2021 Building Codes

Pennsylvania’s 2021 Building Code: Understanding the Changes

Effective January 1, 2026

Pennsylvania has adopted the 2021 International Building Code. Get the guidance you need to stay compliant and keep projects on track.

6-Month Grace Period

Contracts signed before December 31, 2025 have a 6-month grace period for compliance. Please check with your local Building Code Official for details. Our Grace Period Qualification Form may be helpful in municipalities where accepted.

Download Contract Verification Form
PA State Capitol

Please note that Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code does not adopt all portions of the ICC codes as written. Modifications and exclusions are part of the adoption process, and the final result will be summarized in UCC § 403.21.

This depends on the municipality in which your project is located. In most cases, ACSI’s role is to receive a set of plans from a municipality and review them in as little time as possible. After our review, we will return these plans to the municipality who will then complete their processing. ACSI attempts to complete commercial reviews within 15 business days (the state mandates 30 business days) and most residential reviews within 7-10 days (the state mandates 15 business days).

Only when ACSI is actually appointed as the municipality’s Building Code Official are we the issuing agent. In this case, we are often able to turn around plans and issue permits several days less than that described above.

Permit fees are always established by the local municipality. A quick check of their websites should help you find this answer. Fee structures vary by municipality – it is not uniform – check with your municipality.

NO! Doing any work without a valid permit could result in fines of up to $1,000 per day. Please, always check with your municipality on what requires a Building Permit and what does not.

Reasons for failing an inspection include: work done not to current code standards, work not finished when the Construction Code Official arrives for scheduled inspections, or when the inspector is unable to gain access / the responsible party is not present.
Unfortunately, most Building Departments and Third Party Agencies like ACSI have such tight budgets/margins that it becomes necessary to charge for failed inspections. In most cases, a check is required on site at the re-inspection unless other arrangements have been made. This charge is normally the same charge as previous inspections.

The PA statewide building code allows for Civil Prosecution for work performed without a Building Permit when a permit is required (See FAQ #3). Our goal is to attempt to work with people, educate, and move forward to a mutually satisfying result. However, our overarching concern is always the safety of the occupants of the structure in question as well as neighbors, passersby, and the community at large. Without cooperation from the property owner, there may be no other recourse for the municipality.

The purpose of every Building Code requirement ultimately returns to that issue of the health, safety, and welfare of the owner, occupants, and public at large. This includes a progressive process of incorporating Accessibility standards to new and also some of our very old structures in PA. The Federal Americans with Disabilities Act brought Accessibility into law in the 1990’s and is still being incorporated in new buildings as well as alterations or changes of use that are made to existing buildings.

All inspections should be scheduled at least 48 business hours in advance. Though we will make every effort to try to accommodate lesser notice, we cannot guarantee a request in less than 48 hours. Same day inspections may sometimes be available but will be subject to an additional fee.

For a complete description of the current code adopted by Pa-UCC, click here.

Certifications are obtained directly from the Department of Labor & Industry after successful computerized testing of your knowledge of each of the pertinent building code elements. Essentially, you would complete self-paced study of each ICC (International Code Council) code, (we highly recommend following each associated study guide), work on practice exams, and then schedule the exam at a local testing facility. If passed, you may submit that individual test result to the state for certification.

Currently, there are no “Codes” schools in the Central Pennsylvania area. Therefore, self-paced study is the only way. There are also self-paced computer aided study tools to work through to help prepare you for testing. Recently, Approved Code Services hosted a “Study Group” for the International Building Code (IBC) Commercial Inspector’s test. This may occur in the future with appropriate interest.

Please refer to our Checklists and Guides tab to view the sample checklists for commercial and residential plan review submittals.

Other than Electrical Plans, all reviewed plans must be returned to the municipality by Approved Code Services as the Municipality’s authorized agent. Only Electrical Plan Reviews may be picked up from our office at the submitter’s discretion.

Approved Code Services offers an Expedited plan review option. This achieves a fast turnaround time – within 7 business days for commercial jobs and within 3-5 days for residential. Expedited services must be authorized by ACSI because it is dependent on our current workload. Generally speaking, the fee for expedited service is an additional 100% of the normal plan review fee.

Approved Code Services offers an Expedited plan review option. This achieves a fast turnaround time – within 7 business days for commercial jobs and within 3-5 days for residential. Expedited services must be authorized by ACSI because it is dependent on our current workload. Generally speaking, the fee for expedited service is an additional 100% of the normal plan review fee.

Yes and No! Only in Municipalities in which Approved Code is appointed and also listed in the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry’s Website as “Building Code Official” or BCO are we responsible for issuing permits. In all other cases, we are authorized or contracted by a municipality to perform all or certain aspects of the technical plan review and inspection process. The municipality issues the permit and certificate of occupancy.

Approved Code Services is defined by the state of Pennsylvania and its “Uniform Construction Code” (Act 45) as a “Third Party Agency” or TPA. ((http://www.dli.pa.gov/ucc/buildings/Pages/default.aspx)) TPA’s can perform the technical and or administrative aspects of the PA-UCC under the authority of the local municipality. You may see the current listing of the various agreement types with our municipal partners via this link: Municipality Partnerships

NO! Any and all work must wait until all aspects of the job are approved and meet the minimum PA-UCC Code requirements.

NO! Special care must be taken in partial or complete residential demolitions that no supporting framing or structure is being removed without proper precaution and safety measures.

In a full demolition, a residential demolition permit requires that the entire area is returned to proper grading and design matching the surrounding area and landscape in the community. It also requires that all utilities be properly terminated, capped, sealed, etc.

Lastly, care must be taken with all interior and exterior finishes to determine the presence of dangerous airborne particles, such as asbestos, molds, lead paints, and oil tanks, to name just a few. This may require an on-site visit by the building code official prior to issuance of such a permit.

YES! Special care must be taken in partial or complete commercial demolitions that no supporting framing or structure is being removed without proper precaution and safety measures. This generally requires an engineered plan.

In a full demolition, a commercial demolition permit requires that the entire area is returned to proper grading and design matching the surrounding area and landscape in the community. It also requires that all utilities be properly terminated, capped, sealed, etc.

DEP: Before the demolition permit may be considered locally, the State’s Department of Environmental Protection must be notified. Samples of surrounding earth, interior/exterior finishes, etc. may be required. Form # 2700-FM-AQ0021 Rev. 11/2007 (related to asbestos exposure) COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Instructions DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BUREAU OF AIR QUALITY “ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AND DEMOLITION/RENOVATION NOTIFICATION FORM” The following website provides further information and contacts: https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Air/BAQ/BusinessTopics/Pages/Asbestos.asp
We have been informed by a DEP[IS1] inspector that the BCO can override the [DEP] approval as long as the demo doesn’t start before the application is mailed, if we have to do an [emergency] “demolition by order.”

This content is intended for informational purposes only. The goal is simply to encourage awareness and industry discussion on the impact of the 2025 PA UCC updates within the local construction industry. These highlights do not constitute legal advice or official code interpretations, and information is subject to change or revision without notice. Always consult with your local AHJ regarding official code interpretations for the relevant municipality.