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The Florida Building Code is based on national model building codes and national consensus standards which are amended where necessary for Florida specific needs. The code incorporates all building construction-related regulations for public and private buildings in the State of Florida other than those specifically exempted by Section 553.73, Florida Statutes. It has been harmonized with the Florida Fire Prevention Code, which is developed and maintained by the Department of Financial Services, Office of the State Fire Marshal, to establish unified and consistent standards.

The base codes for the 2004 edition of the Florida Building Code include: the International Building Code, 2003 edition; the International Plumbing Code, 2003 edition; the International Mechanical Code, 2003 edition; the International Fuel Gas Code, 2003 edition; the International Residential Code, 2003 edition; the International Existing Building Code, 2003 edition; the National Electrical Code, 2002 edition; the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Guidelines, and; substantive criteria from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers'(ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2001. State and local codes adopted and incorporated into the code include the Florida Energy Efficiency Code for Building Construction, the Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction and special hurricane protection standards for the high-velocity hurricane zone.

The code is composed of six main volumes: the Florida Building Code, Building, which also includes Chapter 13 (energy efficiency) and Chapter 11 (accessibility) as well as state regulations for licensed facilities; the Florida Building Code, Plumbing; the Florida Building Code, Mechanical; the Florida Building Code, Fuel Gas; the Florida Existing Building Code; and the Florida Building Code, Residential. Chapter 27 of the Florida Building Code, Building, adopts the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70, by reference. Chapter 33 of the Florida Building Code, Residential adopts the National Electrical Code Requirements for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, NFPA 70A, by reference.

Under certain strictly defined conditions, local governments may amend requirements to be more stringent than the code. All local amendments to the Florida Building Code must be adopted by local ordinance and reported to the Florida Building Commission then posted on the www.floridabuilding.org web site in Legislative format for a month before being enforced. Local amendments to the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code may be obtained from the Florida Building Commission web site, or from the Florida Department of Community Affairs or the Florida Department of Financial Services, Office of the State Fire Marshal, respectively.