Georgia's State Minimum Standard Codes
How the NEC Becomes Georgia Law, the 2026 Georgia Amendments to the 2023 NEC, and Permits and Inspections (O.C.G.A. 8-2-20 to 8-2-26)
O.C.G.A. 8-2-20, 8-2-23, 8-2-25, 8-2-26 (Justia, read 2026-09-20); DCA Georgia State Amendments to the National Electrical Code (2023 Edition), revised January 1, 2026; DCA current-codes page and 2027 adoption notice read 2026-09-20 · Reviewed 2026-09-21
The PSI outline tests two things under "Comply with Regulations" that are Georgia-specific: which edition of the NEC governs and how permits and inspections work. Both come from the Uniform Codes Act, O.C.G.A. 8-2-20 through 8-2-26, administered by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) — not the licensing board. The exam itself is written to the 2023 NEC; the Georgia amendments below are what an inspector enforces on the job.
1. The state minimum standard codes — 8-2-20, 8-2-23, 8-2-25
- Since July 1, 2004 the state minimum standard codes are the ICC family — the International Building, Residential, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Plumbing, Energy Conservation, Fire, Existing Building and Property Maintenance Codes — and the National Electrical Code published by the NFPA, each in the edition DCA adopts with the approval of the Board of Community Affairs after public hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act (8-2-20(9)(B), 8-2-23).
- Mandatory codes — IBC, IRC, IFGC, IMC, IPC, IECC, IFC and the NEC — apply state-wide without any local adoption; every city and county may enforce them (8-2-25(a)). Permissive codes — the existing-building and property-maintenance codes — apply only where a local government adopts them (8-2-25(b)).
- A local government may adopt local amendments only if they are not less stringent than the state code, are justified by local climatic, geologic, topographic or public-safety conditions, and are submitted to DCA 60 days before adoption for written review (8-2-25(c)). Local inspectors may not hold you to any code the Act does not cover (8-2-26(c)).
- Current editions (DCA, 2026): the mandatory electrical code is the NEC 2023 Edition with Georgia Amendments; the building family is the 2024 ICC editions with 2026 Georgia amendments (IECC 2015 with Georgia supplements). In December 2025 the Board adopted the 2024 I-codes and the 2026 Georgia Amendments to the 2023 NEC with an effective date of January 1, 2027; the NEC edition itself does not change.
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