New Hampshire state building code plan review: the 2024 codes since July 1, 2026, the six-month concurrency period, and no local technical amendments

Which New Hampshire codes apply to a set of drawings?

Under RSA 155-A:2, all buildings, building components, and structures constructed in New Hampshire must comply with the state building code and the state fire code, and the code in effect when the permit application is received stays in effect for the work under that permit. RSA 155-A:1, IV defines the state building code as the IBC, IEBC, IPC, IMC, IECC, ISPSC, and IRC published by the International Code Council and the NEC published by NFPA, as reviewed and recommended by the State Building Code Review Board, with the amendments the Board approved and the legislature ratified, and with errata the Board approves. The list does not include the International Fire Code or the International Fuel Gas Code. RSA 153:1 makes NFPA 101 and NFPA 1 the state fire code, as amended by the state board of fire control and ratified by the legislature, and folds in the other codes and standards those two refer to unless they are amended, so confirm with the fire official which standard governs fuel gas piping. Where the building code and the fire code conflict, RSA 155-A:2, II gives precedence to the code with the greater degree of life safety, and if the municipal building and fire officials cannot agree, the owner may decide after written notice and two business days. The statute also sets limits of its own: arc-fault circuit interrupter protection beyond what the 2014 NEC required is not enforced under the state building code, residential buildings up to four floors above grade plane may have one stairway under conditions the Review Board sets, and no municipality may enforce a sprinkler requirement for a detached one- or two-family dwelling used only as a residence, or for an existing building with no more than four dwelling units, unless sprinklers exist or a nonresidential occupancy requires them.

2026 chapter 49 (HB 1159), approved May 8, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, replaced the 2021 editions of the IBC, IEBC, IPC, IMC, ISPSC, and IRC with the 2024 editions, kept the 2018 IECC and the 2023 NEC, and moved the cutoff for Board-approved amendments from April 11 to October 10, 2025. RSA 155-A:2, I sets a concurrency period of six months after the effective date, during which an applicant may show compliance with either the code in effect just before or the new code, but not a combination of the two. RSA 153:1 defines the state fire code as the 2024 editions of NFPA 101 and NFPA 1; the definition was last amended by 2026 chapter 104, effective July 27, 2026, and the fire marshal’s amendments to it are published in the Saf-FMO rules, separately from Saf-C 6000. All checked November 3, 2026.

The amendments themselves are not printed in the statute. RSA 155-A:10 requires the Board to keep a publicly accessible list of the applicable codes and amendments, with municipal amendments listed by where they apply, so get the current list from the Department of Safety or the building official before relying on an amended section. For residential energy compliance, RSA 155-A:10-a has the Board publish a simplified compliance form that every enforcement authority must accept as one method of showing compliance, filed with the building official or, where a town has no enforcement mechanism, with the Department of Energy. One change is pending: from July 1, 2027, RSA 155-A:7, VI gives the State Fire Marshal power to approve, disapprove, or allow alternative materials, design, and methods and code modifications to the state building code for all municipalities.

Enforcement is local where a municipality chooses it. RSA 155-A:3 lets a local legislative body set up a local enforcement agency with a building official who reviews construction documents, issues permits, and inspects, and allows only administrative amendments that are not less stringent than the state code: no amendments to its technical requirements are permitted. A local amendment adopted before July 1, 2025 is not enforced if it was not submitted to the Review Board by that date or if the Board withholds confirmation, and an ordinance adopted on or after July 1, 2025 is not enforced until the Board confirms it. A town may adopt another nationally recognized code only if it is consistent with the state code and the state code does not already include one of the same or similar scope. Under RSA 155-A:7 the local enforcement agency enforces the building code and the local fire chief enforces the fire code, and where a town has no enforcement agency or third-party contract, the State Fire Marshal may enforce both on the town’s written request. In a town without an enforcement mechanism, RSA 155-A:2, VI requires the contractor to notify the State Fire Marshal of the type of construction before work begins, except for one- and two-family dwellings. RSA 155-A:4 has the State Fire Marshal issue permits for buildings owned by the state, the community college system, and the university system, after considering the local fire chief’s and building official’s written recommendations, and requires a building official to act on a complete application within 30 days, or 60 days for nonresidential work or more than 10 dwelling units.

Some projects need state plan review as well. Saf-C 6008 sets the request, on form DSFS 107, for the State Fire Marshal’s office to review the engineering plans of publicly funded school facilities, school building aid projects, and healthcare facilities, and asks for building plans meeting the submittal requirements of IBC Section 107, a letter from the New Hampshire licensed architect or engineer stating the design meets the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New Hampshire barrier-free design code, sprinkler working plans under NFPA 13 Chapter 23, and fire alarm documents under NFPA 72 Chapter 7. For a public building, RSA 155-A:5-a requires a written certification from a qualified person, such as a New Hampshire licensed architect or engineer, that the drawings and the completed work meet the accessibility standards of the state building code, unless a qualified municipal building official reviews and certifies them, and Abfd 303.01 applies the 2010 ADA Standards, as clarified or modified by Abfd 303.02, to publicly funded public buildings. Permit routing is on the New Hampshire page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IECC, NFPA 101, and NFPA 1.

Gather the code analysis, the permit authority, and each discipline’s New Hampshire references

Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with every code and edition cited, the life safety plans with occupancy, construction type, rated assemblies, and egress, the site plan with fire department access and water supply, elevations and sections, structural general notes and design criteria, the plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, and electrical drawings, the sprinkler working plans and fire alarm documents or the list of deferred systems, the energy compliance documents or the state’s simplified residential form, the accessibility plans and details, and the specifications.

Add the town or city and whether it has an enforcement mechanism, the date the permit application was or will be received and, during the concurrency period, which code the applicant elects, whether the building is owned by the state, the community college system, or the university system, whether it is a publicly funded school, a school building aid project, or a healthcare facility, any local ordinance and its Board confirmation, the Board’s current amendment list, and, for a residential building with one stairway, the Board’s conditions. Download the statute sections from the General Court’s website.

Trace the state building code through the set

Fire code sheets continue in the NFPA 101 guide and the NFPA 1 guide, sprinkler and alarm documents in the NFPA 13 guide, the NFPA 72 guide, and the fire sprinkler checklist, existing buildings in the IEBC guide, plumbing and mechanical sheets in the IPC and IMC guides, pools in the ISPSC guide, electrical notes in the NFPA 70 guide, accessible details in the 2010 ADA Standards guide and the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Other northeastern state codes are in the Connecticut guide and the New Jersey guide.

Example: a four-story apartment building during the concurrency period

Hypothetical example. A four-story apartment building with one exit stairway is planned in a New Hampshire town with its own building official, and the permit application is filed in September 2026. The architectural code analysis cites the 2024 IBC, the plumbing sheets cite the 2021 IPC, and the energy report is prepared to the 2021 IECC. The egress plan relies on a single stairway without citing the Review Board’s conditions, and the electrical notes require arc-fault protection in every location the 2023 NEC lists, without mentioning the state limit.

The architectural sheets cite the 2024 IBC while the plumbing sheets cite the 2021 IPC; RSA 155-A:2, I lets an applicant use either the 2024 codes or the prior codes during the six months after July 1, 2026, but not a combination of the two. The energy report follows the 2021 IECC, while RSA 155-A:1, IV adopts the 2018 IECC. The single exit stairway relies on RSA 155-A:2, XII, which allows one stairway in residential buildings up to four floors above grade plane only under conditions the State Building Code Review Board sets, and the set does not cite them. The electrical notes apply every arc-fault requirement of the 2023 NEC, while RSA 155-A:2, XI says any NEC provision requiring arc-fault protection beyond the 2014 NEC shall not be enforced under the state building code. Confirm the code basis, the energy edition, the stair conditions, and which arc-fault locations the building official will enforce.

The architect chooses one code for the whole set and updates the plumbing sheets, the energy consultant reruns the report under the 2018 IECC as amended, the team obtains the Board’s single-stair conditions and documents how the design meets them, and the owner decides whether to keep any arc-fault protection beyond the enforceable scope as a voluntary choice. The finding is a citation conflict; the building official decides compliance.

Review a New Hampshire set with Groundbook

Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. RSA 155-A and RSA 153 are free on the General Court’s website, Saf-C 6000 and Abfd 300 are free in the New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules, and the State Building Code Review Board keeps the list of statewide and confirmed local amendments. Upload the statute sections, the Board’s amendments, and any confirmed local ordinance as code files, with the 2024 International Codes, the 2018 IECC, the 2023 NEC, and the 2024 NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 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, and every discipline’s general notes with the architectural, life safety, accessibility, structural, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, electrical, fire protection, and energy documents. Flag citations to 2021 editions of the IBC, IEBC, IPC, IMC, ISPSC, or IRC unless my instructions say the applicant elected the prior codes, any set that mixes 2021 and 2024 editions, energy documents not on the 2018 IECC, electrical notes not on the 2023 NEC, fire protection notes that do not follow the supplied NFPA 1 and NFPA 101, local requirements not on the supplied list of Board-confirmed amendments, arc-fault protection beyond the 2014 NEC presented as a code requirement, and single-stair residential designs that do not cite the supplied Board conditions. Use the supplied statute, amendments, 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 statute, amendment, 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 code an applicant may elect, whether a local requirement is enforceable, or who issues the permit; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.

Document review does not certify compliance, issue a permit, or replace the design professional, the local building official or fire chief, the State Fire Marshal, or the State Building Code Review Board.