Berkeley enforces 2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC with 2 local amendments on top (Ord. 7988-NS). The amendments are the part that gets sets corrected. The state edition is only the floor. Berkeley sits in Alameda County.
Current edition
2025 Title 24
Prior edition
2022 Title 24
Edition changeover: Projects with a complete application on or before 2025-12-31 may still be reviewed under the 2022 Title 24.
Adopted code and local amendments by discipline
Adopted code editions and local amendments by discipline
Discipline
Adopted code
Local amendment
Building
2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC
Berkeley 2025 Building Code, Ord. 7988-NS (adopted 2025-11-18, eff. 2025-12-18; BMC Title 19 Ch. 19.28; fire 7990-NS, WUI 7991-NS; publisher municipal.codes)Stricter of state or local governs
Residential
2025 CRC, T24 Pt 2.5 based on 2024 IRC
n/a
Existing buildings
2025 CEBC, T24 Pt 10 based on 2024 IEBC
n/a
Fire
2025 CFC, T24 Pt 9 based on 2024 IFC
n/a
Electrical
2025 CEC, T24 Pt 3 based on 2023 NEC
n/a
Mechanical
2025 CMC, T24 Pt 4 based on 2024 UMC
n/a
Plumbing
2025 CPC, T24 Pt 5 based on 2024 UPC
n/a
Energy
2025 Energy Code, T24 Pt 6
n/a
Green / sustainability
2025 CALGreen, T24 Pt 11
n/a
Accessibility
2025 CBC Ch 11A/11B, T24 Pt 2
n/a
Wildland-urban interface
2025 CA-WUIC, T24 Pt 7 based on 2024 IWUIC
n/a
Historical buildings
2025 CHBC, T24 Pt 8
n/a
Administrative
2025 CAC, T24 Pt 1
n/a
Zoning
No state-adopted code
Local zoning ordinance (city or county), subject to state preemptionLocal text supersedes the state code
What Berkeley actually amended
Quoted from the adopted ordinance. These are the provisions that differ from the state code, which is where most correction lists come from. Excerpts, not the whole ordinance. Follow the source link for the full text.
5.106.5.3.1
EV Capable Spaces. [N] Twenty (20) percent of the total number of parking spaces shall be EV capable spaces. Calculation for EV capable spaces shall be rounded
up to the nearest whole number. shall be provided in accordance with Table 5.106.5.3.1
and The spaces shall comply with the following requirements:
1. Raceways complying with the California Electrical Code and no less than 1-inch
(25 mm) diameter shall be provided and shall originate at a service panel or a
subpanel(s) serving the area, and shall terminate in close proximity to the
proposed location of the EV capable space and into a suitable listed cabinet, box,
enclosure or equivalent. […]
5.106.5.3.6 · Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) - power allocation method
The power allocation method, based on occupancy classification, may be used as an
alternative to the requirements in Section 5.106.5.3.1, and Section 5.106.5.3.2 and
associated Table 5.106.5.3.1. Use Table 5.106.5.3.6 the following factors to determine
the total power in kVA required based on the total number of actual parking spaces.
A. Office and Retail Occupancies: The product of the factor of 0.99kVA/parking space
times the total number of parking spaces serving Office and/or Retail occupancies
determines the total power in kVA for EVSE charging infrastructure required.
B. […]
19.28.100 · 19.28.100
Emergency Housing and Emergency Housing Facilities.
HCD Appendix Q of the 2025 California Building Code is adopted on an emergency basis
and reproduced in its entirety subject to the modifications thereto which are set forth
below:
APPENDIX Q
EMERGENCY HOUSING
SECTION Q101 - GENERAL
Q101.1 Scope. This appendix shall be applicable to emergency housing and emergency
housing facilities, as defined in Section Q102. The provisions and standards set forth in
this appendix shall be applicable to emergency housing established pursuant to the
declaration of a shelter crisis under Government Code section 8698 et seq. […]
19.29.040 · CRC Subsection R301.2 Climatic and geographic design criteria
TABLE R301.2
CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DESIGN CRITERIA
ICE BARRIER
UNDERLAYMENT
REQUIREDh
FLOOD
HAZARDSg
AIR FREEZING
INDEXi
MEAN ANNUAL TEMPj
NO
See
ZERO
57.2◦F
WIND DESIGN
SUBJECT TO DAMAGE FROM
GROUND
SNOW
LOADo
Speedd
(mph)
Topographic
effectsk
Special
wind
regionl
Wind-
borne
debris
zonem
SEISMIC
DESIGN
CATEGORYf Weatheringa Frost line
depthb
Termitec
ZERO
95
NO
NO
NO
D2 or E
NEGLIGIBLE
N/A
VERY
HEAVY
Page 43 of 62
Ordinance No. 7,988-N.S. […]
105.2
Work exempt from permit. Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in
violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction.
Permits shall not be required for the following:
Building:
1. One-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds,
playhouses and similar non-occupiable uses, provided that the floor area does not
exceed than 120 square feet (11.15 m2), there is an existing primary structure on
site and no electrical, plumbing and/or mechanical systems are installed. […]
105.5.1
Expiration of Permit. On or after January 1, 2019, every permit issued shall become invalid unless the work on the site authorized by such permit is commenced
within 12 months after its issuance, or if the work authorized on the site by such permit is
suspended or abandoned for a period of 12 months after the time the work is commenced.
The building official is authorized to grant, in writing, one or more extensions of time for
periods not more than 180 days per extension calculated from the date of expiration. The
extension shall be requested in writing and justifiable cause demonstrated. […]
113.3
Decisions. The City Council shall review the action of the Building Official and shall do one of the following:
a. Refer the matter back to the Building Official.
b. If the facts stated in or ascertainable from the Notice of Appeal, the
written statement of the building official setting forth the reason for their decision,
and the other papers, if any, constituting the record do not, in the opinion of the
City Council, warrant further hearing, the City Council may affirm the decision of
the Building Official. Such decision shall be final.
c. […]
116.6.3.2
Placards. Following are titles and descriptions of the official jurisdiction placards to be used to designate the condition of a building structure for continued
occupancy, partial or conditional occupancy, or unsafe to enter. Copies of placards are
on file in the Building and Safety Division of the Planning and Development Department.
INSPECTED – Lawful Occupancy Permitted is to be posted on any building or structure
wherein no apparent hazard has been found. This placard is not intended to mean there
is no damage to the building or structure, but that any damage that occurred does not
present a hazard to occupants. […]
405.2.7.2
Compliance with reduced CBC level seismic forces. Where seismic evaluation and design is permitted to meet reduced seismic forces, the criteria used shall
be in accordance with one of the following:
1. The California Building Code using 75 percent of the prescribed forces. Values of R,
Ωo, and Cd used for analysis shall be as specified in Section 405.2.7.1 Item 1.
Page 26 of 62
Ordinance No. 7,988-N.S.
Page 19 of 53
2. […]
1905.6.2 · Seismic Design Categories C, D, E and F. Structures assigned to Seismic
Design Category C, D, E or F shall not have elements of structural plain concrete, except
as follows:
1. Reserved Structural plain concrete basement, foundation or other walls below the
base as defined in ASCE/SEI 7 are permitted in detached one- and two-family
dwellings three stories or less in height constructed with stud-bearing walls. In
dwellings assigned to Seismic Design Category D or E, the height of the wall shall
not exceed 8 feet (2438 mm), the thickness shall be not less than 7 1/2 inches
(190 mm), and the wall shall retain not more than 4 feet (1219 mm) of unbalanced
fill. Walls shall have reinforcement in accordance with Section 14.6.1 of ACI 318.
2. […]
Mapped hazard and district overlays stack on top of the adopted code. These are the overlays recorded for Alameda County. They apply by parcel, not jurisdiction-wide, so confirm the parcel before assuming one is in play. Check CAL FIRE's fire hazard severity viewer and FEMA's flood map service.
Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone
FEMA mapped flood hazard area
State law that overrides local zoning here
When one of these applies, the state statute governs over a conflicting local standard. This is the most common reason a local rule someone quotes you turns out not to be enforceable against a project.
Gov. Code 66310 et seq.
State ADU law preempts local zoning that would preclude a conforming ADU/JADU.
Applies when: project includes an ADU or JADU
Gov. Code 65915
State Density Bonus Law concessions/waivers override local development standards.
Applies when: project requests a density bonus
Gov. Code 65852.21 / 66411.7
SB 9 urban lot split / two-unit ministerial approval preempts conflicting local standards.
Applies when: project is an SB 9 lot split or two-unit development
Berkeley enforces 2025 CBC, T24 Pt 2 based on 2024 IBC, the edition adopted statewide in California, amended locally in 2 disciplines (Ord. 7988-NS).
Does Berkeley amend the California code?
Yes: building, zoning. For building, the rule is: stricter of state or local governs.
Where do I confirm the code edition for a Berkeley permit?
With the city building department that will review the permit. Adoption ordinances are amended on a local schedule, and a set submitted days apart can fall under different editions during a changeover.
Knowing the adopted edition is the easy half. Architechtura reads your drawings, resolves which of these provisions actually apply to the project, and returns the corrections a plan checker would write up, each one cited to the section it came from.
Compiled from published state and municipal adoption ordinances. Local governments amend their codes on their own schedule, and a pending ordinance can change what applies to your permit. Confirm the governing edition with the building department before you submit. This page is reference information, not a code determination.