For a building that needs State Fire Marshal approval in Tennessee, check that the code analysis cites the codes in Rule 0780-02-02, the 2021 IBC, IFC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IEBC, and commercial IECC with Tennessee amendments, plus the 2017 NEC under Rule 0780-02-01 and, for accessibility, the 2010 ADA Standards under the Tennessee Public Building Accessibility Act. In an exempt city or county the local building department reviews most buildings under the codes it has adopted, so confirm the review route and code basis before you submit. AI can flag conflicts; the design professional and the reviewing official decide compliance.
Which Tennessee codes apply to a set of drawings?
The SFMO’s currently adopted codes page and Rule 0780-02-02-.01 set the minimum standards for fire prevention, fire protection, and building construction safety: the 2021 IBC, IFGC, IMC, IPC, IPMC, IFC, IECC, and IEBC, each with the changes the rule lists. Those changes remove IBC Chapter 11 and IEBC Section 306 on accessibility, make the IBC and IEBC storm shelter sections not required, replace the NFPA 13R conditions in Section 903.3.1.2 of the IBC and IFC, allow ASCE 7-22 mapped ground accelerations where ASCE 7-16 is referenced for seismic design, take the flammable gas provisions from the 2024 IBC and IFC, make IFC Appendix L optional, and remove the IECC automatic receptacle control, energy monitoring, and commissioning sections. The rule keeps the 2006 IECC for Groups F-1, F-2, S-1, and S-2, applies the 2015 IECC to day cares licensed by the Department of Human Services outside a dwelling unit, sends family home day cares to IRC Appendix AM, and applies the 2021 NFPA 101 only to new small residential board and care facilities created by a change of occupancy. Electrical installations follow Rule 0780-02-01, which adopts the 2017 NEC with two provisions made optional, and Rule 0780-02-02-.04 says the electrical rule prevails over a conflicting provision. One- and two-family dwellings and townhouses fall under Rule 0780-02-23, which adopts the 2018 IRC with Appendix Q and the 2018 IECC, both amended, and replaces the IRC electrical chapters with Rule 0780-02-01.
The SFMO’s codes enforcement page says the updated rules were filed with the Secretary of State and took effect April 17, 2025, and that the update discontinued the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code for state buildings, schools, and other buildings requiring an initial SFMO inspection. Its adoption history lists April 17, 2025 for the 2021 IBC, IFC, commercial IECC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IEBC, and IPMC, and July 16, 2020 for the 2018 IRC and residential IECC. Under Rule 0780-02-03-.11, plans submitted within 120 days after new codes take effect may be reviewed under the previous codes at the submitter’s request, a window the SFMO says closed on August 15, 2025 for this update, and Rule 0780-02-03-.05 ties approval to the standards in effect at the initial submission. We found no newer filing for Chapter 0780-02-02 in the Secretary of State’s chapter 0780-02 rules index, pending rules list, or rulemaking hearing notices, and the September 23, 2026 revision of Rule 0780-02-23 changed permit administration, not the adopted editions. All checked October 30, 2026. Do not cite the 2024 International Codes as Tennessee’s adopted codes; the rule borrows only the 2024 flammable gas provisions it names.
Who reviews the plans depends on the occupancy, the owner, and the location. Rule 0780-02-03-.02 and the SFMO’s plans submittal page require SFMO approval anywhere in Tennessee for educational occupancies registered with the Department of Education, day cares licensed by the Department of Human Services, state-owned buildings, and occupancies that need an SFMO inspection for a state license. Outside exempt jurisdictions, SFMO approval also covers larger assembly occupancies, taller business occupancies, residential occupancies other than one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, institutional occupancies with sleeping rooms not regulated by another state agency, I-3 occupancies, covered malls, and H-1 and H-2 occupancies other than storage, at the thresholds the rule sets. Construction for this purpose includes new buildings, additions, changes of occupancy, and alterations to egress elements, primary structural members, fire-resistance-rated assemblies, construction type, and fire protection, alarm, smoke control, and fuel-fired systems. The SFMO’s exempt jurisdictions page lists the cities and counties approved to do their own plan review and inspection, including Nashville and Davidson County, Memphis, Shelby County, Knoxville, Knox County, and Chattanooga, with some listings excluding named municipalities. They review under codes adopted by ordinance, must adopt editions within seven years of the latest published edition under Rule 0780-02-02-.05, and may not weaken them without written SFMO approval. State-owned buildings, educational occupancies, and facilities that need an SFMO licensing inspection stay with the SFMO there, while state-leased buildings are reviewed locally. Rule 0780-02-02-.04 says the Tennessee Public Building Accessibility Act prevails on accessibility, and the SFMO’s general plan correction list names the 2010 ADA Standards for buildings that must comply with that Act. Plans go through the SFMO’s electronic portal, sealed by a Tennessee registered architect or engineer where state law requires. Permit routing is on the Tennessee page, and the model codes have their own guides: IBC, IFC, IECC, IEBC, NFPA 70, and the 2010 ADA Standards.
Gather the code analysis, the review route, and each discipline’s Tennessee references
Collect what the SFMO’s plans submittal requirements ask for in a sealed set: a cover sheet with a code analysis citing the building, fire, life safety, and accessibility codes in force at submittal, civil and site plans with fire department access, hydrant locations and test data, underground fire protection piping, and the accessible route from the exit discharge to the public way, and a life safety plan with occupant loads, egress paths and capacities, travel distances, and the limits of rated barriers and partitions with legends. Add the architectural plans, door, hardware, and window schedules, listed fire-resistance assembly details, structural plans with design loads, mechanical drawings with damper locations and combustion air, plumbing and fire protection drawings with rated wall limits and firestopping details, electrical drawings with the fire alarm system, emergency lighting, exit signs, and duct detectors, the energy compliance documentation, and the specifications.
Add the project location and whether it is inside an exempt jurisdiction, the owner (state, school system, licensed operator, or private), any state license the occupancy needs, the estimated construction cost the SFMO fee is based on, the planned submission date, and, for existing buildings, the scope of work and the IEBC compliance method. Download Rules 0780-02-01, 0780-02-02, and 0780-02-03, and 0780-02-23 for dwellings, from the Secretary of State’s website.
Trace the Tennessee codes through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Review route | Occupancy, owner, location, licensing status, SFMO exempt jurisdiction list | Record whether the SFMO, the exempt jurisdiction, or both review the plans under Rule 0780-02-03-.02, and confirm it with each office before submittal. |
| Building and fire code edition | Cover sheet, code analysis, general notes, Rule 0780-02-02 | Confirm the 2021 IBC and IFC with Tennessee amendments are cited for SFMO review, or the edition the exempt jurisdiction adopted by ordinance, and flag 2024 International Code citations beyond the flammable gas provisions the rule borrows. |
| Electrical code | Electrical drawings, panel schedules, general notes, specifications, Rule 0780-02-01 | Check that electrical notes cite the 2017 NEC with the two Tennessee options, not a newer NEC carried over from another state, unless the local jurisdiction confirms a different edition. |
| Energy path by occupancy | COMcheck or REScheck, occupancy data, lighting and receptacle plans, commissioning specification | Match energy documents to the 2021 IECC as amended, the 2006 IECC for Groups F-1, F-2, S-1, and S-2, the 2015 IECC for licensed day cares outside dwellings, or the 2018 IECC for dwellings, and flag removed sections shown as required. |
| Accessibility basis | Accessibility plans and details, site plan, code analysis | Record whether the building must comply with the Tennessee Public Building Accessibility Act, and check that the set cites the 2010 ADA Standards rather than IBC Chapter 11, which Tennessee removed. |
| Life safety and sprinkler basis | Life safety plan, sprinkler and fire alarm design intent, correction list references | Record where the set relies on NFPA 101, which the 2025 update dropped for state buildings and schools, and check that sprinkler and alarm notes match the 2019 NFPA 13, 13R, 13D, and 72 editions the SFMO lists and Tennessee’s amended NFPA 13R conditions. |
Sprinkler and alarm sheets continue in the NFPA 13 guide, the NFPA 13R guide, and the NFPA 72 guide, storm shelters in the ICC 500 guide, seismic design data in the ASCE 7 guide, mechanical and fuel gas in the IMC and IFGC guides, accessible details in the accessibility checklist, and the full set in the architectural drawing checklist. Neighboring state codes are in the Kentucky guide, the Georgia guide, the North Carolina guide, and the Virginia USBC guide.
Example: a school addition routed only to the city
Hypothetical example. A two-story classroom addition to a public elementary school in a Tennessee city on the SFMO’s exempt jurisdiction list is designed in fall 2026 by a team that usually works in states on the 2024 codes. The cover sheet says the plans will be submitted to the city building department, the code analysis cites the 2024 IBC, the energy forms use the 2024 IECC, the electrical notes cite the 2023 NEC, the accessibility sheets cite IBC Chapter 11 and ICC A117.1, and the life safety plan is drawn to NFPA 101.
The cover sheet routes the plans only to the city, while Rule 0780-02-03-.02 and the SFMO’s exempt jurisdiction page keep educational occupancies under SFMO approval anywhere in Tennessee. The code analysis, energy forms, and electrical notes cite the 2024 IBC, the 2024 IECC, and the 2023 NEC, while Rule 0780-02-02 adopts the 2021 IBC and IECC with Tennessee amendments and Rule 0780-02-01 adopts the 2017 NEC. The accessibility sheets cite IBC Chapter 11, which the rule removes, and the life safety plan relies on NFPA 101, which the April 2025 update discontinued for schools. Confirm the review route and the codes each reviewer applies, then coordinate the code analysis and discipline references.
The architect confirms with the SFMO and the city building department which codes each will apply, submits through the SFMO portal, and revises the code analysis and the energy, electrical, accessibility, and life safety references. The finding is a citation conflict; the reviewing officials decide compliance.
Review a Tennessee set with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. The Tennessee rules are free PDFs on the Secretary of State’s website, and the SFMO publishes its adopted codes, amendments, and plan correction lists. Upload Rules 0780-02-01, 0780-02-02, and 0780-02-03, and 0780-02-23 for dwellings, as code files, with the 2010 ADA Standards and the 2021 International Codes and 2017 NEC from copies you are licensed to use where the license permits uploading them, plus the local adopting ordinance if an exempt jurisdiction reviews the project. 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 citations to 2024 International Codes or an NEC other than the 2017 edition, energy forms that do not match the IECC edition Tennessee assigns to the occupancy, accessibility references to IBC Chapter 11 instead of the 2010 ADA Standards, NFPA 101 cited as the basis for a school or state building, sprinkler or alarm notes on an NFPA 13, 13R, or 72 edition other than the supplied correction list names, and a review agency that does not match the occupancy and location in my instructions. Use the supplied Tennessee rules and codes and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the note or sheet and to the Tennessee rule or code you uploaded. It compares what the documents state; it does not decide which agency reviews the plans or which edition an exempt jurisdiction applies.
Document review does not certify compliance, approve plans, or replace the design professional, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, or the local building official.