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Home > City Departments > Permit and Inspection Services > Inspections > Building Code

Building Code


There are three main codes regulating work done in Buffalo (two are New York State codes, and one is a City code), and several more specific codes, such as the National Electrical Code and the International Fire Code.

The City code is actually a collection of Building and Maintenance ordinances from the City Charter - mainly Section 103 – plus the Zoning ordinances found in Section 511.

The two State codes are the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, which is the current State code, and the Building Code of New York State, which is the incoming code; both are currently in effect, and work may be designed using either one or the other code, but not both.

On January first, 2003, the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code will end for new work, and the Building Code of New York State will remain as the State building code in effect. (This code is also called the International Building Code, or the IBC)