Oklahoma Uniform Building Code

NOTE: The Oklahoma Legislature has charged the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission with developing and recommending construction codes for adoption, including residential, commercial, and energy efficiency codes. The first code adopted under this structure are the residential standards listed below. The commercial standards listed below have been adopted previously by the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal and will be updated in the coming years through the OUBCC update process. Going forward, the OUBCC will be tasked with developing and recommending all these codes for adoption by the state legislature.

Residential Code: Chapter 11 of the 2009 IRC with Oklahoma amendments is the minimum energy efficiency code for all new and renovated construction statewide (see below for amendment details).

TEXT: Permanent Rules and Executive Orders for the OUBCC (as of July 24, 2011) | OK Amendments: See 748:20-5-12. IRC 2009 Chapter 11 Energy Efficiency

Explanation: Bring It Home OK Presentation on 2009 IRC and OK Amendments

Citation: Oklahoma Administrative Code, Title 748, Chapter 20 (Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission)

Application: Mandatory statewide. Local jurisdictions may only adopt more stringent codes.

Approximate Stringency: As stringent as Chapter 11 of the 2009 IRC, but less stringent that the 2009 IECC (see DOE analysis of the 2009 IRC).

Effective Date: July 15, 2011 

Approved Compliance Tools: REScheck | COMcheck (application of REScheck and COMcheck depends upon approval of local jurisdiction with enforcement authority, not the state).

RECA Residential Compliance Guides for OK: 2006 IECC | 2009 IECC | 2012 IECC 

Commercial Code: The 2006 IBC Chapter 13 (and, by reference, the 2006 IECC) has been adopted by the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal since 2007.

In January 2012, the OUBCC submitted recommendations for approval by the Oklahoma Legislature to adopt several 2009 ICC code editions, including the 2009 IBC. The proposal states that all references to the IECC within the codes adopted by the OUBCC shall refer to the 2006 IECC as adopted and modified by the State of Oklahoma through the State Fire Marshal until replaced by an adoption done through the OUBCC (currently scheduled for sometime in 2013).

TEXT: Oklahoma State Fire Marshal: Incorporated National Codes and Standards | OUBCC Proposed Changes to 2009 IBC, IFC, and IEBC (see 748.20-1-18(2) on pages 6-7)

Citation: Fire Marshal: Oklahoma Administrative Code, Title 265, Chapter 25 | OUBCC Proposal: O.A.C. 748.20-1-18(2)

Application: Mandatory statewide. Local jurisdictions may adopt more stringent codes.

Approximate Stringency: As stringent as the 2006 IECC.

Effective Date: July 19, 2007 (the OUBCC update mentioned would become effective in mid-2012)

Approved Compliance Tools: REScheck | COMcheck (application of REScheck and COMcheck depends upon approval of local jurisdiction with enforcement authority, not the state).

Background: In February 2009, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill creating the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission that would be charged to review and recommend building codes (including energy codes) for residential and commercial construction for adoption. Under the revised Oklahoma Administrative Code, Title 748, the codes and standards recommended by the Commission would go before the Oklahoma Legislature. Should the Legislature not act to disapprove the recommendations, they will be submitted to the Secretary of State (SOS) for filing. Local governments would be allowed to adopt "higher" standards than those recommended by the Commission.

Beginning in October 2010, the Commission held several meetings discussing code change proposals for the 2009 editions of the ICC codes - including the IRC - through March 2011. On March 31, the Commission formally recommended a residential code based on the 2009 IRC with Oklahoma amendments. This recommendation was approved by Gov. Mary Fallin on May 10, 2011. The Legislature chose not to disapprove the rule, leading to the official adoption of the code on May 27. The statute was printed in the state register on July 1, becoming effective July 15, 2011.

The OUBCC has made modifications to IRC Chapter 11, most notably removing the requirement of programmable thermostats, allowing visual inspections for duct sealing, and making the placement of energy efficiency certificates on a home's electrical panel voluntary:

748:20-5-12. IRC 2009 Chapter 11 Energy Efficiency
Chapter 11 is adopted with modifications as follows:
(1) Section N1101.9 Certificate. This section has been moved to the Appendix S of the IRC 2009 and is not
adopted as a minimum standard of residential construction within the State of Oklahoma.
(2) Section N1102.4.3. Fireplaces. This section has been modified to remove the requirement of gasketed doors
and will now read: New wood-burning fireplaces shall have outdoor combustion air.
(3) Section N1103.1.1 Programmable thermostat. This section has been stricken from the code.
(4) Section N1103.2.2 Sealing. This section has been modified to include the following exception: Visual
inspection may be used instead of the rough-in test and post construction test.
(5) Section N1103.8.3 Pool covers. This section has been modified to remove the requirement for heated pools to
have a vapor retardant pool cover on or at the water surface. This section will now read: Pools heated to more than
90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) shall have a pool cover with a minimum insulation value of R-12.
(6) Section N1104.1 Lighting equipment. This section has been modified to include the following exception: Can
or recessed lights are exempt from this section of the code.

Future Updates: The Commission has provided details on its projected code update cycles through 2016. Following a rough schedule of OUBCC technical committees reviewing a code edition for several months from spring to fall of a given year, that recommendation would be made to the Oklahoma Legislature and approved for adoption in the spring of the following year. The code update would then become effective sometime in the summer of fall of the year it was adopted. The list below provides a tentative estimate of the timelines to adopt the following code editions (and is subject to change).

• 2009 IRC: Reviewed fall 2010, adopted spring 2011, effective summer 2011
• 2009 IBC: Reviewed spring-fall 2011, adopted spring 2012, effective summer 2012
• 2009 IECC: Reviewed spring-fall 2012, adopted spring 2013, effective summer 2013
• 2012 IRC: Reviewed spring-fall 2013, adopted spring 2014, effective summer 2014
• 2012 IBC: Reviewed spring-fall 2014, adopted spring 2015, effective summer 2015

• 2012 IECC: Reviewed spring-fall 2015, adopted spring 2016, effective summer 2016

Information last updated February 2, 2012

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