Code Level

Residential Energy Code

None Statewide

2015 IECC, with amendments (effective 1/1/2017) – Voluntary and Unenforceable

North Dakota State Building Code

Commercial Energy Code

None Statewide

2015 IECC (effective 1/1/2017) – Voluntary and Unenforceable

North Dakota State Building Code

Authority

Authorized by – Statute. The energy codes that were previously in place, the 1993 MEC and ASHRAE 90.1-1989, were removed from state law by SB 2352 in 2009 and the energy code was placed under the State Building Code. As of 2017, the State Building Code is the 2015 IBC for commercial buildings and the 2015 IRC for residential buildings. 

The State Building Code in North Dakota applies only to jurisdictions that choose to adopt it, and to all state and local government buildings, and public and private schools. Jurisdictions that adopt the code are free to amend it to "conform to local needs."  Areas that do not enforce building codes are still “responsible for assuring that plans and specifications for alterations and new construction of their buildings comply with the state building code.”  However, fully chartered Home Rule Cities may adopt something other than the State Building Code.

Oversight – The North Dakota Division of Community Services (DCS) is assigned the responsibility of updating and amending the North Dakota State Building Code.

Code change process – Regulatory and Legislative. Changes to the state energy code must first be processed through the North Dakota DCS and the North Dakota Building Code Advisory Committee. After review, changes are processed through a technical review committee composed of building officials, design professionals, and other applicable organizations and then through a series of public hearings. Rules and regulations associated with a new code are established through the Administrative Practices Act.

Code change cycle - None specified. New editions of the code can be reviewed as they become available but there is no obligation to adopt.

Compliance

Enforcement – The North Dakota DCS is not involved in the enforcement of the State Building Code. Enforcement of any building code is the responsibility of jurisdictions that elect to adopt and enforce them or to the parties with jurisdiction over the schools or government buildings (to which the code still applies) in jurisdictions that have not adopted the code.

Municipal Energy Codes

Largest Jurisdictions in North Dakota	Residential Energy Code	Commercial Energy Code
Fargo	2015 IRC, with state amendments	2015 IECC
Grand Forks	2009 IECC, with amendments	2009 IECC
Bismarck	2015 IECC, with amendments, in effect July 2017	2015 IECC, in effect July 2017

 

Implementation/Compliance Studies – The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) has information regarding past compliance studies in North Dakota.

Primary Contacts

Department of Commerce, Division of Community Services

North Dakota Building Officials’ Association