In the November 2004, Sprinkler Age magazine featured its 17th annual legislative review for the United States and Canada. This summary of legislation and codes offers an overview of regulations affecting the fire sprinkler industry in individual states. The information was obtained from a survey mailed to the fire marshals of the 50 states. We have listed below the responses and findings for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. A dash (-) means there was no response.
| State Licensing & Certification Requirements | |||||
| State | Requires Certification of: | Requires for Sprinkler Drawings: | |||
| Plan Reviewers | Inspectors | PE / Architect Seal | NICET Level II | NICET Level IV | |
| California | Y | Y | Y | N | N |
| Colorado | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Connecticut | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Florida | N | Y | N | – | – |
| Georgia | N | Y | – | Y | – |
| Illinois | N | N | Either | Either | – |
| Massachusetts | N | N | – | – | – |
| Michigan | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| Missouri | N | N | Y | N | N |
| New Jersey | Cert. | Y | Y | – | – |
| New York | N | Y | Y | N | N |
| North Carolina | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Ohio | Y | Y | Y | N | N |
| Pennsylvania | Y | Y | Y | – | – |
| Texas | N | N | – | Y | – |
Inspection, Testing & Maintenance and Seismic Protection Requirements | ||||
State | Requirements for those who perform inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems: | Seismic protection required on fire sprinkler systems: | ||
Inspection | Testing | Maintenance | ||
| California | N | N | – | Y |
| Colorado | – | – | – | – |
| Connecticut | – | – | – | – |
| Florida | N | N | – | N |
| Georgia | – | Y | – | N |
| Illinois | N | N | N | Per LSC & NFPA 13 |
| Massachusetts | State license | State license | State license | Y |
| Michigan | N | N | – | Y |
| Missouri | N | N | – | N |
| New Jersey | Y | N | N | Y |
| New York | N | N | – | – |
| North Carolina | – | – | – | Y |
| Ohio | N | N | State certification | Y |
| Pennsylvania | – | – | – | Y |
| Texas | N | N | – | – |
| State | State Code Adoption | NFPA 13 Edition Adopted | Adopted NFPA 25 | State Requires PE to do Sprinkler Design Concepts | |
| Statewide | Locally | ||||
| California | 1997 UBC, 1997 UFC, both amended | 1999 | No | No | Yes |
| Colorado | UBS, EFC and NFPA1 – all 1998 | 1997 current, in process of adopting 1999 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connecticut | BOCA 1996, NFPA 101 1997, both amended | 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes or NICET |
| Florida | 2000 NFPA 1 & NFPA 101, both amended | 1999 | 1998 ed. | – | No |
| Georgia | 2000 NFPA 101 amended, 2000 IBC & 2003 IFC, both amended | 2002 | 2002 ed. | Yes | Yes |
| Illinois | NFPA 101 2000 amended | As ref by 2000 LSC | No | No | – |
| Massachusetts | State Building Codes Mass. Modified 1993 Boca amended | 2002 | 1995 ed. | No | No |
| Michigan | 1999 NFPA 101, 2003 IBC amended | 1999 | 1998 ed. | – | No |
| Missouri | NFPA 101 | – | No | No | No |
| New Jersey | 1996 BOCA amended-maintenance, fire prevention; 2000 IBC & 2000 IFC amended- new construction | 1999 for new installs | Yes | – | No |
| New York | 2000 IBC & IFC | 1999 w/in IFC | Yes, as contained in IFC | – | Yes |
| North Carolina | 2000 IBC & IFC, both amended | 1999 as ref. in code | No, 98 by ref. in code | – | Yes |
| Ohio | 1996/1999 BOCA-Fire amended | 1996 | 1998 ed. | – | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 2003 IBC & IFC; NFPA 101 used by PA Dept. of Health for health care facilities | 1999 as per IBC 2003 | No | No | Yes |
| Texas | 2003 NFPA 101 | 1994 | – | – | No |
If you would like ny information regarding additional states or an explanation of any of the above, please contact us.