| IBC — International Building Code | 2015 IBC -- the operative Kentucky building code is the **2018 KENTUCKY BUILDING CODE, FOURTH EDITION, FEBRUARY 2024**, an AMENDMENT OVERLAY on a **2015 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE** base. KBC s. 101.1 says so in terms, VERBATIM: "This edition of the Kentucky Building Code (KBC) is the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) except where specifically amended in these regulations." NOT 2024, NOT 2021, NOT 2018 IBC. Note the naming trap: the volume is called the "2018" Kentucky Building Code and its base is the 2015 IBC and its current printing is dated February 2024 -- THREE DIFFERENT YEARS ON ONE DOCUMENT, NONE OF WHICH IS THE ADOPTED MODEL EDITION EXCEPT THE FIRST ONE NOBODY PRINTS ON THE COVER. | 815 KAR 7:120 (Kentucky Building Code), promulgated by the Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. Effective 2024-12-03; 51 Ky.R. 500; seven-year expiration 2031-12-03. READ FIRST-HAND FROM apps.legislature.ky.gov THIS RUN.
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY, VERBATIM: "KRS 198B.040(7) and 198B.050 require the department to promulgate a mandatory uniform state building code that establishes standards for the construction of all buildings in the state."
SECTION 2 (Building Code), VERBATIM: "The 2015 International Building shall be the mandatory state building code for all buildings constructed in Kentucky except that..." [typo "International Building" for "International Building Code" is IN THE REGULATION AS PRINTED and is reproduced here as printed].
SECTION 5 (Incorporation by reference), VERBATIM: "The following material is incorporated by reference: (a) '2015 International Building Code', International Building Code Council, Inc.; and (b) '2018 Kentucky Building Code', Fourth Edition, February 2024."
RELATES TO: KRS 132.010, 198B.010, 198B.040, 198B.050, 198B.060, 198B.080, 198B.260, 198B.990, 227.300, 227.550(6). STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 198B.040(7), 198B.050, 198B.260.
**"MANDATORY UNIFORM STATE BUILDING CODE" IS THE PHRASE THAT MATTERS AND IT IS THE STATUTE'S, NOT A GLOSS. KENTUCKY IS A FULL-PREEMPTION STATE: ONE CODE, ALL BUILDINGS, NO LOCAL OPTION ON THE TECHNICAL PROVISIONS. THAT IS THE OPPOSITE POLE FROM SOUTH DAKOTA (RUN 1606, SAME SESSION), WHERE A MUNICIPALITY MAY ADOPT NOTHING AT ALL.** · source ↗ |
| IECC — International Energy Conservation Code | 2012 IECC (COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS) / 2009 IECC (RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS) — SPLIT BY OCCUPANCY. *** EDITION NOT VERIFIED FROM THE ADOPTING INSTRUMENT — see amendments. Kentucky has NO standalone energy-code regulation: 815 KAR 7:030 "Energy Code" is REPEALED (repealer 815 KAR 7:031). The energy code lives INSIDE the volumes incorporated by 815 KAR 7:120 (2018 Kentucky Building Code, Ch. 13 Energy Efficiency) and 815 KAR 7:125 (2018 Kentucky Residential Code, Ch. 11), which point at the IECC by reference. KBC s.101.4.6, quoted verbatim from the state-hosted code volume: "The provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code shall apply to all matters governing the design and construction of buildings for energy efficiency in accordance with Chapter 13 of this code." The EDITION YEARS above come from two Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction guidance documents (the "22 Codes Currently Adopted by Kentucky" sheet and the Plan Submission Application Guide REV 04/25), NOT from KBC Chapter 13 / Chapter 35 or KRC Chapter 11 / Chapter 44, which could not be read. RESIDENTIAL KENTUCKY IS ON THE 2009 IECC — FIVE MODEL CYCLES BEHIND — AND RECORDING A SINGLE EDITION FOR KENTUCKY IS WRONG WHICHEVER ONE IS PICKED. | 815 KAR 7:120 (Kentucky Building Code), effective 2024-12-03, expiration 2031-12-03; incorporation by reference, verbatim: "The following material is incorporated by reference: (a) '2015 International Building Code', International Building Code Council, Inc.; and (b) '2018 Kentucky Building Code', Fourth Edition, February 2024." RELATES TO KRS 132.010, 198B.010, 198B.040, 198B.050, 198B.060, 198B.080, 198B.260, 198B.990, 227.300, 227.550(6); STATUTORY AUTHORITY KRS 198B.040(7), 198B.050, 198B.260. Companion instrument for the residential half: 815 KAR 7:125 (Kentucky Residential Code — 2018 KRC 3rd Ed. Aug. 2024 on a 2015 IRC base), eff. 2024-12-03. The energy provisions are KBC Chapter 13 (Energy Efficiency) and KRC Chapter 11, reached through KBC s.101.4.6. NO STANDALONE ENERGY-CODE REGULATION EXISTS: 815 KAR 7:030 "Energy Code" is REPEALED, repealer 815 KAR 7:031. Promulgated by the Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. · source ↗ |
| IFC — | NOT ADOPTED — KENTUCKY ADOPTS NO EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE, AND THE WORDS "INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE" AND "ICC" DO NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE IN ITS STATEWIDE FIRE REGULATION. KENTUCKY IS AN NFPA STATE. The statewide fire code is the KENTUCKY STANDARDS OF SAFETY, 815 KAR 10:060, promulgated by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (Division of Fire Prevention / State Fire Marshal), effective 2023-09-26, which at Section 8 incorporates by reference, verbatim: "NFPA 1, 'Uniform Fire Code', 2018 edition; NFPA 101, 'Life Safety Code', 2018 edition; NFPA 1124, Code for the Manufacture, Transportation, Storage, and Retail Sales of Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles, 2006 Edition; NFPA 70, 'National Electrical Code(R)', 2017 edition; FPS 33-01, 'Application for Fire Alarm Systems Inspector Certification', April 2023; and FPS 33-02, 'Renewal Application for Fire Alarm Systems Inspector Certification', April 2023." An answer of the form "Kentucky: 20xx IFC" is not stale, it is contrary to the only statewide fire instrument Kentucky has. | 815 KAR 10:060 ("Kentucky standards of safety"), Section 8 (incorporation by reference) with Section 1 (definition) and Section 3(4) (NFPA modifications); RELATES TO KRS 198B.050, 227.300, 227.331, 227.715, 227.990, 234.140; STATUTORY AUTHORITY KRS 227.300(1), (2); current version filed with LRC 2023-08-08, effective 2023-09-26, 7-year expiration 2030-09-26. Promulgated by the Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. · source ↗ |
| IMC — International Mechanical Code | 2015 IMC — EDITION *NOT* VERIFIED FROM THE ADOPTING INSTRUMENT. See amendments. THAT the IMC governs is verified from the code itself; WHICH EDITION is taken from a Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction guidance sheet, not from the instrument. | 815 KAR 7:120 (Kentucky Building Code), incorporating by reference the "2015 International Building Code" and the "2018 Kentucky Building Code", Fourth Edition, February 2024; effective 2024-12-03 (51 Ky.R. 500), seven-year expiration 2031-12-03. Promulgated by the Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, 500 Mero Street, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. STATUTORY AUTHORITY KRS 198B.040(7), 198B.050, 198B.260. THE OPERATIVE MECHANICAL PROVISION IS KBC s. 101.4.2 (Mechanical), with KBC ch. 28 s. 2801 (Mechanical Systems). NO SEPARATE KENTUCKY MECHANICAL-CODE REGULATION EXISTS — the full 815 KAR ch. 7 index was read this run and the only current regulations are :070, :080, :110, :120, :125 and :130. Edition attribution (2015) is from the DHBC "Plan Submission Application Guide" HBC 50-06 REV 04/25, "CODES CURRENTLY ADOPTED BY KENTUCKY", NOT from the adopting instrument — see amendments. · source ↗ |
| IPC — International Plumbing Code | NOT ADOPTED — Kentucky adopts NO edition of the International Plumbing Code, and no edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code either. The statewide plumbing code is the KENTUCKY STATE PLUMBING CODE, 815 KAR CHAPTER 20, promulgated by the DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING, BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION (Division of Plumbing), current technical regulations EFFECTIVE 2020-06-02 (46 Ky.R. 1637, 2409). *** THE MANDATE IS TO WRITE ITS OWN CODE, NOT TO ADOPT ONE. The NECESSITY, FUNCTION AND CONFORMITY statement carried by the chapter's regulations reads: "KRS 318.130 requires the department to promulgate an administrative regulation establishing the Kentucky State Plumbing Code to regulate plumbing." Statutory authority on every technical regulation in the chapter is KRS 198B.040(10) and KRS 318.130; RELATES TO KRS Chapter 318 (and, in 815 KAR 20:010, KRS 132.010 and 42 U.S.C. 300g-6). NO MODEL CODE AND NO PUBLISHER IS NAMED ANYWHERE IN THE ENABLING STATUTE OR IN THE CHAPTER. *** THE CODE IS THE WHOLE CHAPTER, NOT ONE REGULATION — this is the structural fact a run looking for a single adopting instrument will miss. 815 KAR Chapter 20 ("Plumbing") comprises: :001 Sections declared independent; :010 Definitions; :011 Repealer; :012 Sections declared independent; :015 Fees and refunds; :018 State plumbing code committee budget review; :020 Parts or materials list; :030 Plumbing licenses; :032 Continuing education; :034 CE course/provider approval; :040 Vehicle identification; :041 Repealer; :050 Installation permits; :055 Water heating devices; :060 Quality, weight, installation and storage of materials; :070 Plumbing fixtures; :080 Waste pipe size; :090 Soil, waste, vent systems, traps and clean-outs; :120 Water supply and distribution; :130 House sewers and storm water piping; :150 Inspections and tests; :170 Manufactured/mobile home community waste systems; :180 Special connections; :191 Minimum fixture requirements; :195 Medical gas piping. THE TECHNICAL CORE IS :050 THROUGH :195. DO NOT RECORD ANY IPC EDITION FOR KENTUCKY. | KRS 318.130 (Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction — "KRS 318.130 requires the department to promulgate an administrative regulation establishing the Kentucky State Plumbing Code to regulate plumbing", per the NECESSITY, FUNCTION AND CONFORMITY statement carried by the chapter's regulations; NAMES NO MODEL CODE AND NO PUBLISHER) and KRS 198B.040(10), the statutory authority cited on every technical regulation in the chapter. RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 318, KRS 132.010, 42 U.S.C. 300g-6. Operative instrument is 815 KAR Chapter 20 (Kentucky State Plumbing Code) in its entirety, technical regulations :050 through :195, current text effective 2020-06-02 (46 Ky.R. 1637, 2409), each regulation carrying a statutory seven-year expiration of 2027-06-02. Representative technical regulation verified: 815 KAR 20:120 (Water supply and distribution), first effective 1975-03-12. · source ↗ |
| IRC — International Residential Code | 2015 IRC -- the operative Kentucky residential code is the **2018 KENTUCKY RESIDENTIAL CODE, THIRD EDITION, AUGUST 2024**, on a **2015 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE** base. The incorporated model document is named in the regulation as the "2015 International Residential Code for One (1) and Two (2) Family Dwellings". NOT 2024, NOT 2021, NOT 2018 IRC. Same three-years-on-one-document naming trap as the KBC: volume called "2018", base 2015, printing dated August 2024. | 815 KAR 7:125 (Kentucky Residential Code), promulgated by the Public Protection Cabinet, Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. Effective 2024-12-03; 51 Ky.R. 501; seven-year expiration 2031-12-03. READ FIRST-HAND FROM apps.legislature.ky.gov THIS RUN.
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY, VERBATIM IN PART: the regulation establishes "mandatory uniform statewide code provisions relating to construction of" residential dwellings and townhouses as required by statute.
SECTION 3 (Incorporation by reference) -- THE MATERIAL INCORPORATED, AS NAMED: "2015 International Residential Code for One (1) and Two (2) Family Dwellings"; and "2018 Kentucky Residential Code," Third Edition, August 2024.
KRC s. R101.1 (Title), VERBATIM AS PRINTED: "Kentucky Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings and shall be cited as such".
RELATES TO: KRS 198B.010, 198B.040, 198B.050, 198B.060, 198B.080, 198B.260, 198B.990. STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 198B.040(7), 198B.050.
**NOTE THE STATUTORY-AUTHORITY DIFFERENCE FROM THE BUILDING CODE: 815 KAR 7:120 ALSO CITES KRS 198B.260 AND RELATES TO KRS 132.010, 227.300 AND 227.550(6); 815 KAR 7:125 DOES NOT. THE TWO VOLUMES ARE SIBLINGS BUT NOT TWINS AND THEIR AUTHORITY CHAINS DIVERGE.** · source ↗ |
| NEC — National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) | 2023 NEC -- **EDITION NOT VERIFIED FROM ANY PRIMARY SOURCE, AND THERE IS A VERIFIED KENTUCKY INSTRUMENT IN THIS TABLE THAT SAYS 2017 FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. verified_at HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM THIS ROW THIS RUN. DO NOT SERVE A KENTUCKY NEC EDITION UNTIL KBC CHAPTER 35 IS READ.** The 2023 figure comes from the prior row's unevidenced assertion that "NFPA 70-23" appears in the Referenced Standards chapters of the KBC and KRC. I attempted to confirm that this run and could not: the KRC fetch returned front matter through Chapter 3 and the Chapter 44 heading only, without the standards list. See amendments for the full chain and the conflict. | THERE IS NO KENTUCKY INSTRUMENT THAT NAMES AN NFPA 70 EDITION FOR BUILDING-CODE PURPOSES THAT THIS RUN COULD READ. THE CHAIN, WITH EVERY LINK QUOTED VERBATIM FROM A SOURCE READ FIRST-HAND THIS RUN:
LINK 1 -- 2018 Kentucky Residential Code s. R102.9, VERBATIM: "The electrical system shall be installed in compliance with NFPA 70 as adopted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky." NO EDITION YEAR.
LINK 2 -- 815 KAR 7:110 (local expanded jurisdiction; 48 Ky.R. 621, 1765; eff. 2022-03-01), VERBATIM: "The certified electrical inspector shall enforce the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) as adopted and incorporated into the Kentucky Building Code". NO EDITION YEAR, AND IT REDIRECTS TO THE KBC.
LINK 3 -- THE KBC IS INCORPORATED BY 815 KAR 7:120 s. 5, VERBATIM: "The following material is incorporated by reference: (a) '2015 International Building Code', International Building Code Council, Inc.; and (b) '2018 Kentucky Building Code', Fourth Edition, February 2024." NO NFPA 70 EDITION AT THIS LEVEL EITHER.
LINK 4 -- **THE CHAIN TERMINATES IN KBC CHAPTER 35 (REFERENCED STANDARDS), WHICH NOBODY HAS READ. THAT ONE CHAPTER IS THE SOLE POINT OF TRUTH FOR KENTUCKY'S BUILDING-CODE NEC EDITION AND IT IS ONE FETCH AWAY AT dhbc.ky.gov/Documents/2018%20Kentucky%20Building%20Code%204th%20Ed.pdf.**
THE ONE KENTUCKY INSTRUMENT THAT DOES NAME AN EDITION, ALREADY VERIFIED VERBATIM ON SIBLING ROW 38a32249 (IFC): 815 KAR 10:060 (Kentucky Standards of Safety), Section 8, incorporates "NFPA 70, 'National Electrical Code(R)', 2017 edition", effective 2023-09-26, under the State Fire Marshal's authority (KRS 227.300). **THAT IS FIRE-MARSHAL JURISDICTION, NOT THE BUILDING CODE, SO IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY SETTLE THIS ROW -- BUT IT IS A PRIMARY, VERIFIED, SIX-YEAR-OLDER EDITION SITTING IN THE SAME STATE, AND IT IS THE ONLY EVIDENCED NUMBER KENTUCKY HAS.** · source ↗ |