Building Energy Code
Pennsylvania requires new commercial and residential buildings to meet the 2021 IECC energy code (effective January 1, 2026), which sets minimum efficiency standards for insulation, HVAC, lighting, and other systems. Your local municipality or certified code enforcement agency will verify compliance during permitting and inspection. Contact your local building department to confirm which code version applies to your project and what efficiency improvements are required.
You must design and construct projects to meet Pennsylvania's adopted 2021 IECC for residential and commercial work. The state allows use of COMcheck and REScheck compliance tools to demonstrate code compliance. Code enforcement is handled by individual municipalities (over 90% of PA's 2,563 municipalities enforce locally) or the Department of Labor and Industry where municipalities have opted out—verify your jurisdiction's requirements with the local building official.
Pennsylvania adopted the 2021 IECC for both residential and commercial sectors, effective January 1, 2026 (adopted October 16, 2025). The Department of Labor and Industry's Bureau of Occupational & Industrial Safety administers the Uniform Construction Code (UCC); local municipalities enforce in most areas, while the state enforces in municipalities that have opted out. The program uses ASHRAE 90.1-2007 as the baseline model code and permits COMcheck/REScheck tools for compliance verification.
Program details
- Program ID
- 1854
- Last updated
- 5/21/2025
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial residential
- Technologies
- comprehensive measures/whole building
Program summary
NOTE: Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the DOE and BCAP websites.
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has the authority to upgrade commercial and residential energy standards through the regulatory process. The current code, the 2022 UCC, became effective February 14, 2022.
Over 90% of Pennsylvania's 2,563 municipalities have elected to administer and enforce the UCC locally, using their own employees or via certified third party agencies (private code enforcement agencies) that they have retained. In these municipalities, the Department has no code enforcement authority, except where the municipality lacks the services of a person certified as an "Accessibility Inspector/Plans Examiner." If a municipality has "opted out," the Department is responsible for all commercial code enforcement in that municipality.
Contact & resources
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
