How values are checked
Where each value comes from, what the three seals mean, how often the record is re-read, and how to send a correction.
Where a value comes from
Where a state has been researched, each value comes from the state’s own records: its rules, statutes, agency pages, and state registers. Code adoption trackers are the cross-check. They also fill in for states not yet researched.
Quotes on the site are 30 words or fewer and come only from the state’s own pages. Trackers are paraphrased, never quoted.
The data covers the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia: 49 jurisdictions, seven codes each, 343 values.
The three seals
A seal says how well a value was checked. The word always sits beside the mark. Of 343 values, 207 are Verified, 119 are Partial, and 17 are Lead only. Every one of the 343 values has at least a tracker lead, so the fourth label, No data yet, is not in use today.
-
Lead only
Lead only
A tracker lists this edition. Nobody has checked it against the state’s own record yet.
17of 343 values -
Partial
Partial
Researched in the state’s own record. The seal stays broken until the passage is on file word for word.
119of 343 values -
Verified
Verified
Matched to the state’s own record on the date it was read. Two separate readings agree, and the passage is on file word for word.
207of 343 values
What Verified does not mean
These labels describe the state’s record on the date it was read. None of them is an approval from a state, a code publisher, or a local official.
For information only. Your local building or fire official decides which code applies. We check state records often but can miss a recent change, so confirm with your official before you design, permit, or install. Terms of use
How often we look
| What | How often | Then |
|---|---|---|
| The state pages behind each value | Every Monday | An automated job re-reads them and flags changed text. A person reads each flag before the map changes. |
| The NFPA enforcement map | Monthly | Re-checked against the values on file. What it says is noted on the record, with the date it was read. |
Trackers we cross-check
A tracker gives a lead. It never earns a seal on its own, and where a tracker differs from the state’s record, the record decides.
- NFPA enforcement map
- ICC code adoption map
- DOE energycodes.gov
- IAEI adoption page
- BCAP code status
- Mike Holt’s NEC adoption list
- AWC code status
Planned: the ICC NTA code updates page (icc-nta.org) joins the cross-check list for the I-Codes, and AFDC and Bright Saver are the leads for EV charging and plug-in solar laws. Each is a lead only, as above.
Corrections
If a value is wrong, tell us which one. Point us at the state’s page if you can. A correction is read against the state’s record before anything changes.
Glossary
- Edition
- The year of the model code a state adopts, such as 2023 for the NEC. The map colors each state by it.
- Amendment
- A change a state makes to the model code when it adopts it. Local amendments are not on the map.
- Statewide minimum
- The state’s edition is the floor. A city or county may adopt a newer edition or stricter rules on top of it.
- Local adoption
- The state sets no edition for that code. Cities and counties choose their own, so the map shows a hatch.
- Instrument
- The rule, statute, or order that adopts the edition. Each record names it.
- Citation
- Where the instrument sits in the state’s code or statutes, such as a section number, so a reader can find it.
- Effective date
- The date the edition takes effect under the instrument. The record shows it as the in-force date.
- Adopted, not yet in force
- The state has adopted a new edition and set a later date for it. The map keeps the current edition until that date.
- Emergency rule
- A rule an agency puts in force on a short schedule. It appears on the changes page as its own kind of action.