Alabama enforces the 2021 IBC in state buildings only

Record of adoption

In force since

Jul 1, 2022

Legal citation

Ala. Admin. Code ch. 355-12-1 (per DCM bulletin); DCM Manual of Procedures ch. 2

Adopted by

Division of Construction Management (DCM), Alabama Department of Finance

Second reading

Agreed Oct 19, 2026

Applies

State buildings only

Also called

State Building Code

Base is the 2021 IBC adopted Jul 1, 2022, with sections from the 2024 IBC added Mar 17, 2025 (driven by Act 2023-276 on substitute refrigerants). ICC shows 2021 as statewide; DCM’s own page limits scope.

Exceptions

• Applies only to state-owned or state-funded work, K-12 schools, public postsecondary schools, hotels/motels and movie theaters
• Amended Mar 17, 2025, to replace or add several sections using the 2024 IBC
• DCM does not have jurisdiction over residential property or other commercial property; local jurisdictions adopt their own building codes

How Alabama adopts the IBC

• Agency rule
• A recent law changed the process

DCM amends the State Building Code by administrative rule under the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act and publishes code bulletins. Act 2023-276 (effective Aug 1, 2023) required the code not to prohibit substitute refrigerants, which prompted the 2024-2025 amendments pulling in 2024 IBC/IFC/IMC sections.

Cycle. irregular; 2015 IBC effective Jul 1, 2016, 2021 IBC effective Jul 1, 2022, partial 2024 update Mar 17, 2025

Laws, rulings, and other actions

1. Aug 1, 2023Legislation
   Act 2023-2762023 regular session

   Requires the state building code not to prohibit substitute refrigerants, prompting DCM’s 2024-2025 amendments using 2024 IBC/IFC/IMC sections.

   Enacted, effective Aug 1, 2023

   dcm.alabama.gov (opens in a new tab)

How it was checked

Verified

Two separate readings of the state’s own record agree, and the passage is on file word for word.

Read twice: a second, blind reading of the state’s record agreed with the first on Oct 19, 2026.

The state’s record was last read on Oct 19, 2026, from four source pages.

Evidence 5 sources

Sources for the record itself come first, the state’s own records ahead of others. A label marks a source about something else, such as an exception. A source marked secondary is not the state’s own record.

• “The 2021 International Building Code adopted on July 1, 2022, with exceptions as noted below amended March 17, 2025”

• “DCM does not have jurisdiction over residential property or commercial property”

  “except for hotels/motels and movie theaters.”

• “will adopt, promulgate and enforce the 2021 International Building Code as the State Building Code.”

• About an exception

  “2021 International Fire Code, with the following exceptions”

• About an exception

  “replacing related sections and referenced standards of the 2021 International Building Code”

Tracker cross-checks

Code adoption trackers are a cross-check. They are not Alabama’s own record.

• ICC’s code adoption mapCross-checkAgrees with the record

  State Alabama 21 15 21 21 21 X 21 15 15 X 21 X X X X (IBC taken as first value)

  mitek-us.com (opens in a new tab)Read Oct 17, 2026

Related pages

• See Alabama’s IBC on the map
• IBC adoption in every state
• All six codes in Alabama

Other codes in Alabama

• NEC2020 NECVerified
• IRC2015 IRCLead only
• IFC2021 IFCPartial
• IECC residential2015 IECCLead only
• IECC commercialAnother model codePartial