For a building in North Dakota, check that the code analysis cites the North Dakota State Building Code effective January 1, 2026: the 2024 IBC, IRC, IMC, IFGC, IECC, and IEBC with the state amendments in the Department of Commerce code book, with no appendices adopted. Then confirm who enforces it, since only cities, townships, and counties that elect to enforce a building code review plans, while state agencies, local governments, and public and private schools must meet the state code even where no local program exists. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional and the building official decide compliance.
Which North Dakota codes apply to a set of drawings?
Under NDCC chapter 54-21.3, the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the state building code advisory committee, adopts rules to implement, amend, and periodically update the state building code, which must consist of the international building, residential, mechanical, and fuel gas codes, and a city, township, or county that elects to administer and enforce a building code must adopt and enforce the state building code, which it may amend to conform to local needs. NDAC chapter 108-01-01 applies the code to every city, township, and county that elects to enforce building codes, to all state and local government buildings, and to all public and private schools. State agencies must make sure their plans comply and their work is inspected, and schools and local governments in jurisdictions without enforcement are responsible for their own buildings’ compliance. The statute bars the state code and local codes from requiring fire sprinklers in a single-family dwelling or a residential building with no more than two dwelling units, and it exempts some buildings from the chapter, including buildings neither heated nor cooled, buildings below the energy-use rate it sets, designated historic buildings, and agricultural buildings not used for human habitation or by the public. It also leaves the statewide electrical wiring standards, state plumbing code, and state fire code outside the chapter. The Building Codes page adds that Community Services is not involved in enforcement, and that fully chartered home rule cities may adopt something other than the state code, although all that enforce a code have adopted the same individual codes.
The Building Codes page and the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code book say eligible cities and counties and eligible advisory committee members voted on September 11, 2025 to adopt the 2024 IBC, IRC, IMC, and IFGC with amendments, and the 2024 IECC and IEBC with amendments, effective January 1, 2026. The book says no appendices are adopted, and NDAC 108-01-01-14 says appendix chapters are not part of the code unless specifically adopted. The previous cycle, adopted in 2022, used the 2021 codes. Under the book’s instructions, IRC Chapter 11 may be met either as amended or through the 2024 IECC as amended, and references to the International Plumbing Code and the electrical code are replaced with the North Dakota State Plumbing Code and the wiring standards of the State Electrical Board. All checked November 3, 2026.
The other state codes come from separate agencies. The State Plumbing Board’s NDAC 62-03.1-01 adopts the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code as the North Dakota Plumbing Code, and the State Electrical Board’s NDAC 24.1-02-01, amended effective July 1, 2026, names the 2026 edition of NFPA 70 as the National Electrical Code it administers. Fire codes are where two state sources read differently. The State Fire Marshal’s NDAC 10-07-01-04 makes the 2018 International Fire Code, with modifications, and the fire-safe construction provisions of the state building code effective January 1, 2020 part of the State Fire Code, while the Commerce code book says the International Fire Code is not part of the state building code and must be adopted separately by each city, county, or township. Confirm with the State Fire Marshal and the local fire authority which fire code edition applies to the project.
The North Dakota amendments change what a reviewer looks for. The IBC amendments revise the day care classifications in Sections 305.2 and 308.5, add North Dakota text to the Group E fire alarm section and to smoke alarm locations in Groups R-2, R-3, R-4, and I-1, add stair and handrail exceptions for equipment stairways and private stairways that serve 10 or fewer occupants and are not open to the public, revise the guard section, and add the automatic or power-assisted door requirement to Section 1102.1. In foundations they add a concrete-encased rebar stub near the electrical service for grounding, rewrite site grading, and add a frost protection exception for free-standing Group U buildings and self-service storage buildings without water service, and Chapter 29 points plumbing to the state plumbing code. The IRC amendments cover engineering design, two-family dwellings, carbon monoxide alarms, door landings, stairs, footings and frost protection, and headers, and the IECC amendments set residential air leakage testing and add a visual inspection option.
Review depends on whether the location enforces a building code. Under NDCC 54-21.3-05, a city or township may enforce the state building code only within its zoning jurisdiction, a county may enforce it where no city or township does, and they may agree on joint enforcement or contract for private enforcement. Commerce’s local code enforcement directory, dated 2022, lists the counties and cities that enforce a code; confirm the current list with the city or county. Where no local program applies, the code book still requires state agencies, local governments, and schools to make sure their plans comply, lets them use only the less restrictive provisions in the state amendments, and says local jurisdictions may not impose more restrictive provisions on state buildings unless they are in the state amendments. For any building subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, NDCC 54-21.3-04.1 requires conformance with the 2010 ADA Standards and a statement from the person preparing the plans that they conform, submitted to the Division of Community Services on form SFN 19701. It also requires an automatic or power-assisted door at the primary exterior public entrance of a newly designed building over 7,500 square feet in the assembly, business, educational, institutional, or mercantile occupancies that the code requires to be accessible. Permit routing is on the North Dakota page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IECC, IEBC, and IMC.
Gather the code analysis, the enforcing jurisdiction, and each discipline’s North Dakota references
Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with the codes and editions cited, occupancy, construction type, heights and areas, occupant loads, and fire protection systems. Add the site plan with grading and drainage, floor plans, life safety and egress plans, stair and guard details, accessibility sheets and entrance door details, foundation plans with frost protection and the grounding electrode detail, elevations, sections, and structural general notes, the mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing, and electrical drawings, the fire alarm and sprinkler drawings, the energy documentation, and the specifications.
Add the city, township, or county and whether it enforces the state code and any local amendments, whether the owner is a state agency, a local government, or a public or private school, whether the building is subject to the ADA and the signed SFN 19701 conformance statement, the fire code and fire authority that apply, and, for dwellings, whether IRC Chapter 11 or the IECC is the energy path. Download the code book from the Building Codes page and the NDAC chapters from the Legislative Council’s site.
Trace the North Dakota State Building Code through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Code editions and amendments | Cover sheet, code analysis, general notes, 2026 code book | Confirm the 2024 IBC, IRC, IMC, IFGC, IECC, and IEBC with North Dakota amendments are cited, that no appendix is relied on unless the local jurisdiction adopted it, and that any local amendments are listed. |
| Enforcing jurisdiction and owner | Project address, local enforcement directory, ownership, school status | Record whether a city, township, or county enforces the code, or whether the owner, as a state agency, local government, or school, is responsible for compliance and inspection without a local program. |
| ADA conformance and entrance doors | Accessibility sheets, entrance details, door hardware schedule, SFN 19701 statement | Check that buildings subject to the ADA follow the 2010 ADA Standards, that the conformance statement is prepared, and that qualifying new buildings over 7,500 square feet show an automatic or power-assisted door at the primary exterior public entrance. |
| Plumbing, electrical, and fire references | Plumbing and electrical notes, fire protection notes, code analysis | Flag citations to the International Plumbing Code, and record the plumbing code, NEC edition, and fire code edition that the plumbing board, electrical board, and fire authority apply. |
| North Dakota IBC amendments | Life safety plans, fire alarm narrative, stair and guard details, day care occupancy notes | Check the Group E fire alarm, smoke alarm locations, equipment and private stairways, guards, and day care classification against the state amendments. |
| Foundations and residential energy path | Foundation plans, grounding detail, grading plan, REScheck or IRC Chapter 11 notes | Confirm the concrete-encased grounding stub, frost protection, and grading follow the amendments, and that dwellings state whether they use IRC Chapter 11 or the IECC as amended. |
Accessible entrances continue in the ADA Standards guide and the ICC A117.1 guide, fire code questions in the IFC guide, alarm sheets in the NFPA 72 guide, fuel gas in the IFGC guide, plumbing in the UPC guide and the plumbing drawing checklist, electrical sheets in the NFPA 70 guide, foundations in the structural drawing checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Neighboring state codes are in the Minnesota guide and the Montana guide.
Example: a new school in a town without a building code
Hypothetical example. A school district plans a new two-story elementary school of about 40,000 square feet in a small North Dakota town that has not elected to enforce a building code. The architect’s code analysis says no building code applies because the town has no building department, then cites the 2021 IBC for egress and the International Plumbing Code for fixture counts. The main entrance shows manual doors, no ADA conformance statement has been prepared, and the fire alarm narrative describes horns and strobes without voice notification.
NDAC 108-01-01-04 applies the state building code to all public and private schools, and 108-01-01-05 makes a school in a jurisdiction that has not elected to enforce the code responsible for assuring compliance, while the code analysis says no code applies. The analysis cites the 2021 IBC, while the state building code has been the 2024 IBC with North Dakota amendments since January 1, 2026, and fixture counts cite the International Plumbing Code, which the code book replaces with the North Dakota State Plumbing Code. NDCC 54-21.3-04.1 calls for an automatic or power-assisted door at the primary exterior public entrance of a new educational building over 7,500 square feet that must be accessible, and for a plan preparer’s ADA conformance statement submitted to Community Services. The fire alarm narrative omits the voice notification that the North Dakota amendment to IBC Section 907.2.3 describes for Group E. Confirm the code basis and coordinate the code analysis, plumbing, entrance, and fire alarm documents.
The architect revises the code analysis to the 2024 state building code, recounts fixtures under the state plumbing code, adds a power-assisted door at the main entrance, prepares and submits the SFN 19701 statement, and asks the fire alarm designer and the State Fire Marshal to confirm the Group E alarm basis. The finding is a citation and coordination conflict; the responsible design professional and the school district decide compliance.
Review a North Dakota set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. Commerce publishes the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code book, with every state amendment and the ADA conformance form, as a free PDF, and the Legislative Council publishes NDCC chapter 54-21.3 and the NDAC chapters for the building, plumbing, electrical, and fire codes. Upload the code book and the rules your project relies on as code files, with the 2024 International Codes, the Uniform Plumbing Code, NFPA 70, and the fire code edition that applies 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, accessibility, structural, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, and energy documents. Flag citations to IBC, IRC, IMC, IFGC, IECC, or IEBC editions other than 2024, any reference to the International Plumbing Code, appendices relied on without a local adoption noted in my instructions, a missing ADA conformance statement, primary entrances without automatic or power-assisted doors where the supplied statute calls for them, and Group E fire alarm, smoke alarm, stair, guard, grounding, and frost protection details that do not match the supplied North Dakota amendments. Use the supplied code book, 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 sheet and to the code book amendment, rule, or model code. It has no built-in licensed code library and does not certify compliance, perform calculations, or produce design. Each finding is a question for the responsible professional, and Groundbook does not decide whether a jurisdiction enforces the code or which fire code edition applies.
Document review does not issue a permit or replace the design professional, the local building official, the Division of Community Services, the State Fire Marshal, or the state plumbing and electrical boards.