History of the California Building Code

In 1978, state legislation (SB 331, Robbins) mandated that building standards be unified in a single code within the California Code of Regulations and designated as Title 24, the California Building Standards Code (Title 24). Before that, building standards were interspersed throughout several titles of the California Code of Regulations (which was called the California Administrative Code at that time and until 1988), causing confusion and difficulties for designers and builders.

In 1988, state legislation (SB 2871, Marks) mandated that Title 24 apply to all occupancies throughout the state. Prior to this time, local jurisdictions may have enforced a different code version, perhaps based on model codes from a different publisher, with or without California amendments, or with their own amendments.

Prior to the 1989 edition of Title 24, California’s amendments and supplements to the model code were published separately from the model codes. So, users had to use two books—for instance, the Uniform Building Code (UBC) book and the California Building Code (CBC) amendment book. In 1989, the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) worked with the model code publishers to combine California’s amendments with the adopted model code into one code book.

In 1994, the nation's three building code publishers—the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), the Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), and the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI)—formed a nationwide organization known as the International Code Council (ICC). Their purpose was to publish one nationally acceptable building code as opposed to three different and competing codes. ICC worked through the 1990s creating new codes using a publicly transparent consensus process that included input from the public, government, and the design and construction trades. Several technical committees worked to blend the best of the three codes into one. The 2000 editions of the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC) were the first published by ICC, but they were not adopted in California, which continued to use the UBC.

The 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC) was the last edition published by ICBO and was the base code for the 1998 and 2001 editions of the California Building Code (CBC).

California’s governor suspended rulemaking for the adoption of a new building code in the 2003 cycle. As a result, CBSC did not publish a 2004 edition of the CBC. During this period, parts of the 2001 edition of Title 24 remained in effect because they were not superseded by new editions. Those parts were: The California Administrative Code (Part 1), the California Building Code (Part 2), the California Mechanical and Plumbing Codes (Parts 4 and 5), and the California Fire Code (Part 9). The California Electrical Code (Part 3, based on the 2002 National Electrical Code) and California Energy Code (Part 6, a California code) were updated and republished as new editions which became effective in August and October of 2005, respectively.

Since 2006, CBSC has adopted the IBC as the model building code in California. The first CBC based on the IBC was the 2007 edition.

 

 

CBSC’s library is limited, but the public is welcome to visit the office to view older code books. Contact us at (916) 263-0916 or cbsc@dgs.ca.gov for hours and availability. California state document depositories or local building departments may also have older versions of Title 24 available.