Maryland

Department of Labor
Division of Labor and Industry
Building Codes Administration 
Norman Wang, RA, Director of Codes Administration

10946 Golden West Drive, Suite 160
Hunt Valley, MD 21031 
410-767-2227
e-mail: dldlibuildingcodes-labor@maryland.gov 

Current Codes and Edition Adopted:
2018 International Building Code (IBC) 
2018 International Residential Code (IRC) 
2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
2018 International Existing Building Code (IEBC)
Applicability (statewide, local, limited): STATEWIDE

The Department of Housing and Community Development is the statewide adopting authority. Local jurisdictions can amend the state codes to suit local conditions with the exception of the 2015 IECC and the MD Accessibility Code. Both codes can be made more stringent. Local jurisdictions can amend but must adopt the new editions although no penalties occur should a jurisdiction fail to adopt in a timely manner. Maryland’s law related to building codes is called the Maryland Building Performance Standards (MBPS). It requires each jurisdiction in Maryland to use the same edition of the same I-codes.

State of Maryland adoption of 2018 edition of I-codes and other codes, under Maryland Building Performance Standards and Model Performance Code, has become final in the Maryland Register, Volume 46, Issue 6, March 15, 2019 with an effective date of March 25, 2019. 

Please review the information found here for code adoption:
https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/build/comar091251.pdf
https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/build/buildcodes.shtml 

Tall Mass Timber Adoption

The tall mass timber provisions went into effect in 2023 for Howard County, MD.

Amendments Disadvantaging Wood Construction:

No apparent amendments.

Next Update Cycle:

Maryland adopts the triennial edition of the I-codes 18 months after the first printing of the code.  June/July adoption date is typical.  The 2021 codes are in the process of review and should be adopted mid-year 2022.  Howard County has adopted the 2021 in advance of statewide adoption. 

Notes:

Page last updated: January 2022