Maryland Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted

Direct answer

2021 I-Codes as the Maryland Building Performance Standards, effective 29 May 2023 in Maryland. 2021 IBC, IRC and IECC with Maryland modifications under COMAR 09.12.51, with the 2021 IEBC applied through the Maryland Building Rehabilitation Code. Local jurisdictions were required to implement and enforce the 2021 requirements by 29 May 2024. The Building Codes Administration has proposed moving the Maryland Building Performance Standards to the 2024 IBC, IRC and IECC; the proposal was published in the Maryland Register on 26 June 2026, with public comment closing on 27 July 2026. Record the permit application date with it: a code change normally applies from an effective date, and an application filed before that date is usually reviewed under the previous edition. This was checked on 2026-10-01 against Maryland Department of Labor, Building Codes Administration, which is the source that controls. The cross-state comparison further down this page comes from the ICC adoption chart dated January 2024, so where the two disagree the record above is the newer one.

Content and cited inputs reviewed by Harth team · Published 2026-09-07 · Updated 2026-10-01.

Which codes has Maryland adopted now?

2021 I-Codes as the Maryland Building Performance Standards, effective 29 May 2023.

2021 IBC, IRC and IECC with Maryland modifications under COMAR 09.12.51, with the 2021 IEBC applied through the Maryland Building Rehabilitation Code.

Transition: Local jurisdictions were required to implement and enforce the 2021 requirements by 29 May 2024. The Building Codes Administration has proposed moving the Maryland Building Performance Standards to the 2024 IBC, IRC and IECC; the proposal was published in the Maryland Register on 26 June 2026, with public comment closing on 27 July 2026.

Local adoption: Counties and municipalities enforce the Standards and may adopt local amendments. The 2021 IgCC is available for voluntary local adoption. Fire safety is governed separately by the State Fire Prevention Code (2024 NFPA 1 and NFPA 101), enforced by the State Fire Marshal.

Checked 2026-10-01 against Maryland Department of Labor, Building Codes Administration. Confirm the edition and effective date for the specific permit jurisdiction before relying on it.

The cross-state record

For comparison across states, every I-Code the ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024) tracks, as it records Maryland. Where this disagrees with the record above, the record above is newer:

Maryland has a recorded edition year for 9 of the 17 codes: 2021 for the building, residential, mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, residential energy, commercial energy, existing buildings and swimming pool and spa codes. The private sewage, green construction and property maintenance codes appear as adopted by individual state or local agencies rather than as a statewide standard, so whether they apply depends on the permit jurisdiction for the project address. No adoption at all is recorded for the fire, performance, wildland-urban interface, zoning and green building standard codes.

Source: ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024).

How Maryland compares with its neighbours

Statewide editions in force, checked 2026-10-01; “Local” means no state adoption, “(limited)” a state adoption for some buildings only, and * a state-titled code built on that edition.

Virginia, Delaware and District of Columbia differ from Maryland on the building code alone. A practice working across that border is working to two editions, whatever the office standard says.

Where Maryland sits in the national record

Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 17 enforce the 2021 IBC statewide, 10 a later edition, 7 an earlier one, and 17 have no statewide IBC edition in force. Maryland is at or ahead of the national middle on the building code, so the risk runs the other way: work arriving from a slower-moving state may be drawn to an older edition.

Across all 17 codes the January 2024 ICC chart tracks, Maryland has a recorded edition for 9, which ranked it 12th of 51. A low count is not a gap in regulation — it usually means the state legislates through its own documents, or leaves the discipline to local adoption.

What the chart does and does not tell you

The chart's own legend matters more than the numbers:

• An edition year means one or more state or local agencies adopted that edition. It does not mean every building in the state is designed to it.
• “Some jurisdictions only” is the chart's X: the code is in use somewhere in the state but is not the standard for all buildings.
• “Not adopted” is a blank cell — no state or local jurisdiction reported adopting that code.
• “State-written code” means the state publishes its own document in place of the model edition, so the model text is a reference, not the law.

ICC states plainly that not every jurisdiction notifies it of an adoption, and this chart is dated January 2024. Treat it as the starting point for a search, never as the answer.

How to confirm the edition that governs a Maryland project

1. Open Maryland Department of Labor, Building Codes Administration and find the currently adopted code list with its effective date.
2. Check whether the permit authority for the project address is the state or a local programme with its own adoption.
3. Read the state amendments alongside the model edition — an amended table or definition changes the requirement even when the edition matches.
4. Record the permit application date. A code change usually applies from an effective date, and applications filed before it are normally reviewed under the previous edition.
5. Get the answer in writing from the authority having jurisdiction before it drives a design decision.

This site also hosts a transcription of the 2009 model code chapters as adopted in Maryland at /building-codes/us-states/maryland. That is a historical reference for the 2009 editions and is not Maryland's current code basis.

Maryland code-basis worksheet

Fill this in once per project and keep it with the drawing set. Every row is a question a plan reviewer can ask, and the answer changes with the address and the application date, not with the state.

This worksheet records a determination; it does not make one. The authority having jurisdiction decides which edition and which amendments apply.

Where can you explore related guidance?

• Explore all code adoption guidance
• Virginia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted
• Pennsylvania Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted
• Delaware Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted
• District of Columbia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted

Sources and method

Adopted editions transcribed from the ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024), reproduced with the chart's own legend so an “X” is not mistaken for a statewide adoption. ICC notes that not all jurisdictions report their adoptions and publishes updates at iccsafe.org/adoptions. The current edition, its effective date and the state amendments are published by Maryland Department of Labor, Building Codes Administration, which controls.

Source links

• iccsafe.org

• iccsafe.org

• labor.maryland.gov