For a permit filed before January 1, 2027, check that the code analysis cites the 2021 South Carolina codes: the 2021 IBC, IRC, IFC, IPC, IMC, and IFGC and the 2020 NEC with the Council’s modifications, which local jurisdictions have enforced since January 1, 2023. The 2024 South Carolina codes and the 2023 NEC take over from January 1, 2027, while energy stays on the 2009 IECC under the Energy Standard Act and accessibility follows the latest ICC A117.1 under the Accessibility Act. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional and the local building official decide compliance.
Which South Carolina codes apply to a set of drawings?
Under S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 9, section 6-9-50 directs the South Carolina Building Codes Council, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), to adopt and amend only the latest editions of the ICC building, residential, fuel gas, plumbing, mechanical, fire, and energy codes and the National Electrical Code, along with the standards those codes reference. Every municipality and county must enforce these mandatory codes. Appendices apply only where the Council adopts them by name. The codes’ administrative chapters do not apply unless the local governing body adopts them, so permitting, fees, required construction documents, and alternate methods are set locally. Section 6-9-60 lets a municipality or county adopt the latest International Property Maintenance, Existing Building, Performance, and Swimming Pool and Spa codes by ordinance. LLR’s codes in effect document calls these permissive codes and says only modifications the Council approved and lists on its website are valid. The Council’s FAQ describes South Carolina as a home rule state in which the local building official interprets and enforces the adopted codes, with disputes going to the local Construction Board of Appeals.
The Council’s Building Code Adoption page and 2021 adoption notice say the Council adopted the 2021 codes on October 6, 2021 with an implementation date of January 1, 2023: the 2021 South Carolina Building, Residential, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Fuel Gas Codes (the 2021 International Codes with South Carolina modifications) and the 2020 NEC with modifications. The 2024 adoption notice says the Council adopted the 2024 IBC, IRC, IFC, IPC, IMC, and IFGC and the 2023 NEC, with modifications and selected appendices, on August 26, 2025. As modified they become the 2024 South Carolina Building, Residential, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Fuel Gas Codes, with an implementation date for local jurisdictions of January 1, 2027. The adoption page links the 2024 modification index and says the 2024 modifications were published in the State Register on May 22, 2026. All checked October 29, 2026. We found no Council statement allowing the 2024 codes to be used before that date, so confirm with the building official which cycle governs the permit application.
Two subjects sit outside the Council’s cycle. Both notices say the 2009 IECC is the state energy standard by statute under the Energy Standard Act (S.C. Code section 6-10-10 and following), and that the latest edition of ICC A117.1 is mandatory under the Accessibility Act (section 10-5-210 and following). The 2024 notice adds that ICC published a 2026 edition of A117.1 in September 2026, so confirm with the building official which edition it applies to the permit. LLR’s codes in effect document also reminds designers that the ADA, the Fair Housing Act, and the South Carolina Fair Housing Law still apply, enforced by other agencies.
The Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), also part of LLR, has its own review path. Its codes and standards page points to the Council’s adopted editions and to the standards referenced by the 2021 South Carolina Building and Fire Codes. It also notes that section 6-9-110 exempts state agency projects, and school district projects reviewed and approved by the State Department of Education, from local permit ordinances. Under that section, deputy state fire marshals and certified personnel of the State Engineer’s Office have exclusive jurisdiction over state buildings, including schools, for the State Fire Marshal’s powers. OSFM’s engineering plan submission page says submittals must use its electronic information management system, and the local authority having jurisdiction must verify the request before a submittal counts as received. It also says OSFM will not review a fire sprinkler project the local authority has already authorized for installation, and it describes an alternate means and methods submission for hazards outside the adopted prescriptive criteria. Permit routing is on the South Carolina page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IFC, IECC, and NFPA 70.
Gather the code analysis, the permit date, and each discipline’s South Carolina references
Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with the South Carolina codes and years cited, the architectural plans, sections, life safety plans, and door and finish schedules, the accessibility plans and details, the structural general notes with design criteria, the mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, and electrical drawings, the fire sprinkler and fire alarm drawings or the note deferring them to shop drawings, the energy compliance documentation, and the specifications.
Add the planned permit application date, the local jurisdiction and any administrative ordinance or permissive code it has adopted, any Council-approved local modification it applies, whether the project is a state or school district project, and whether fire protection shop drawings will go to OSFM. For existing buildings, add the scope of work and whether the jurisdiction has adopted the International Existing Building Code.
Trace the South Carolina codes through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Code cycle and application date | Cover sheet, code analysis, general notes for every discipline, planned permit date | Confirm the 2021 South Carolina codes and the 2020 NEC are cited for applications before January 1, 2027, or the 2024 codes and the 2023 NEC from that date, and record the building official’s answer. |
| South Carolina modifications | Code analysis, appendix references, Council modification index | Check that the set relies on the South Carolina modifications for the cycle, and that any appendix it cites is one the Council adopted statewide or approved as a local modification. |
| Energy standard | COMcheck or REScheck, envelope details, lighting and mechanical schedules | Match the energy documentation to the 2009 IECC the Energy Standard Act makes mandatory, not a newer IECC carried over from another state. |
| Accessibility edition | Accessibility plans, toilet room details, site plan, code analysis | Record the ICC A117.1 edition the building official treats as the latest, and note any separate ADA or Fair Housing Act basis the owner relies on. |
| Existing building path | Scope of work, code analysis, local ordinance | Confirm whether alterations follow the IBC as modified or an International Existing Building Code the jurisdiction adopted by ordinance. |
| Fire protection review route | Sprinkler and alarm sheets, shop drawing notes, project owner and location | Record whether shop drawings go to OSFM through the local authority’s verified request, or whether the project is a state building or school under State Fire Marshal jurisdiction. |
Sprinkler and alarm sheets continue in the NFPA 13 guide and the NFPA 72 guide, mechanical and fuel gas in the IMC and IFGC guides, plumbing in the IPC guide, existing buildings in the IEBC guide, accessible details in the ICC A117.1 guide and the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Neighboring state codes are in the North Carolina guide and the Georgia guide.
Example: a set drawn to the 2024 codes and filed in December
Hypothetical example. A two-story office building with a sprinkler system in Greenville County is designed in fall 2026 for a permit application in mid-December. The code analysis cites the 2024 South Carolina Building Code, the electrical notes cite the 2023 NEC, the energy forms use the 2021 IECC, the accessibility sheets cite ICC A117.1-2017, and the cover sheet does not say how the sprinkler shop drawings will be reviewed.
The code analysis cites the 2024 South Carolina Building Code and the electrical notes cite the 2023 NEC, while the Council set January 1, 2027 as the implementation date and the 2021 South Carolina codes and the 2020 NEC remain in effect for a December 2026 application. The energy forms use the 2021 IECC instead of the 2009 IECC set by the Energy Standard Act, and the accessibility sheets cite an A117.1 edition that may not be the one the building official treats as the latest. Confirm the governing cycle for the application date and coordinate the code analysis, electrical, energy, accessibility, and fire protection references.
The architect confirms with the county building official whether the application will be reviewed under the 2021 or the 2024 codes, revises the code analysis and discipline notes to match, and adds a shop drawing note for the sprinkler system. The finding is a citation conflict; the building official decides compliance.
Review a South Carolina set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The Council publishes its modification indexes as free PDFs on its Building Code Adoption page. Upload the modifications for the cycle you are reviewing as code files, with the 2021 or 2024 International Codes, the 2020 or 2023 NEC, the 2009 IECC, and the A117.1 edition the building official applies, using copies you are licensed to use where the license permits uploading them, and any local ordinance or Council-approved local modification. 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, fire protection, and energy documents. Flag code years that do not match the South Carolina cycle for the stated permit application date, appendices not adopted in the supplied Council modifications, energy documents not on the 2009 IECC, an A117.1 edition other than the one stated in my instructions, existing building work cited to the IEBC without a local adoption noted, and fire protection systems with no shop drawing review route. Use the supplied South Carolina modifications and codes and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the note or sheet and to the South Carolina modification or code you uploaded. It compares what the documents state; it does not decide which cycle, edition, or reviewer applies.
Document review does not certify compliance, approve a permit, or replace the design professional, the local building official, the Office of State Fire Marshal, or the Building Codes Council.