History

Since the early 1900s, the system of building regulations in the United States was based on model building codes developed by three regional model code groups. The codes developed by the Building Officials Code Administrators International (BOCA) were used on the East Coast and throughout the Midwest of the United States, while the codes from the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) were used in the Southeast and the codes published by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) covered the West Coast and across to most of the Midwest. Although regional code development has been effective and responsive to the regulatory needs of the local jurisdictions, by early 1990s it became obvious that the country needed a single coordinated set of national model building codes. The nation’s three model code groups decided to combine their efforts and in 1994 formed the International Code Council (ICC) to develop codes that would have no regional limitations.

After three years of extensive research and development, the first edition of the International Building Code was published in 2000. The code was patterned on three legacy codes previously developed by the organizations that constitute ICC. By the year 2000, ICC had completed the International Codes series and ceased development of the legacy codes in favor of their national successor.

Legacy codes

• BOCA National Building Code (BOCA/NBC) by the Building Officials Code Administrators International (BOCA)
• Uniform Building Code (UBC) by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)
• Standard Building Code (SBC) by the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI)

Competing codes and final adoption

The National Fire Protection Association, initially, joined ICC in a collective effort to develop the International Fire Code (IFC). This effort however fell apart at the completion of the first draft of the document. Subsequent efforts by ICC and NFPA to reach agreement on this and other documents were unsuccessful, resulting in a series of disputes between the two organizations. After several failed attempts to find common ground with the ICC, NFPA withdrew from participation in development of the International Codes and joined with International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Western Fire Chiefs Association to create an alternative set of codes. First published in 2002, the code set named the Comprehensive Consensus Codes, or C3, includes the NFPA 5000 building code as its centerpiece and the companion codes such as the National Electrical Code, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, UPC, UMC, and NFPA 1. Unlike the IBC, the NFPA 5000 conformed to ANSI-established policies and procedures for the development of voluntary consensus standards.

The NFPA's move to introduce a competing building standard received strong opposition from powerful trade groups such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA), BOMA International and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Subsequent to unsuccessful attempts to encourage peaceful cooperation and resolution between NFPA and ICC on their codes disputes, a number of organizations, including AIA, BOMA and two dozen commercial real estate associations, founded the Get It Together coalition, which repeatedly urged NFPA to abandon code development related to NFPA 5000 and to work with ICC to integrate the other NFPA codes and standards into the ICC family of codes.

Initially, California adopted the NFPA 5000 codes as a baseline for the future California Building Code, but later rescinded the decision when Gov. Davis—who had strong ties with the State Fire Marshall who, in turn, supported NFPA 5000—was recalled from office and Gov Schwarzenegger was elected. Upon his election, Gov. Schwarzenegger rescinded directive to use NFPA 5000, and California adopted the IBC. The main driver for this decision were increased costs involved in training architects and engineers to design for a new code, construction contractors to build to the new code, and state and local agencies to have to learn a new code with which to inspect. Additionally, NFPA 5000 would cause a disparity between California and the majority of other states which had adopted IBC; not to mention, the legacy ICBO started in California and was headquartered in Whittier, CA.

Since then, benefits of using one code for the entire country has been realized by all. At this time, jurisdictions within all 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the IBC