How Are Fire Protection Plans Approved in New York State?

Outside New York City (NYC), fire protection plans are approved by the code enforcement official of the city, town or village where the building stands, as part of the building permit, under the 2025 New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code) and the minimum program rules in Title 19 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (19 NYCRR) Part 1203. Where a municipality has opted out of enforcement, the county or the New York Department of State (DOS) takes its place, and the State enforces the code for its own agencies’ buildings. No statewide rule sets a number of days for the review, as of November 2026.

This article is for owners, architects and design teams with a project in New York State outside the five boroughs. It explains which code applies, who reviews sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm drawings, how the Uniform Code differs from the model International Codes (I-Codes) and from New York City’s own codes, how a permit moves from application to certificate, and which dates the 2025 code set.

Which Code Applies in New York State Outside New York City?

The 2025 Uniform Code applies in every municipality of the State except the City of New York, which kept its own code. The preface to the 2025 BCNYS says so directly. A project in Westchester, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region or Western New York is therefore designed to the Uniform Code, not to the NYC Building Code.

The Uniform Code is defined in 19 NYCRR 1219.1 and 1219.2 as Parts 1220 to 1229. Those Parts incorporate the 2025 Residential, Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Fire, Property Maintenance and Existing Building Codes of New York State, all published by the International Code Council (ICC) in July 2025, plus the provisions for rail stations. The DOS Regulatory Impact Statement says the text is based primarily on the 2024 editions of the model codes, replacing text based on the 2018 editions, and the 2025 FCNYS preface describes it as a derivative work of the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC).

For sprinkler work, the 2024 International Building Code (IBC) base references NFPA 13 (2022), and that is the edition used under the 2025 Uniform Code as of November 2026. ICC hosts free read-only versions of every 2025 New York book, which makes the adopted text easy to check before design starts.

The Energy Code is separate from the Uniform Code and, unlike it, applies inside New York City as well. The 2025 provisions banning fossil-fuel equipment in new buildings (19 NYCRR Subpart 1229-2 and Section 1240.6) are suspended by court order, and DOS states they are neither effective nor enforceable.

Who Reviews Fire Protection Plans: the Local Code Enforcement Official

In most of the State, the reviewer is the building department or code enforcement office of the city, town or village. 19 NYCRR Part 1203 requires each authority having jurisdiction to run a code enforcement program with twelve minimum features: building permits, construction inspections, stop work orders, certificates of occupancy, notice of fires, unsafe structures, operating permits, fire safety and property maintenance inspections, complaints, parking garage assessments, design criteria and recordkeeping (1203.3(a) to (l)). Sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm drawings are reviewed inside that program, with the building permit.

The reviewer for a given site is found through the municipality’s own building department page. A county may also run its own review: the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office, for example, reviews fire alarm, sprinkler, suppression and detection plans under the Nassau County Fire Prevention Ordinance.

How Does the Uniform Code Differ From the Model I-Codes and From NYC?

The technical chapters of the Uniform Code follow the 2024 I-Codes closely, so most of the differences that matter for an approval sit in administration. The State writes its own enforcement program in 19 NYCRR, its own seal rule in the Education Law and its own variance process in Part 1205. New York City is a different system altogether, with its own codes, its own agencies and an older NFPA 13 edition.

Figure 1: Model Code vs New York State vs New York City

Topic	2024 I-Codes (model)	2025 New York State Uniform Code	NYC 2022 codes
Code books	IBC, IFC, International Existing Building Code and the other I-Codes as published by ICC	2025 BCNYS, FCNYS, EBCNYS, Residential Code of New York State and the other New York books (19 NYCRR Parts 1219 to 1229), in effect December 31, 2025	2022 NYC Construction Codes and the 2022 NYC Fire Code
Where it applies	Wherever a jurisdiction adopts it	Every municipality in the State except the City of New York	The five boroughs
Administration	Chapter 1 of each code, adopted with local changes	19 NYCRR Parts 1201 to 1205, with New York sections in Chapter 1 such as BCNYS 102.2	NYC Administrative Code Title 28
Plan reviewer	The building official named by the adopting jurisdiction	City, town or village code official; county or DOS where opted out; the State for its own agencies	DOB for sprinkler and standpipe work; FDNY for fire alarm on the TM-1
Review clock	Set locally on adoption	None in Part 1203; appeal for failure to act within a reasonable time (1205.3(a)(2))	40 calendar days after a complete application, extendable once by 20 days for good cause (Administrative Code 28-104.2.7)
NFPA 13 edition	2022	2022	2016 as modified by Appendix Q of the 2022 NYC Building Code
Periodic fire safety inspections	Set locally on adoption	At least every 12 months for assembly areas, schools and colleges; at least every 36 months for multiple dwellings and nonresidential occupancies (1203.3(h))	FDNY under the 2022 NYC Fire Code
Variances	Alternative methods approved by the building official	Petition to DOS; board cases go to one of six regional boards of review (Part 1205)	DOB and FDNY under the NYC codes

Three state-specific rules shape a fire protection submittal. First, BCNYS Section 102.2 makes the code part of the Uniform Code under Executive Law Article 18, so it supersedes inconsistent local provisions (Executive Law Section 383(1)), and a locality may adopt more restrictive standards only through the process in Executive Law Section 379. DOS keeps a list of those more restrictive local standards, and a design team should check it for the municipality before design starts.

Second, BCNYS Section 102.2.2 requires a change of use or occupancy to comply with the BCNYS, the EBCNYS, the rest of the Uniform Code and the Energy Code. A conversion that changes occupancy can therefore bring sprinkler or fire alarm requirements that the existing building never had. Third, 19 NYCRR 1203.3(g) requires operating permits for listed hazardous activities, energy storage systems, buildings with assembly areas, outdoor events over 1,000 attendees and parking garages, each issued only after a premises inspection.

The New York City side of the comparison is covered in DGA’s guides to how fire protection plan review works at NYC DOB and which approvals belong to DOB and which to FDNY.

DGA prepares sealed fire protection drawings and code analyses for local code enforcement review across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Project briefs get confirmation and preliminary code feedback within one business day. See where DGA works →

How Is a Fire Protection Permit Filed With a City, Town or Village?

A fire protection permit in New York State is a building permit under 19 NYCRR 1203.3(a). Part 1203 requires permits for any work that must conform to the Uniform Code or Energy Code, and the short list of work a local program may exempt excludes repairs that affect the fire protection system, the means of egress or the structure. Each municipality sets its own application form, fee and submittal format.

The construction documents must show the work in enough detail to prove compliance, including the means of egress, building systems and a site plan (1203.3(a)(3)). Under 1203.3(a)(3)(ix) they must also carry evidence that a New York licensed and registered architect or engineer prepared them: the seal with name and license number, the signature, the registration expiration date, the firm name and, for an engineering firm, its Certificate of Authorization number. Education Law Section 7209(1) bars state and local officials from accepting unsealed engineering plans.

The Education Law exempts some small work from the seal, including alterations costing $10,000 or less that do not affect structural or public safety (Section 7209) and certain farm buildings and small residences. The State Education Department’s Office of the Professions says the AHJ decides whether a scope affects public safety, and a municipality may require a seal for all work.

Once the permit issues, the program inspects the work. Section 1203.3(b) requires inspections that include fire protection and other service systems, fire resistant construction, fire resistant penetrations and a final inspection, and it allows remote inspections. The figure shows the full sequence.

Figure 2: New York State: From Application to Certificate and Beyond

1. Find the AHJMunicipal code enforcement office, or the county or DOS where the municipality opted out; check for any county fire marshal review

2. ApplicationBuilding permit application with construction documents sealed by a New York PE or RA (19 NYCRR 1203.3(a)(3)(ix))

3. Plan reviewNo statewide day count in Part 1203; comments answered with revised sealed drawings

4. PermitBuilding permit issued with an expiration date (1203.3(a)); work starts

5. Construction inspectionsFire protection systems, fire resistant construction and penetrations, then a final inspection (1203.3(b))

6. CertificateCertificate of occupancy or compliance after final inspection and any final special inspection report (1203.3(d)); a temporary certificate only with required fire protection operational and egress provided

7. Occupied buildingOperating permits where listed (1203.3(g)); fire safety inspections at least every 12 or 36 months (1203.3(h))

A certificate of occupancy (CO) or certificate of compliance cannot issue until the program has inspected the work, found it compliant and, where the Uniform Code requires them, received the statement of structural observations and the final report of special inspections (1203.3(d)(2)). A temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) is limited to a specified period and needs required fire protection and alarm components installed and operational (1203.3(d)(4)). For schedule planning, DGA’s fire protection project timeline estimator gives a project-specific range, and DGA’s comparison of fire protection plan review times by state sets New York beside its neighbors.

Where the State or a County Enforces Instead of the Municipality

Under Executive Law Section 381(2), a city, village or town may pass a local law before July 1 of any year declining to enforce the Uniform Code and Energy Code, effective the next January 1. The county then enforces, and if the county has also opted out, the Secretary of State enforces directly or by contract. 19 NYCRR 1201.3 mirrors the statute, and Part 1202 governs DOS administration and enforcement in those local governments.

State-owned buildings follow a separate track. 19 NYCRR 1201.2(d)(1) makes the State accountable for enforcement for buildings of state departments, bureaus, commissions, boards and authorities, and Part 1204 sets the administration and enforcement rules for state agencies, including construction permits and fire safety inspections. The State Education Department enforces the Uniform Code for school district and BOCES buildings (1201.2(e)), and cities, towns, villages and counties enforce it for their own buildings (1201.2(a)).

DOS oversees every program. The Division of Building Standards and Codes trains and certifies code enforcement officials, reviews the annual Part 1203 and Part 1204 reports and handles complaints that a local government is not enforcing the code. Under Executive Law Section 381(4) and (5), the Secretary of State can order compliance, designate the county or take over enforcement in a locality that fails the minimum standards.

What Are the Compliance Dates and Transition Rules for the 2025 Uniform Code?

The State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council adopted the 2025 Uniform Code on July 25, 2025, adopted amended versions on December 5, 2025, and set the effective date at December 31, 2025. The only transition ran before that date: from publication of the Notice of Adoption until December 31, 2025, a project could comply with either the 2020 or the 2025 Uniform Code. From December 31, 2025, every building permit application must comply with the 2025 code.

No grace period exists after December 31, 2025 for projects still in design. A permit application filed in 2026 that was drawn to the 2020 code needs to be brought up to the 2025 code, including NFPA 13 (2022) for sprinklers. A separate Part 1203 amendment requiring code enforcement programs to document lead safety certifications took effect October 7, 2026.

Enforcement runs through the local program. Part 1203 requires stop work orders (1203.3(c)), a process for unsafe structures and complaints, and orders to remedy, which give 30 days to comply (1203.5(c)). An owner who believes an order is wrong, or whose application has sat without action for an unreasonable time, can petition DOS for a variance or an appeal under 19 NYCRR 1205.4.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is general information, not a code determination for any project. Code editions, local amendments and reviewer practice change; confirm the adopted code and the authority having jurisdiction for the project.