In the November 2006, Sprinkler Age magazine featured its 18th 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 | N | N | Y | – | – |
| Colorado | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Connecticut | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Florida | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Georgia | N | Y | N | Y | N |
| Illinois | N | N | Either | Either | – |
| Massachusetts | N | Y | – | – | Y |
| Michigan | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| Missouri | N | N | N | N | N |
| New Jersey | Cert. | Y | Y | – | – |
| New York | N | Y | Y | N | N |
| North Carolina | Y | Y | – | – | – |
| Ohio | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pennsylvania | N | N | N | N | N |
| Texas | N | N | – | Y | N |
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: | ||
NICET Level II | NICET Level III | No Requirement | ||
| California | * | * | – | Y |
| Colorado | – | – | – | – |
| Connecticut | N | N | – | Y per Bldg. Code |
| Florida | Y | – | – | N |
| Georgia | N | 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 | – | – | – | – |
| Ohio | – | – | State certification | – |
| Pennsylvania | – | – | – | Y |
| Texas | ** | ** | ** | N |
Key:
* = State contractor/State Fire Marshal Licenese required
LSC = Life Safety Code
** = Work for licensed contractor
| State | State Code Adoption | NFPA 13 Edition Adopted | Adopted NFPA 25 | State Requires PE to do Sprinkler Design Concepts | |
| Statewide | Locally | ||||
| California | 1997 UBC, 2000 UFC, both amended | 1999 | No | No | Yes |
| Colorado | 2000 IBC, IFC, NFPA 1; 1997 UBC & UFC, NFPA 11,11A, 12, 13, 13D, 13R, 20, 22, 24, 25, 72, 72A, 231D, 409, 423, 705, 2001 | 1997 | 2002 | – | No |
| Connecticut | BOCA 1996, NFPA 101 1997, both amended, NFPA 13, 13D, 13R, 25 | 1999 | Yes | – | Yes or NICET |
| Florida | 2003 NFPA 1 & NFPA 101, both amended | 2002 | 2002 | – | Yes, 50 heads |
| Georgia | 2000 NFPA 101 amended, 2000 IBC & 2003 IFC, both amended | 2002 | 2002 | Yes | No, NICET |
| Illinois | NFPA 101 2000 amended | As ref by 2000 LSC | No | No | – |
| Massachusetts | State Building Code Mass. Modified 1993 BOCA amended | 2002 | 1995 | – | No |
| Michigan | 2000 IBC & IFC amended | 1999 | 1998 | – | No |
| Missouri | No State Code | – | No | No | No |
| New Jersey | 1996 BOCA amended-maintenance, fire prevention; 2000 IBC & IFC amended- new construction | 1999 for new installs | Yes | – | Yes or architect |
| 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, by ref. in code | – | Yes |
| Ohio | 2003 IBC & IFC, both amended | 2002 | 1998 | – | – |
| 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 | IBC & IRC in cities; 2003 NFPA 101 | 2002 – pending | 98 for contractors | Yes | No |
If you would like ny information regarding additional states or an explanation of any of the above, please contact us.