Roofing in Ames, Iowa

Not required

Required

THE CODIFIED LAW OF AMES IS THE 2015 SUITE, AND ONE DAY BEFORE ITS OWN ANNOUNCED CUTOVER THE CITY STILL CALLS THE 2024 EDITIONS PROPOSED. Ames Municipal Code Sec. 5.100 (TITLE & ADOPTION) adopts at subsection (4) the "International Building Code (IBC) 2015 Edition ... except for the deletion of Chapter 1 Scope and Administration" and at subsection (5) the "International Residential Code for One- and Two family Dwellings (IRC) 2015 Edition ... except for the deletion of Chapter 1 Scope and Administration; Part VII - Plumbing; Part VIII - Electrical; and with the addition of Appendix J - Existing Buildings," alongside the 2015 IEBC (subsection 8), 2015 IFC (9), 2020 NEC (10), 2021 IMC (11) and 2021 UPC (12). The Division II amendment sections recite the same editions by name: Sec. 5.200 amends "the provisions of the 2015 International Building Code" and Sec. 5.201 "the provisions of the 2015 International Residential Code." That text was read live on 2026-08-08 in a codification current through April 1, 2026, and the codification currency was re-checked on 2026-08-31 and still reads "Current through April 1, 2026." WHAT CHANGED SINCE THE LAST VERIFICATION IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT AN ANNOUNCED CUTOVER DATE SUGGESTS. This record previously reported that the Inspections Division "states it is implementing" the 2024 editions and that September 1, 2026 was the date from which permits would be filed under them. Read again on 2026-08-31, the day before that date, the Division's own page says "The Inspection Division is currently working through the code update process" and "The codes being proposed include" the 2024 International Building, Residential, Existing Building and Fire Codes, the 2023 National Electrical Code, and the 2024 International Mechanical Code and Uniform Plumbing Code. The same block describes a 5% permit fee increase as proposed, which is consistent with a package that has not yet been through council. The City's separate "Building Codes" page, which lists the city's "Current Codes," still shows only the 2015 suite and does not mention the 2024 editions anywhere. SO THE SEPTEMBER 1 DATE IS NOT ESTABLISHED AS A CHANGE OF LAW. What the City publishes is a transition term for a package not shown to be enacted: "Permits applied for prior to September 1st may be built under existing code standards or the 2024 standards." Two things follow for a roofer. First, a permit filed in Ames on or after September 1, 2026 is NOT automatically under the 2024 editions; that would take an adopting ordinance, and none is published on either department page or present in the codification. Second, an applicant may already elect the 2024 standards under the transition term, so a job in progress may lawfully be running on either suite and the 2015 suite is the default rather than the only option. WHAT WAS NOT ESTABLISHED: whether the City Council has since passed an adopting ordinance that the department pages have not caught up with. The agenda for the most recent posted meeting, the special meeting of August 28, 2026, carries no building code item, and the Granicus meeting archive is script-rendered and could not be searched for earlier ones. The City also states that it "is required to adopt the same plumbing, electrical, and mechanical codes as the State of Iowa" and that it "cannot be less restrictive than the State," so those three may move on a different schedule from the building and residential codes. Confirm the operative edition for a specific permit with the Inspections Division at 515-239-5153 or [email protected] before designing to it.

The Inspections Division accepts and processes building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit applications through its online CSS/EnerGov self-service portal. The office can also be reached at [email protected] or (515) 239-5153, Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-4:30 PM.