# South Carolina Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted > Which I-Code editions South Carolina is recorded as adopting, what the record does not cover, and how to confirm the edition governing a project. - Canonical: https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/south-carolina-building-code-adoption/ - Last updated: 2026-09-07 - Data source: Adopted editions transcribed from the [ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024)](https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/Master-I-Code-Adoption-Chart-1.pdf), 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](https://www.iccsafe.org/adoptions). The current edition, its effective date and the state amendments are published by [South Carolina Building Codes Council](https://llr.sc.gov/bcc/BCAdoption.aspx), which controls. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Current adoption | 2021 South Carolina codes, adopted 6 October 2021 and effective 1 January 2023 (checked 2026-09-08 against South Carolina Building Codes Council) | | Building | 2021 South Carolina Building Code (2021 IBC with SC modifications) (as published by the authority named below) | | Residential | 2021 South Carolina Residential Code (2021 IRC with SC modifications) (as published by the authority named below) | | Fire | 2021 South Carolina Fire Code (2018 IFC with SC modifications) (as published by the authority named below) | | Plumbing | 2021 South Carolina Plumbing Code (2021 IPC) (as published by the authority named below) | | Cross-state chart record | 2021 IBC (ICC chart, January 2024 — older than the record above) | ## Direct answer 2021 South Carolina codes, adopted 6 October 2021 and effective 1 January 2023 in South Carolina. 2021 I-Codes with South Carolina modifications, except the fire code which remains on the 2018 IFC. This was checked on 2026-09-08 against South Carolina Building Codes Council, which is the source that controls. 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. Local amendments sit on top of the state adoption and can change a requirement without changing the edition, so read the adopting ordinance for the permit jurisdiction alongside the state text. 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 [Scott Barrington](https://nz.linkedin.com/in/barrington), Harth founder and architectural technology specialist · Published 2026-09-07 · Updated 2026-09-07.* ![Code-adoption status diagram: South Carolina Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://efwwel0vyt9vy5so.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/code-adoption/south-carolina-building-code-adoption/diagram-1344.webp) *Which I-Code editions South Carolina is recorded as adopting, what the record does not cover, and how to confirm the edition governing a project.* ## What must be verified before using this guidance? **2021 South Carolina codes, adopted 6 October 2021 and effective 1 January 2023.** 2021 I-Codes with South Carolina modifications, except the fire code which remains on the 2018 IFC. | Discipline | Adopted | | --- | --- | | Building | 2021 South Carolina Building Code (2021 IBC with SC modifications) | | Residential | 2021 South Carolina Residential Code (2021 IRC with SC modifications) | | Fire | 2021 South Carolina Fire Code (2018 IFC with SC modifications) | | Plumbing | 2021 South Carolina Plumbing Code (2021 IPC) | | Mechanical | 2021 South Carolina Mechanical Code (2021 IMC with SC modifications) | | Fuel gas | 2021 South Carolina Fuel Gas Code (2021 IFGC with SC modifications) | Checked 2026-09-08 against [South Carolina Building Codes Council](https://llr.sc.gov/bcc/BCAdoption.aspx). 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 South Carolina. Where this disagrees with the record above, the record above is newer: | Code | Recorded adoption | | --- | --- | | International Building Code (IBC) | 2021 | | International Residential Code (IRC) | 2021 | | International Fire Code (IFC) | 2021 | | International Mechanical Code (IMC) | 2021 | | International Plumbing Code (IPC) | 2021 | | International Private Sewage Disposal Code (IPSDC) | Not adopted | | International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) | 2021 | | International Green Construction Code (IgCC) | Not adopted | | International Energy Conservation Code — Residential (IECC-R) | 2009 | | International Energy Conservation Code — Commercial (IECC-C) | 2009 | | International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) | Some jurisdictions only | | International Existing Building Code (IEBC) | Some jurisdictions only | | International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) | Some jurisdictions only | | ICC Performance Code (ICCPC) | Some jurisdictions only | | International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) | Not adopted | | International Zoning Code (IZC) | Not adopted | | ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (ICC 700) | Not adopted | South Carolina has a recorded edition year for 8 of the 17 codes: 2021 for the building, residential, fire, mechanical, plumbing and fuel gas codes; 2009 for the residential energy and commercial energy codes. The property maintenance, existing buildings, swimming pool and spa and performance 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 private sewage, green construction, wildland-urban interface, zoning and green building standard codes. Source: [ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024)](https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/Master-I-Code-Adoption-Chart-1.pdf). ## How South Carolina compares with its neighbours | State | Building (IBC) | Residential (IRC) | Residential energy (IECC-R) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **South Carolina** | 2021 | 2021 | 2009 | | North Carolina | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | | Georgia | 2018 | 2018 | 2015 | | Tennessee | 2012 | 2018 | 2009 | | Florida | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | Georgia and Tennessee differ from South Carolina on the building code alone. A practice working across that border is working to two editions, whatever the office standard says. ## Where South Carolina sits in the national record Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, **18 are recorded on the 2021 IBC**, 0 on a later edition, 26 on an earlier one, and 7 with no statewide IBC edition at all. South Carolina 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. The building code and the residential energy code are on **different editions** here — 2021 against 2009. 18 states show the same split, which is why the energy code is worth confirming as a separate question rather than assuming it moved with the building code. Across all 17 codes the chart tracks, South Carolina has a recorded edition for **8**, which ranks it 20th 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 South Carolina project 1. Open [South Carolina Building Codes Council](https://llr.sc.gov/bcc/BCAdoption.aspx) 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 South Carolina at [/building-codes/us-states/south-carolina](https://harth.build/resources/building-codes/us-states/south-carolina.md). That is a historical reference for the 2009 editions and is not South Carolina's current code basis. ## South Carolina 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. | Item | Project entry | | --- | --- | | Project address and permit jurisdiction | | | State programme or local programme as AHJ | | | Building / residential edition and effective date | | | Energy code edition (or state-written code) | | | Fire, mechanical, plumbing and fuel-gas editions | | | Accessibility standard and edition | | | State amendments consulted (citation) | | | Local amendments consulted (citation) | | | Permit application date and vesting rule | | | Written AHJ confirmation (date, name) | | **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](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption.md) - [North Carolina Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/north-carolina-building-code-adoption.md) - [Georgia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/georgia-building-code-adoption.md) - [Tennessee Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/tennessee-building-code-adoption.md) - [Florida Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/florida-building-code-adoption.md) ## Sources and method Adopted editions transcribed from the [ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024)](https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/Master-I-Code-Adoption-Chart-1.pdf), 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](https://www.iccsafe.org/adoptions). The current edition, its effective date and the state amendments are published by [South Carolina Building Codes Council](https://llr.sc.gov/bcc/BCAdoption.aspx), which controls. ### Source links - [iccsafe.org](https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/Master-I-Code-Adoption-Chart-1.pdf) - [iccsafe.org](https://www.iccsafe.org/adoptions) - [llr.sc.gov](https://llr.sc.gov/bcc/BCAdoption.aspx) ## Frequently asked questions ### Which building code edition does South Carolina use? The ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024) records South Carolina on the 2021 International Building Code. That is the edition ICC was told about; the effective date, the amendments and any newer adoption live with South Carolina Building Codes Council, which is the source to check before relying on it. ### Why does this page not simply state today's code? Because the underlying record is dated. The ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024) is the most complete cross-state source available, and ICC notes that not every jurisdiction reports its adoptions. Publishing it with its date attached and sending you to South Carolina Building Codes Council is honest; publishing an undated “current edition” would not be. --- - Continue in Harth (open this topic in the Harth agent): https://app.harth.build/agent?context=%2Fresources%2Fcode-adoption%2Fsouth-carolina-building-code-adoption%2F - View this page in a browser: https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/south-carolina-building-code-adoption/ - All resources for agents: https://harth.build/llms.txt