For most Pennsylvania permits, check that the code analysis cites the Uniform Construction Code with the 2021 International Codes, which 34 Pa. Code § 403.21 adopts with the Review and Advisory Council’s exclusions and modifications effective January 1, 2026, unless a design or construction contract signed before that date keeps the earlier codes. Then confirm accessibility is cited to the 2018 requirements the Department of Labor and Industry still enforces, and that every discipline’s notes match the adopted codes and the enforcing office. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional and the building code official decide compliance.
What does the Pennsylvania UCC cover?
The Uniform Construction Code is the statewide building code adopted under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act and administered by the Department of Labor and Industry (L&I). It is set out in 34 Pa. Code Chapter 401 (training and certification of code administrators), Chapter 403 (administration), and Chapter 405 (elevators and other lifting devices). § 403.21 incorporates by reference Chapters 2–10, 12–29, and 31–35 of the 2021 IBC with listed Chapter 30 elevator sections, and the 2021 IMC, IFGC, International Performance Code, IPC, IRC, IECC, IEBC, IWUIC, and ISPSC, each with exclusions and modifications. The 2021 IFC applies only to the extent other adopted ICC codes reference it, and appendices are not adopted except those the section names, including Appendix E of the 2018 IBC and Appendix H of the 2009 IBC. A municipality in a county of the second class may not enforce the adopted IPC and may keep its own plumbing code. Existing buildings may use IBC Chapter 34 or the IEBC.
L&I’s UCC page states that the Triennial Update was approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission on October 16, 2025, published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on November 8, 2025, and took effect January 1, 2026. The final-omitted rulemaking at 55 Pa.B. 7701 explains that the department must adopt, without change, the 2021 code provisions listed in the Review and Advisory Council’s (RAC’s) September 14, 2024 report. The RAC’s choices are why § 403.21 keeps a few previously adopted sections of the 2015 and 2018 IBC, the 2018 IRC, and the 2018 ISPSC in place of their 2021 versions, and excludes other sections outright, including many IRC sections and some IRC energy provisions. Under § 403.1(a)(2), new buildings or renovations with a design or construction contract executed before a triennial update’s effective date comply with the codes in effect when the contract was signed. All checked October 27, 2026. Record the contract date and the code year on the permit, and do not assume a 2024 I-Code applies.
Accessibility follows a separate path. L&I says the Commonwealth Court’s October 26, 2022 decision in Pennsylvania Builders Association v. Department of Labor and Industry permanently enjoined the 2021 accessibility updates and that all structures must still comply with the 2018 accessibility requirements. The 2026 rulemaking adopts no part of 2021 IBC Chapter 11 and excludes the 2021 IEBC accessibility provisions. On enforcement, L&I says more than 90% of the state’s 2,562 municipalities enforce the UCC locally through their own staff or certified third-party agencies. In municipalities that opted out, L&I handles commercial enforcement and certified third-party agencies hired by owners handle residential work. L&I alone has jurisdiction over elevators and state-owned buildings. Chapter 405 elevator amendments take effect December 20, 2026, according to its regulations page. Municipal status and amendment ordinances are on the municipal status page, and permit routing is on the Pennsylvania page. The model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IEBC, and IECC.
Gather the code analysis, the contract date, and each discipline’s sheets
Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with the UCC and code years cited, the architectural plans, sections, life safety plans, and wall and door schedules, the accessibility plans and details, the structural general notes, the mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, and electrical drawings, the energy compliance documentation (REScheck, COMcheck, or Pennsylvania’s Alternative Residential Energy Provisions for the prescriptive paths § 403.21 lists), the exterior wall envelope details and site plan the permit application rules call for, and the specifications.
Add the date of the design or construction contract if the team relies on the earlier codes, the municipality’s UCC status and any amendment ordinance, and, for existing buildings, the compliance method chosen under IBC Chapter 34 or the IEBC.
Trace the UCC and its exclusions through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Code year and contract date | Cover sheet, code analysis, general notes for every discipline, contract date | Confirm one code year is cited, the 2021 codes for work contracted on or after January 1, 2026, or the earlier codes with the contract date that supports them. |
| Sections Pennsylvania did not adopt | Code analysis, general notes, details, § 403.21 | Find notes or details that rely on a 2021 section § 403.21 excludes or replaces with an earlier edition’s provision. |
| Accessibility basis | Accessibility plans and details, code analysis, L&I accessibility guidance | Check that accessibility is cited to the 2018 requirements L&I enforces, not to 2021 IBC Chapter 11 or the 2021 IEBC accessibility provisions. |
| Residential modifications | Stair sections, wall sections, smoke alarm plans, energy documentation | Compare stairs, water-resistive barrier and flashing notes, smoke alarm interconnection on alterations, and energy items against the IRC as Pennsylvania modified it. |
| Plumbing code by county | Plumbing notes, fixture schedules, project location | In a county of the second class, ask which local plumbing code governs before checking notes against the IPC. |
| Enforcing office | Cover sheet, permit application, municipal status record | Record whether the municipality, its third-party agency, or L&I reviews the plans, and whether a local amendment ordinance applies. |
Accessible elements continue in the ICC A117.1 guide and the accessibility checklist, stairs in the stair riser and tread calculator, plumbing in the IPC guide, pools in the ISPSC guide, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. New Jersey’s statewide code is in the New Jersey UCC guide.
Example: a set drawn to the model code instead of the UCC
Hypothetical example. A development outside Harrisburg with a three-story apartment building and a row of townhouses is designed in early 2026 by a team that usually works in other states. The apartment code analysis cites the 2024 IBC, the accessibility sheets cite 2021 IBC Chapter 11 and ICC A117.1-2017, the townhouse stair sections follow the unmodified IRC, and the cover sheet does not say whether the municipality enforces the UCC itself or has opted out.
The code analysis cites the 2024 IBC and the accessibility sheets cite 2021 IBC Chapter 11, while Pennsylvania’s UCC adopts the 2021 IBC with Review and Advisory Council exclusions effective January 1, 2026, and L&I enforces the 2018 accessibility requirements. The townhouse stair sections follow the unmodified IRC. Confirm the code year, the accessibility basis, and the enforcing office, and coordinate the code analysis, accessibility sheets, and stair details.
The architect confirms the code basis with the building code official, revises the code analysis and accessibility references, and checks the stair details against the IRC as Pennsylvania modified it. The finding is a citation conflict; the code official decides compliance.
Review a Pennsylvania set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401, 403, and 405 are free on the Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin website. Upload § 403.21 and the parts of Chapter 403 you need as code files, with the 2021 model codes, the 2018 accessibility provisions they point to, and any municipal amendment ordinance, using 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, mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, electrical, and energy documents. Flag code years other than the 2021 UCC codes unless a pre-2026 contract date is documented, references to sections 34 Pa. Code § 403.21 excludes or replaces, accessibility cited to 2021 IBC Chapter 11 or the 2021 IEBC accessibility provisions, residential stair, envelope, smoke alarm, or energy details that follow the unmodified IRC, and a missing enforcing office. Use the supplied UCC regulations and model codes and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the note or sheet and to the UCC section or model code you uploaded. It compares what the documents state; it does not decide which code year or enforcement route applies.
Document review does not certify compliance, approve a permit, or replace the design professional, the building code official, the third-party agency, or L&I.