Building Safety in Colorado (2026)

Denver landlords and sellers must comply with federal EPA lead paint disclosure requirements for all pre-1978 housing…

Arvada's property maintenance code requires peeling, chipping, or flaking paint on interior surfaces to be repaired…

City Code Subsection 6.12.305.G requires owners to remove, repair or repaint deteriorated dwelling surfaces, peeling…

Aurora requires at least one elevator per building to stay operational at all times for firefighters' emergency and…

Boulder requires elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators to be maintained to ASME A17.1 with a current inspection…

Fort Collins requires every elevator, dumbwaiter and escalator to be maintained in compliance with ASME A17.1 under…

Lakewood's local amendment to the International Building Code, Section 3009, bars installing or majorly altering an…

Longmont amends International Building Code Section 3001.1 to add one enforceable line: every elevator in the city must…

Boulder amends IFC Section 903.2.8 to require an automatic fire sprinkler system throughout all new Group R buildings…

Fort Collins requires an automatic residential fire sprinkler system in every new two-family dwelling, going beyond the…

The Unified Development Code requires a monitored smoke alarm system or a sprinkler system for new homes on lots more…

Littleton's 2024 Fire Code amendment, Section 903.2.8, requires an automatic sprinkler system in every new Group R…

Loveland does not require sprinklers in ordinary new one- and two-family homes: § 15.10.020 deletes the adopted…

Mesa County requires sprinklering of all habitable structures when a subdivision falls outside a fire protection…

Arvada does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes or townhouses: the city deleted both…

Aurora struck the IRC's automatic fire sprinkler sections, so new one- and two-family homes and townhouses need no…

Greeley does not require automatic fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes: Sec. 22-95 deletes the IRC's sprinkler…

Longmont has not adopted the model code's mandate for automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes…

Pueblo strikes the IRC's mandatory fire sprinkler rule for one- and two-family homes and narrows the townhouse…

Weld County does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new houses or townhomes. When the County adopted the 2024…

Denver requires a city license to operate any child care establishment, centers, homes, or residential facilities, with…

Arvada requires any Adult or Child Day Care Center to take vehicle access from an arterial or collector street under…

Aurora, Colorado zoning caps day care centers at 16 hours of care per client per day, bars overnight stays, and sets…

El Paso County bars most new family care homes, child care centers, and group homes from sitting within 500 feet of…

Fort Collins requires outdoor play area at any child care center that has one: 1,200 square feet for centers with 15 or…

Littleton requires any child care center to fence its outdoor play yard at least 30 inches tall and, in…

Longmont's amended International Existing Building Code lets a home caring for five or fewer children, or five or fewer…

Loveland exempts small in-home day cares from a building permit: Family Child Care Homes serving one to six children…

Weld County requires any new oil and gas well, facility or location to sit at least 500 feet from the boundary of a…

Aurora requires a deadbolt on every exterior dwelling door in residential occupancies, mounted no higher than 48…

Fort Collins requires touch-free exit doors on public toilet facilities tied to food service, banning knobs, levers, or…

Loveland's Existing Building Code amendments require egress doors in altered work areas to open from inside without a…

To stop new houses from towering over neighbors, Boulder's side yard bulk plane in Section 9-7-9, B.R.C. 1981 forces…

Denver's zoning code requires new buildings to step back under a sloped bulk plane rising from the side zone lot lines…

Fort Collins adopted its own green building chapter, Chapter 36 Sustainable Building Construction Practices, which…

Aurora requires new construction and major renovations to meet the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, adopted…

Boulder's green building rules live in its own Energy Conservation Code at BRC 10-7-2, which adopts the 2024 City of…

New buildings of 25,000+ square feet in Denver must install a cool roof plus green space, solar, or an equivalent green…

Lakewood's Zoning Ordinance requires most new development of 2,500 square feet or more to earn Enhanced Development…

Colorado Springs does not mandate LEED or green construction citywide, but UDC § 7.4.202.A lets developers in Mixed-Use…

Boulder's Property Maintenance Code requires carbon monoxide alarms in every existing dwelling and rental with a…

Centennial requires every licensed short-term rental to be equipped with operational carbon monoxide detectors, smoke…

Denver requires every dwelling unit in a licensed residential rental property to have a functioning carbon monoxide…

Fort Collins requires carbon monoxide alarms to new-dwelling standards whenever a permitted alteration, repair, or…

Lakewood requires a carbon monoxide alarm outside every sleeping area, within 15 feet of its entrance, plus an…

Longmont requires carbon monoxide detection in every dwelling unit with a fuel-fired appliance, fireplace, or attached…

Loveland's residential building code amendments require more than just a smoke and CO alarm in every home: under…

Every rental dwelling unit in Manitou Springs must have a carbon monoxide detector installed within fifteen feet of…

Thornton's amended Building Code requires carbon monoxide detection whenever permitted interior work occurs in an…

Westminster requires carbon monoxide alarms installed to the manufacturer's instructions in buildings covered by the…

Douglas County requires a building permit from the County Building Division before anyone erects, constructs…

Unincorporated Adams County adopted the 2024 International Building Code by reference through Ordinance No. 12…

Unincorporated Arapahoe County requires a building permit before anyone erects, constructs, reconstructs, alters, or…

Arvada requires a city building permit before any construction, alteration, repair, or demolition work begins on a…

Aurora requires a paid permit before starting building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or fuel-gas work; fees follow…

Boulder requires a building permit for construction, alteration, and repair work under BRC 10-5-2, which adopts the…

Centennial ties deck and patio placement to the residential setback table in LDC § 12-3-601, caps deck height at the…

Colorado Springs requires a building permit before any work covered by Section RBC105.1 of the Pikes Peak Regional…

Denver requires a Building Code Permit Application, reviewed by Community Planning and Development, for any alteration…

An attached or detached deck, patio or slab 18 inches or less above grade is not a regulated structure in…

Fort Collins requires a building permit for construction work unless it falls on an 18-item exemption list adopted…

Fountain requires a building permit before any structure is erected, moved, or structurally altered, issued by the…

Most construction, alteration, and repair work in Greeley requires a building permit; Sec. 22-78 lists a narrow set of…

Jefferson County requires a building permit for most construction, alteration, or repair work beyond minor upkeep. The…

Lakewood exempts small, low, freestanding decks from a building permit: 200 square feet or less, under 30 inches high…

Littleton requires a building permit for construction reviewed under the locally amended 2024 International Building…

Renovating, remodeling, or adding onto an existing Longmont building triggers full code compliance for the whole space…

Loveland requires a building permit for construction, alteration, or repair work under Loveland Municipal Code §…

Manitou Springs adopts the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code, 2023 Edition, as its building, electrical, mechanical and…

Renovating an existing Pueblo building beyond 25% of its replacement cost triggers full compliance with the current…

Thornton requires a building permit from the Building Department before anyone erects, enlarges, remodels, alters…

Weld County requires a building permit for most new construction, additions and structure moves in the unincorporated…

Unincorporated Adams County adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code by reference under Ordinance No. 12, effective…

Unincorporated Arapahoe County ties every electrical permit to whichever edition of the applicable electrical code is…

Arvada enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code for all wiring work citywide. Electrical contractors must be…

Aurora requires a paid electrical permit before any wiring or apparatus work begins, under the city's amended National…

Boulder regulates electrical work under BRC 10-6-2, which adopts by reference whatever edition of the National…

Centennial adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code for all electrical design, installation, and inspection; no…

Colorado Springs requires a building permit before any electrical work covered by the Regional Building Code, and…

Denver adopts the current National Electrical Code as modified by Colorado for all wiring work, and anyone building…

Fort Collins requires a permit before any electrical system covered by the National Electrical Code is installed…

Greeley requires a permit before anyone installs, alters, or repairs electrical wiring or equipment in the city, with a…

Electrical work in unincorporated Jefferson County must meet the 2023 National Electrical Code (NFPA-70) as amended by…

Lakewood adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code, as amended by the Colorado State Electrical Board, as the city's…

Littleton adopts NFPA 70, the 2026 National Electric Code, by reference for all electrical work in the city, and…

Longmont wrote its own National Electrical Code administration chapter by Ordinance No. O-2024-49 on July 23, 2024…

Loveland enacts the 2023 National Electrical Code and Colorado's electrical laws and rules as secondary codes for all…

Pueblo enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code and ICC Electrical Code Administrative Provisions for all wiring…

Thornton enforces the National Electrical Code as adopted by the State of Colorado for all electrical work under City…

Weld County wires the unincorporated county to the 2023 National Electrical Code, adopted at Section 29-2-70, with…

Westminster adopts the National Electrical Code, as amended by the Colorado State Electrical Board, as its Electrical…

Unincorporated Adams County adopted the 2024 International Plumbing Code by reference through Ordinance No. 12…

Arvada enforces the 2018 International Plumbing Code, adopted by Section 18-386 with Appendices B through G, for all…

Aurora, Colorado enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code by ordinance, and City Code Chapter 22 bars issuing a…

Boulder adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code, with Appendix E, as the City of Boulder Plumbing Code under City…

Centennial adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code; any plumbing work must meet IPC standards…

Plumbing installation, alteration, or repair in Colorado Springs falls under the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code…

Denver adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code as part of its 2025 Denver Building Code, and plumbing work requires…

Fort Collins runs plumbing work under the 2024 International Plumbing Code, locally amended so a permit is required for…

Greeley regulates plumbing work under the adopted 2021 International Plumbing Code, covering installation, alteration…

Plumbing work in unincorporated Jefferson County must meet the 2024 International Plumbing Code as amended by the…

Lakewood adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code by reference for all plumbing and drainage installation…

Littleton adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code, locally amended, for all plumbing work in the city, enforced by…

Longmont adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code by reference under Longmont Municipal Code § 16.16.010, with the…

Loveland regulates all plumbing work under the 2021 International Plumbing Code, adopted by reference, and amends key…

Pueblo adopts the Colorado Plumbing Code, including IPC and IRC plumbing provisions, and requires a permit for water…

Thornton adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code by reference as its Plumbing Code under City Code Section 10-153…

Weld County regulates plumbing work in the unincorporated county under the 2024 International Plumbing Code, adopted at…

Westminster adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code and the Colorado Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code under…

Arvada's residential code sets out staged inspections a permit holder must pass before a home can be occupied…

Aurora, Colorado requires a paid, issued electrical permit before any wiring work starts and requires inspections be…

Boulder's code official can enter and inspect a structure or premises to enforce the Property Maintenance Code (B.R.C…

Fort Collins' Municipal Code, Section 5-27, has the Community Development and Neighborhood Services building official…

Greeley requires inspection and sign-off after each stage of construction before work can proceed, plus a final…

Lakewood, Colorado's locally amended building code ties every certificate of occupancy to a passed inspection, and…

Longmont requires anyone who installs electrical equipment under a non-annual permit to notify the chief building…

Before any permitted construction begins in Loveland, the permit holder must post an inspection record card in a…

Under Pueblo's Dangerous Buildings Code, the Building Official, the Fire Chief, and the Health Director are each…

Weld County requires zoning sign-off before any building permit is released: the Department of Planning Services checks…