# Virginia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted > Which I-Code editions Virginia 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/virginia-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 [Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/virginia-uniform-statewide-building-code-usbc), which controls. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Current adoption | 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), effective 18 January 2024 (checked 2026-09-08 against Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development) | | Building | 2021 Virginia Construction Code (2021 IBC with amendments) (as published by the authority named below) | | Existing buildings | 2021 Virginia Existing Building Code (as published by the authority named below) | | Property maintenance | 2021 Virginia Property Maintenance Code (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 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), effective 18 January 2024 in Virginia. 2021 I-Codes, incorporated by reference with Virginia amendments. Applications filed between 18 January 2024 and 17 January 2025 could use either the 2018 or the 2021 USBC; from 18 January 2025 all applications must meet the 2021 USBC. This was checked on 2026-09-08 against Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, 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. 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: Virginia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://efwwel0vyt9vy5so.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/images/code-adoption/virginia-building-code-adoption/diagram-1344.webp) *Which I-Code editions Virginia 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 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), effective 18 January 2024.** 2021 I-Codes, incorporated by reference with Virginia amendments. | Discipline | Adopted | | --- | --- | | Building | 2021 Virginia Construction Code (2021 IBC with amendments) | | Existing buildings | 2021 Virginia Existing Building Code | | Property maintenance | 2021 Virginia Property Maintenance Code | **Transition:** Applications filed between 18 January 2024 and 17 January 2025 could use either the 2018 or the 2021 USBC; from 18 January 2025 all applications must meet the 2021 USBC. Checked 2026-09-08 against [Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/codes). 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 Virginia. 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) | 2021 | | International Energy Conservation Code — Commercial (IECC-C) | 2021 | | International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) | 2021 | | International Existing Building Code (IEBC) | 2021 | | International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) | 2021 | | ICC Performance Code (ICCPC) | Not adopted | | International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) | Not adopted | | International Zoning Code (IZC) | Not adopted | | ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (ICC 700) | Not adopted | Virginia has a recorded edition year for 11 of the 17 codes: 2021 for the building, residential, fire, mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, residential energy, commercial energy, property maintenance, existing buildings and swimming pool and spa codes. No adoption at all is recorded for the private sewage, green construction, performance, 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 Virginia compares with its neighbours | State | Building (IBC) | Residential (IRC) | Residential energy (IECC-R) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Virginia** | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | | Maryland | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | | North Carolina | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | | West Virginia | 2018 | 2018 | 2015 | | Tennessee | 2012 | 2018 | 2009 | West Virginia and Tennessee differ from Virginia on the building code alone. A practice working across that border is working to two editions, whatever the office standard says. ## Where Virginia 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. Virginia 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 the same 2021 edition here. That is convenient but not a rule — the two are adopted under separate processes and can diverge at the next cycle. Across all 17 codes the chart tracks, Virginia has a recorded edition for **11**, which ranks it 3rd 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 Virginia project 1. Open [Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/virginia-uniform-statewide-building-code-usbc) 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 Virginia at [/building-codes/us-states/virginia](https://harth.build/resources/building-codes/us-states/virginia.md). That is a historical reference for the 2009 editions and is not Virginia's current code basis. ## Virginia 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) - [Maryland Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/maryland-building-code-adoption.md) - [North Carolina Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/north-carolina-building-code-adoption.md) - [West Virginia Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/west-virginia-building-code-adoption.md) - [Tennessee Building Code: Which Editions Are Adopted](https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/tennessee-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 [Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/virginia-uniform-statewide-building-code-usbc), 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) - [dhcd.virginia.gov](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/virginia-uniform-statewide-building-code-usbc) - [dhcd.virginia.gov](https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/codes) ## Frequently asked questions ### Which building code edition does Virginia use? The ICC Master I-Code Adoption Chart (January 2024) records Virginia 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 Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, 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 Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development 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%2Fvirginia-building-code-adoption%2F - View this page in a browser: https://harth.build/resources/code-adoption/virginia-building-code-adoption/ - All resources for agents: https://harth.build/llms.txt