adopts the 2021 IBC (Chapter 4), IEBC (Chapter 5), IRC (Chapter 6), IECC (Chapter 7), and IMC (Chapter 8) with Maine amendments, an optional MUBEC Stretch Code based on the 2021 IECC in Appendix NA of Chapter 7, the 2019 editions of ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1 without addenda, with CSA F326-M91 allowed as an alternative to ASHRAE 62.2, and ASTM E1465-08. The rule histories record the 2021 amendments as filings 2025-042 to 2025-048 dated March 4, 2025, while the Fire Marshal’s standards list says the codes are effective beginning April 7, 2025; ask the code office which date it applied to an application filed between them. On September 24, 2025, under PL 2025, chapter 388, the Division of Building Codes and Standards moved from the State Fire Marshal’s Office to the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) and the rules were renumbered from 16-642 CMR Chapters 1 to 7 to 08-003 CMR Chapters 2 to 8; the adoption text we compared is unchanged. The rules do not yet list the ICC/MBI 1200 standard the statute now names, so confirm with MOCA before relying on it. All checked November 4, 2026.
The Maine amendments change what a reviewer looks for. Chapter 4 adopts IBC Chapters 1 to 28, 30 to 33, and 35 with Appendices C and O, and excludes Chapter 29 and the other appendices. It replaces references to the International Fire Code and International Property Maintenance Code with NFPA 1 and the Fire Marshal’s codes, the International Fuel Gas Code with NFPA 54, those codes, and the Maine Fuel Board rules, and the International Plumbing Code with the Maine State Plumbing Code. It sends day care classification and atriums to NFPA 101, sets stair egress capacity at 0.3 inch per occupant under NFPA 101 instead of the 0.2-inch factor in IBC Section 1005.3.1, replaces the IBC travel distance table with NFPA 101-2018 Table A7.6, and adds re-entry from stair enclosures serving more than four stories, with an exception for doors that unlock when the fire alarm or detection system activates. It replaces 100 with 300 in IBC Section 903.2.1.2, adds a sprinkler exception for single-story Group R-2 and R-3 buildings of up to 600 square feet and 12 occupants that meet eight conditions, ties sprinkler design to the Fire Marshal’s standards and sprinkler technical policy, allows NFPA 13R in Group R occupancies up to four stories and 60 feet above grade plane, adds ASHRAE 62.1-2019 to mechanical systems, lowers the efficiency dwelling unit area to 160 square feet, and sends public pools to 22 M.R.S. §2661. The IEBC chapter adopts Chapters 1 to 16 and Appendices A to C and replaces ICC 300 with NFPA 102. The IRC chapter adopts Chapters 1 to 11, 15, and 44 with six appendices, requires radon control under ASTM E1465-08 in new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, calls for 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board in the garage separation, says no sprinkler system is required in one- and two-family dwellings, and allows ungraded native sawn lumber in exempt and accessory structures. The energy chapter accepts PassiveHouse and PHIUS certification and optional IECC appendices, changes the residential wood-frame wall insulation values for climate zones 6 to 8, replaces 5.0 with 3.0 and 0.28 with 0.20 in the residential air leakage test of Section R402.4.1.2, and requires a dew point calculation by a registered design professional or approved agency where above-grade walls use less than R-10 continuous exterior insulation, with two exceptions.
Interpretation and enforcement are local. Under 25 M.R.S. §2373 and Chapter 2, a municipality that must enforce the MUBEC does so through its own certified building officials, an interlocal or regional agreement, or reports from certified third-party inspectors, and if it elects none of these, the applicant has a third-party inspector inspect at the applicant’s cost. The Division of Building Codes and Standards gives written, nonbinding advisory interpretations on request. Public buildings also need state review. 25 M.R.S. §2448 bars constructing, altering, or changing the use of a structure to become a public building without a permit from the Commissioner of Public Safety, or from a municipality registered under §2448-A, issued only if a true copy of the plans and specifications complies with the fire safety statutes and rules. Its list, which is not exhaustive, includes schools, hospitals and licensed care homes, theaters and other places of assembly, mercantile occupancies over 3,000 square feet, hotels, motels, business occupancies of two or more stories, and state-owned or state-operated buildings. The Fire Marshal’s construction permit page adds one-story business occupancies of 3,000 square feet or more, requires the permit for new construction, renovation affecting fire safety elements, or change of use regardless of cost, and its submittal criteria say the plans are evaluated under NFPA 101, that sprinkler details come later with the sprinkler contractor’s own permit, and that an extra 11 by 17 inch set is needed for health care, residential care, assisted living, and day care facilities. The Fire Marshal’s adopted NFPA standards include NFPA 101 and NFPA 1 (2018), NFPA 13, 13R, and 13D (2016), NFPA 72 and NFPA 80 (2019), and NFPA 54 (2021).
Accessibility runs through the same office. For work whose permit application was certified complete on or after March 15, 2012, 5 M.R.S. §4594-G sets the 2010 ADA Standards as the standards of construction (the federal transportation standards for transportation facilities), requires a certification from a licensed architect, engineer, certified interior designer, or landscape architect that the plans comply where construction or alteration costs are at least $75,000, given to the Fire Marshal and the municipality, and bars the municipality from issuing a building permit for a public building until the Fire Marshal approves the plans, unless no decision comes within two weeks and an architect or engineer attests compliance. The Fire Marshal’s barrier-free page still names $50,000, the figure §4594-F set for 1996 to 2012 work; confirm the threshold with the Fire Marshal’s plans review. The plumbing code and electrical standards are kept by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, so confirm their editions there. Permit routing is on the Maine page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IEBC, IECC, and NFPA 101.
Gather the code analysis, the life safety plan, and the permit route
Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with each code and edition cited and both the IBC and NFPA 101 occupancy classifications, the life safety plan with egress capacity, travel distances, stair enclosures, and rated assemblies, the site plan at a stated scale with true north and the relationship to nearby buildings and roads, elevations of every side, floor plans of every level, including parts not being renovated, with room uses, door swings, hardware, fire ratings, and stair and ramp details, the fire protection features (emergency lighting, exit signs, detection, extinguishers, and whether the building is sprinklered), the accessibility plans and details, structural general notes, the mechanical drawings with the ventilation basis, the energy compliance documents and any dew point calculation, radon control details for new dwellings, and the specifications.
Add the municipality, whether it enforces the MUBEC and through which inspection option, whether it has adopted the MUBEC Stretch Code, whether the building is a public building under 25 M.R.S. §2448 or the town is registered to issue those permits, the construction or alteration cost for the barrier-free certification, the licensed care or day care use, and whether the building is historic, seasonal, or one of the exempt types. Download the MUBEC chapters from MOCA’s Code Enforcement Rules page and the Fire Marshal rule chapters from the Fire Marshal’s rules page.
Trace the MUBEC and the Fire Marshal’s codes through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Code editions | Cover sheet, code analysis, every discipline’s general notes, 08-003 CMR Chapter 2 | Confirm the 2021 IBC, IEBC, IRC, IECC, and IMC and the 2019 ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1 are cited, flag other editions, and record the 08-003 CMR chapter behind each Maine amendment cited. |
| Replaced model codes | Fire protection, fuel gas, plumbing, and maintenance notes | Flag references to the IFC, IFGC, IPC, or IPMC, which the Maine amendments replace with NFPA 1 and the Fire Marshal’s codes, NFPA 54 and the Fuel Board rules, and the Maine State Plumbing Code. |
| Life safety basis | Life safety plan, stair widths, travel distances, stair door notes, NFPA 101 occupancy | Check that stair capacity and travel distance follow the NFPA 101 provisions the Maine IBC amendments point to, and that stair enclosures serving more than four stories allow re-entry or unlock on alarm. |
| Sprinklers | Sprinkler notes, code analysis, construction permit application | Confirm NFPA 13R is used only within the Maine limits, record any claim of the small Group R-2 or R-3 exception against its conditions, and note that the sprinkler contractor files a separate permit with the Fire Marshal. |
| State permits and accessibility | Occupancy, ownership, construction cost, accessibility plans, certification letter | Record whether the building needs the Fire Marshal’s construction permit and barrier-free review before the town issues its permit, and whether a licensed professional’s certification under the 2010 ADA Standards is required. |
| Energy path | Energy compliance documents, wall sections, envelope schedules, dew point calculation, stretch code adoption | Check the 2021 IECC as amended or ASHRAE 90.1-2019, the Maine wall insulation and air leakage amendments for dwellings, a dew point calculation where exterior insulation is below R-10, and the stretch code where the town adopted it. |
| New dwellings | Foundation and slab details, garage separation, radon and sprinkler notes | Check radon control under ASTM E1465-08, 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board at the garage separation, and that no dwelling sprinkler requirement is presented as a MUBEC requirement. |
Life safety sheets continue in the NFPA 101 guide, the NFPA 1 guide, and the means of egress guide, sprinkler and alarm documents in the NFPA 13R, NFPA 13, and NFPA 72 guides and the fire sprinkler checklist, fuel gas in the NFPA 54 guide, seating in the NFPA 102 guide, ventilation and energy in the ASHRAE 62.1 and ASHRAE 90.1 guides, accessible details in the 2010 ADA Standards guide and the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Other New England state codes are in the New Hampshire guide and the Connecticut guide.
Example: a three-story office building filed only with the city
Hypothetical example. A developer plans a new three-story office building in a Maine city of more than 4,000 residents, with a construction cost well above $75,000. The code analysis cites the 2021 IBC and calculates the stair widths with the 0.2-inch-per-occupant factor of IBC Section 1005.3.1, Exception 1, and the life safety plan checks travel distances against IBC Table 1017.2. The mechanical notes cite the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code for the rooftop units, the ventilation schedule cites ASHRAE 62.1-2022, and the permit plan lists only the city building permit, with no accessibility certification.
The stair widths use the 0.2-inch factor that 08-003 CMR Chapter 4 replaces with 0.3 inch per occupant under NFPA 101, and the travel distances use IBC Table 1017.2, which the same chapter replaces with NFPA 101-2018 Table A7.6. The fuel gas notes cite the International Fuel Gas Code, which the Maine amendments replace with NFPA 54, the Fire Marshal’s codes, and the Maine Fuel Board rules, and the ventilation schedule cites ASHRAE 62.1-2022 while the MUBEC adopts the 2019 edition without addenda. A business occupancy of two or more stories is a public building under 25 M.R.S. §2448, so the Fire Marshal’s construction permit is needed, and 5 M.R.S. §4594-G requires the Fire Marshal’s barrier-free plan review before the city issues the building permit and a licensed professional’s certification for work costing at least $75,000. Confirm the egress basis, the fuel gas and ventilation references, and the permit sequence.
The architect recalculates the stair widths and travel distances on the NFPA 101 basis the amendments name, the mechanical engineer revises the fuel gas notes and the ventilation schedule, and the team applies to the Fire Marshal’s Office for the construction and barrier-free permits with the accessibility certification before the city issues its permit. The finding is a citation and permit-route conflict; the code enforcement officer and the Fire Marshal’s plans reviewers decide compliance.
Review a Maine set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The MUBEC chapters are free on MOCA’s Code Enforcement Rules page, the statutes on the Maine Legislature’s site, and the Fire Marshal’s rule chapters and adopted NFPA list on its website. Upload 08-003 CMR Chapters 2 to 8, the Fire Marshal rule chapters your project relies on, and any town stretch code adoption as code files, with the 2021 International Codes, the 2019 ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1, the 2018 NFPA 101 and NFPA 1, and the other NFPA standards the Fire Marshal adopts 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, accessibility, structural, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, and energy documents. Flag IBC, IEBC, IRC, IECC, or IMC editions other than 2021, ASHRAE 62.1, 62.2, or 90.1 editions other than 2019, references to the IFC, IFGC, IPC, or IPMC that the supplied Maine amendments replace, stair capacity or travel distance not on the NFPA 101 basis the amendments name, NFPA 13R used beyond the Maine limits, missing radon control or garage separation details in new dwellings, and energy documents that skip the Maine air leakage or dew point amendments. Use the supplied MUBEC rules, Fire Marshal rules, 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 MUBEC rule, Fire Marshal rule, 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 a town must enforce the MUBEC, whether a building is a public building, or which permit comes first; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.
Document review does not certify compliance, issue a building, construction, or barrier-free permit, or replace the design professional, the municipal code enforcement officer or third-party inspector, the State Fire Marshal’s plans reviewers, or MOCA’s Division of Building Codes and Standards.