Building Safety in Alabama (2026)

Huntsville pre-1978 residential renovations must comply with EPA RRP Rule (40 CFR Part 745) requiring certified…

Under Birmingham's Technical Codes, every elevator and escalator in the city, existing or new, must be kept in a safe…

Mobile's Property Maintenance Code requires every elevator to stay in service under the ASME A17.1 safety code, with a…

Tuscaloosa's Residential Building Code requires fire sprinkler systems in all U-Dwellings, the city's local…

Auburn's amended International Building Code lets Group R apartment, condo and dormitory buildings use NFPA 13R…

Huntsville does not force homeowners to install fire sprinklers in one- and two-family houses or townhomes. Sec…

Hoover's amended fire code excludes one- and two-family dwellings from its automatic sprinkler system trigger, leaving…

Jefferson County does not require automatic fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes. The county's amendment to…

Montgomery, Alabama exempts one- and two-family homes from the city's 2021 International Fire Code sprinkler and…

Vestavia Hills struck the International Residential Code's automatic fire sprinkler mandate entirely. Local amendments…

Auburn draws a hard line at seven children: cross it and you are running a day care center, which needs the city…

Birmingham requires a zoning certificate of operation for any child care center, defined as a facility caring for 13 or…

Hoover requires every day care home, group care home and night care facility home to prove compliance before the city's…

Huntsville requires a business license for any school, nursery, or day care operation, with tax based on gross receipts…

A Vestavia Hills day care center must fence its outdoor play area to at least four feet, route access along the…

Any Auburn building with an automatic fire alarm or sprinkler system must install a UL-listed key lock box (Knox box)…

Huntsville's housing code requires every exterior door to have properly installed, working hardware that opens, closes…

Mobile requires every rented dwelling, rooming, or housekeeping unit door to have a deadbolt with at least a 1-inch…

Vestavia Hills adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code as its energy code under Code of Ordinances §…

Tuscaloosa doesn't mandate green construction, but Sec. 25-171 lets developers unlock density, height, and parking…

Auburn requires carbon monoxide alarms in a dwelling any time a permitted alteration, repair or addition is made, not…

Hoover's residential code amendment requires a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm within six feet of any door connecting…

Jefferson County's Building Code lets basement garages and crawl spaces skip Type X sheetrock or a sprinkler system if…

Mobile's Property Maintenance Code makes carbon monoxide alarms mandatory in dwellings, pointing owners to the same…

Any Tuscaloosa short-term rental that is a whole-house single-family dwelling or a detached guesthouse must have…

Auburn enacted the 2021 International Building Code as 'part of the law of the city' under Sec. 5-42, and its own fee…

Bessemer adopted the 2015 International Building and Residential Codes but deleted every standard exemption for work…

Birmingham law bars anyone from erecting, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, converting, or demolishing a…

Commercial roofing and reroofing work in Hoover requires a building permit: the same ordinance covering new…

Huntsville requires a permit from the building official before any construction, alteration, repair, or demolition work…

In unincorporated Jefferson County, anyone who wants to build, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the…

Madison County and its municipalities may add up to $20 to any residential building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical…

Mobile requires a building permit for most construction, alteration, or repair work under City Code Section 11-34, with…

Montgomery makes it unlawful to start excavation, construction, moving, alteration or repair of any building or…

Before excavating, building, moving, storing materials on-site or altering nearly any structure in Tuscaloosa…

Vestavia Hills requires a permit before any construction, alteration, repair, demolition, or occupancy change to a…

Auburn enforces the 2020 edition of the National Electrical Code as its local electrical code, adopted by reference in…

Bessemer has adopted the 2011 National Electrical Code by reference, and Sec. 18-60 bars anyone without a certificate…

Birmingham requires a permit from the Building Official before any electrical installation, alteration or repair, under…

The City of Hoover has adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code as its Electrical Code, and every wiring, outlet, or…

Huntsville adopts the 2017 National Electrical Code, Article 90 and Chapters 1-9, under Sec. 7-203, and the Inspection…

Jefferson County's Electrical Code adopts the 2017 National Electrical Code and requires anyone doing electrical…

Madison County has adopted the 2017 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) plus the 2018 ICC Electrical Code administrative…

Mobile requires an electrical permit for most work under City Code Section 11-35, exempting only minor repairs…

Montgomery has adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code and requires a written permit from the city electrical…

Tuscaloosa has adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code by reference as the city's Electrical Code, governing all…

Vestavia Hills adopted the 2020 National Electrical Code and requires a permit before any wiring, device or equipment…

Auburn regulates plumbing installation, repair and permitting under the 2021 International Plumbing Code, adopted by…

Bessemer adopts the 2015 International Plumbing Code by reference under Sec. 18-122, with a local amendment to section…

Birmingham enforces the International Plumbing Code, 2015 Edition, for every plumbing installation in the city, adopted…

Hoover has adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code, with fees set by the city council rather…

Huntsville has adopted the 2018 International Plumbing Code by reference and stripped out the code's permit exemptions…

Jefferson County enforces its own Plumbing Code, adopted from the 2018 International Plumbing Code, in the…

Madison County has adopted the 2018 International Plumbing Code, minus Appendix A, to regulate plumbing installation in…

Mobile enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its own Plumbing Code, requiring a licensed plumber and permit…

Montgomery, Alabama adopted the 2024 International Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code and requires a permit for…

Tuscaloosa enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its adopted plumbing code, with local amendments on…

Vestavia Hills adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code, with Appendix Chapters B through E, as its plumbing code…

Auburn allows a contractor one inspection and one free re-inspection per phase of work; the third inspection costs $35…

Before any Birmingham building permit closes out, the Building and Fire Officials must sign off on a fixed sequence of…

Hoover inspects construction at intervals throughout the build and requires a final inspection before it will issue a…

Before covering up plumbing, electrical, gas, or mechanical work, Huntsville requires the installer to notify the…

Jefferson County's Building Official requires five staged inspections, foundation, foundation dampproofing, slab…

Mobile's code official must inspect for Property Maintenance Code violations and may enter structures at reasonable…

Montgomery, Alabama's Inspections Department administers permit inspections under the adopted Technical Codes, charging…

Every permitted Tuscaloosa construction site gets a physical inspection matched to its scope of work, and the…

Vestavia Hills permit holders must give the Department of Building Safety at least 24 hours' notice before an…