UCC Codes
 
The UCC Administration and Enforcement regulation has adopted the following codes for use throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, effective 12/31/2009:
bulletInternational Building Code 2009 (base code for commercial construction)
bulletICC Electrical Code 2009 (utilizes National Electric Code 2008 standards)
bulletInternational Energy Conservation Code 2009
bulletInternational Existing Building Code 2009
bulletInternational Fire Code 2009
bulletInternational Fuel Gas Code 2009
bulletInternational Mechanical Code 2009
bulletInternational Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities 2009 (provides alternative compliance approach)
bulletInternational Plumbing Code 2009
bulletInternational Residential Code 2009 (code for one- and two-family dwellings no more than 3 stories in height)
bulletInternational Wildland-Urban Interface Code 2009
bullet 
Buildings for which a design or construction contract was signed prior to 12/31/2009, should comply with the 2006 versions of the codes listed above.
 
These code books may be be viewed free by clicking HERE (FREE CODES), andd can be purchased from the International Code Council, either off their website (www.iccsafe.org) or by calling the ICC at 1-800-786-4452. 
 
The International Private Sewage Disposal Code 2009, the International Property Maintenance Code 2009 and the International Zoning Code 2009 are not adopted. However, in addition to the codes listed above, municipalities that elect to enforce the UCC may also adopt property maintenance codes.
 
The Department has made only minor changes to the codes listed above. These relate to fire safety requirements in child day care facilities and the technical standards that apply to elevators and other lifting devices. (See Chapter 403 of the UCC regulations for further details on these changes.)
 
Act 13 of 2004 (HB 1654) also changed the residential stairway tread and riser standards adopted in the UCC regulation (those specified in the International Residential Code 2006). The standards to be used for residential stairways are those found in CABO One and Two Family Dwelling Code 1992.
 
The UCC regulations provide for the use of an alternative to Chapter 11 of the International Residential Code 2009, to demonstrate compliance with the energy conservation requirements of the UCC. This alternative compliance path, which is available below, was developed by the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center at Penn State University and is entitled “Pennsylvania's Alternative Residential Energy Provisions 2009.”