South Dakota building code plan review: the 2024 IBC and IRC under SDCL 11-10, the Fire Marshal’s 2015 code rules, and state plan approval

Which South Dakota codes apply to a set of drawings?

SDCL 11-10-5 requires any municipal or county ordinance that sets construction standards for buildings other than residential structures to comply with the 2024 IBC. The governing body may amend, modify, or delete parts of it before enacting the ordinance, and later amendments take effect when adopted and filed with the municipal finance officer or the county auditor. An ordinance may not reach manufactured homes built to the HUD standards, may not require a fire sprinkler in a single-family dwelling, and may not apply to a specialty resort or vacation home establishment built to the IBC Group R-3 requirements. Where a city or county has no such ordinance, SDCL 11-10-6 still makes the 2024 IBC the design standard for any building commenced after July 1, 2026, except residential structures, manufactured homes, and farmsteads and their accessory buildings, and lets the local government adopt an ordinance to administer and enforce it; the statute names no state agency that enforces it for private buildings. For dwellings, SDCL 11-10-12 lets a municipality adopt the 2024 IRC for residential structures, meaning detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses of up to three stories with a separate means of egress, with their accessory structures, and amend it at any time, but not require a sprinkler system or anything more stringent than the 2024 IRC. SDCL 11-10-11 ties local property maintenance ordinances to the 2024 IPMC. Energy is voluntary: SDCL 11-10-7 adopts the 2009 IECC as the voluntary standard for new residential buildings, and the chapter sets no mandatory energy code; its other energy sections cover disclosure to home buyers. SDCL 11-10-14 permits refrigerants designated acceptable under 42 U.S.C. §7671k when the equipment is listed and installed under the conditions of that designation, and SDCL 11-10-15, added in 2026, bars a permit requirement for like-for-like repair or replacement of listed exterior parts of an owner-occupied single-family home, such as siding that is not structural and windows and doors of the same size.

Chapter 59 of the 2026 Session Laws (Senate Bill 129, signed March 4, 2026) replaced the 2021 editions with the 2024 IBC, IRC, and IPMC in these sections. The act sets no other date, so it took effect July 1, 2026 under SDCL 2-14-16, and the 11-10-6 default applies to buildings commenced after that date; check a local ordinance written to the 2021 IBC against the current statute with the building official. SDCL 11-10-13 has the Board of Technical Professions convene a workgroup every three years from 2024 to review the newest model codes and recommend changes, so the editions change only when the Legislature amends the chapter. All checked November 5, 2026.

The State Fire Marshal’s rules are older. SDCL 34-29B-2 lets the Secretary of Public Safety adopt fire safety rules based on the 2015 IBC, IFC, and IMC for buildings used by the general public (except health care facilities the Department of Health inspects), lodging and eating establishments, multifamily residences of six or more families (unless the municipality has conforming regulations of its own), publicly owned buildings, detention facilities, and day care facilities, and for the review of plans for flammable or combustible liquid and LP-gas facilities. ARSD 61:15:01 adopts those 2015 codes, deletes most of their administrative sections and Section 903.2.6 of each, and sets the referenced editions, among them NFPA 13, 13R, 14, and 72 in their 2013 editions, NFPA 10 (2013), NFPA 58 (2014), and the 2009 IECC wherever the IBC refers to the energy code. The same chapter requires an automatic sprinkler system throughout every new hotel, motel, and multifamily residence of six or more families, draft stops in their attics and similar concealed spaces, and exits and accessible routes under IBC Chapters 10 and 11. SDCL 13-25-15 bases the school rules for new construction after July 1, 2016 on the same 2015 editions. A school or day care center can therefore be designed to the 2024 IBC for the city and to the 2015 codes for the Fire Marshal; where they differ, record which requirement each item meets and confirm with both reviewers.

Plan approval runs through several state offices. For public and nonpublic schools, ARSD 61:15:02 has the governing board tell the Department of Public Safety it intends to build or remodel and bars advertising the plans and specifications until a department representative has reviewed and approved them in writing. The drawings must be to scale and show the plot plan, sections, elevations, structural details, floor plans, and electrical and mechanical work, and the cover sheet must state the occupancy group, division, and building type, or the plans are rejected. Chapter 61:15:07 adds school requirements a reviewer checks on drawings: sprinklers in basements whose unseparated area exceeds 1,500 square feet, electrical supervision of sprinkler control valves above 100 heads, a manual and automatic fire alarm in educational occupancies of 50 or more, one-hour separation of laboratories that use hazardous chemicals unless the building is fully sprinklered, and kindergarten to second grade rooms on the first story, or on the second story of a fully sprinklered building with at least two exits directly to the exterior for those occupants. Day care centers for 21 or more children (chapter 61:15:05) and group family day care homes for 13 to 20 children (chapter 61:15:06) may not begin construction until the plans have been reviewed locally and by the Department of Public Safety and approved in writing. Centers need two remote exits on each level where the occupant load exceeds ten, a fire alarm with smoke detection in stairwells, corridors, lounges, recreation areas, and sleeping rooms, and sprinklers where a basement day care exceeds 1,500 square feet, where day care is on a second story, and where care is offered around the clock. The Department of Social Services’ floor plan review guide says licensed child care plans go to the Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal’s office, and that new space of 4,000 square feet or more must be designed and stamped by an architect or engineer registered in South Dakota. Flammable and combustible liquid and LP-gas installations follow chapter 61:15:03: the local official approves the drawings in writing first, then the Department of Public Safety examines them within 20 days of receipt, and drawings for aboveground storage must show tank capacities, liquid classes, clearances, venting, pumps, and distances to property lines and buildings. Residential tanks and LP-gas installations under 2,000 gallons water capacity are exempt from submission.

Health care and state buildings have their own reviewers. A nursing facility submits plans and specifications with a narrative of the intended use to the Department of Health before construction under ARSD 44:73:12, which also requires NFPA 101-2012. The Bureau of Human Resources and Administration, whose Office of the State Engineer administers the state building rules in ARSD 10:09, has general charge of the design and construction of all state buildings and their fire protection systems under SDCL 5-14-3, supervises projects of $2 million or more unless it delegates them in writing, and requires a state building committee at $5 million. SDCL 5-14-11 requires state buildings for the permanent housing of people to be fire resistant, meaning fire-resistive construction throughout under the IBC, an automatic fire-extinguishing system, and fire detection approved by the Department of Public Safety, and tells the bureau to set the IBC edition by rule; we found no such rule among the bureau’s ARSD Title 10 articles, so confirm the edition with the State Engineer. New state buildings must be designed toward a high-performance green building standard under SDCL 5-14-33, with the State Engineer’s certification steps and waivers in ARSD 10:09; SDCL 5-14-32 limits the term to buildings costing at least $1 million or with at least 10,000 square feet and HVAC, while 5-14-33 now refers to the broader definition in 5-14-1, so confirm whether a smaller project is covered. SDCL 5-14-13 still names the 1992 ADA Accessibility Guidelines for publicly funded buildings, enforced by the contracting administrator, so confirm the accessibility standard the owner applies. The trade codes are separate: ARSD 20:54:02:01 adopts the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code with South Dakota amendments, such as no water piping in exterior walls or unheated attics, and ARSD 20:44:14:01 defines the National Electrical Code as the 2023 edition with tentative interim amendments 23-1 to 23-15 and listed exceptions, while the school rule 61:15:07:24 still cites the 2014 NEC; confirm the electrical basis with the state electrical inspector. Permit routing is on the South Dakota page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IRC, IFC, IMC, and IECC.

Gather the code analysis, the state approvals, and each discipline’s South Dakota references

Collect the cover sheet and code analysis with every code and edition cited, including the 2015 Fire Marshal basis where it applies, the occupancy group, division, and construction type, the life safety plan with exits, rated separations, and sprinkler and alarm coverage, the plot plan with fire apparatus access, floor plans of every level and of the whole building where only part is renovated, sections, elevations, and structural details, the sprinkler, fire alarm, and kitchen hood drawings, the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical drawings, any tank, piping, and dispenser drawings, the accessibility plans and details, the energy documents the owner or ordinance asks for, and the specifications.

Add the city or county, whether it has an ordinance under SDCL 11-10-5 or 11-10-12 and its filed amendments, the date construction commences, whether the project is a school, a day care center or group family day care home and its child count, a lodging establishment, a multifamily residence of six or more families, a nursing facility, a state-owned building, or a flammable liquid or LP-gas installation, the project value and floor area for a state building, and the green building checklist, basis of design, and energy model the State Engineer reviews. Read the statutes and rules on the South Dakota Legislature’s site.

Trace the South Dakota codes and state rules through the set

Fire code sheets continue in the IFC guide, sprinkler and alarm documents in the NFPA 13, NFPA 13R, and NFPA 72 guides, the fire sprinkler checklist, and the fire alarm drawing checklist, fuel storage in the NFPA 30 and NFPA 58 guides, nursing facilities in the NFPA 101 and NFPA 99 guides, plumbing in the UPC guide, electrical notes in the NFPA 70 guide, accessible details in the ADA Standards guide and the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Neighboring state codes are in the North Dakota guide, the Montana guide, the Minnesota guide, and the Iowa guide.

Example: an elementary school addition filed only with the city

Hypothetical example. A school district in a South Dakota city that has adopted the 2024 IBC by ordinance plans a two-story classroom addition, sprinklered throughout, to start construction in spring 2027. The code analysis cites only the 2024 IBC and the city’s amendments, the cover sheet gives the occupancy group but not the division or construction type, two kindergarten rooms are on the second floor and exit only through the wing’s interior stairs, the electrical notes cite the 2014 NEC from the district’s older specifications, and the schedule advertises for bids the week after the city permit submittal, with no Department of Public Safety review.

The city reviews the addition under the 2024 IBC, but ARSD 61:15:02:02 bars advertising school plans and specifications until a Department of Public Safety representative has reviewed and approved them in writing, and 61:15:02:03 requires the cover sheet to state the occupancy group, division, and building type, with the 2015 IBC, IFC, and IMC as the basis of that review. ARSD 61:15:07:32 allows kindergarten to second grade rooms on the second story of a fully sprinklered building only with at least two exits directly to the exterior for the exclusive use of those occupants, and the plans show only shared interior stairs. The electrical notes cite the 2014 NEC, which the school rule still names, while ARSD 20:44:14:01 defines the NEC as the 2023 edition. Confirm the state review step, the cover sheet, the kindergarten exits, and the electrical code basis.

The architect adds the division and construction type to the cover sheet and moves the kindergarten rooms to the first story, the district submits the plans to the Department of Public Safety and holds the bid advertisement until written approval, and the electrical engineer confirms the NEC edition with the state electrical inspector. The finding is a citation and sequence conflict; the city building official and the Department of Public Safety decide compliance.

Review a South Dakota set with Groundbook

Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. South Dakota’s statutes and administrative rules are free on the Legislature’s site, and the Department of Social Services publishes its child care floor plan guide. Upload SDCL Chapter 11-10, the ARSD 61:15 chapters, the health care, trade, or state building rules your project relies on, and the city or county ordinance as code files, with the 2024 IBC or IRC, the 2015 IBC, IFC, and IMC, and the NFPA standards the Fire Marshal’s rules name 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, structural, fire protection, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and energy documents. Flag IBC or IRC editions other than 2024 for work commenced after July 1, 2026, school cover sheet data, day care exits, alarms, and sprinklers, and hotel and multifamily sprinklers that do not match the supplied ARSD 61:15 chapters, sprinkler requirements for single-family dwellings or residential structures, plumbing notes not on the 2024 UPC with the South Dakota amendments, electrical notes not on the NEC edition in the supplied rules, and a reviewing agency that does not fit the occupancy and ownership in my instructions. Use the supplied statutes, rules, ordinance, 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 South Dakota statute, rule, ordinance, 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 local ordinance is valid, which edition governs where the Fire Marshal’s rules and the local code differ, or which agency must approve the plans; each finding is a question for the responsible design professional.

Document review does not certify compliance, issue a permit or plan approval, or replace the design professional, the local building official, the State Fire Marshal’s office, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Services, or the Office of the State Engineer.