Building code in Ohio

Ohio has adopted 2024 OBC (based on 2021 IBC); 2019 Residential Code of Ohio for 1-3 family dwellings (IBC / IRC (ICC)), effective March 1, 2024. The adopting authority is Ohio Board of Building Standards (Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance). Verified June 28, 2026.

Statewide mandatory. The 2024 Ohio Building Code adopts the 2021 IBC (and the 2021 IEBC as OBC Chapter 34) by reference with Ohio amendments, effective March 1, 2024; a further set of OBC amendments took effect October 15, 2025. One- to three-family dwellings follow the separate Residential Code of Ohio, currently the 2019 edition. Certified local building departments enforce the state code.

It is the specific edition of a model code (for example the 2023 NEC, the 2021 IBC, or CSA C22.1:24) that a state or province has legally adopted and currently enforces. Codes are republished on roughly three-year cycles, and each jurisdiction adopts a new edition on its own schedule — often with amendments — so the edition in force varies by place and by discipline.

Not always. Many jurisdictions set a statewide or provincial baseline edition, but local building departments (the authority having jurisdiction, or AHJ) can amend it or enforce a different edition. Some states leave most adoption to local jurisdictions, and a few large cities such as Chicago and New York City run their own codes. Always confirm with your AHJ.

In the United States: the NEC (NFPA 70) for electrical, the ICC I-Codes (IBC/IRC) for building, the UPC (IAPMO) or IPC (ICC) for plumbing, the IMC/UMC for mechanical, the IFGC/NFPA 54 for fuel gas, and the IFC/NFPA 1 for fire. In Canada: the Canadian Electrical Code (CSA C22.1), the National Building, Plumbing and Fire Codes of Canada and their provincial editions, and CSA B149.1 for gas.

NFPA offers free read-only online access to many of its standards including the NEC, and the ICC publishes its I-Codes through a free online reading room. Canadian codes are typically published by CSA Group or the National Research Council and may require purchase or membership. Each result links to the official source.

Trade codes are copyrighted by their standards bodies (NFPA, ICC, IAPMO, CSA). This directory publishes only factual adoption data — which edition is in force, when it took effect, who the authority is, whether it is amended, and where to read it officially — and links you to the official source for the code text itself.