UpCodes
A searchable library of building codes and local amendments, with AI-assisted research on top.
Quick Answer
UpCodes is a code compliance platform that makes building codes, standards, and local amendments searchable in one place, covering codes and amendments across 80-plus US jurisdictions. It includes UpCodes Copilot, an AI research assistant that helps users navigate code text and find relevant sections faster than manually flipping through printed code books or scattered PDFs.
The Full Picture
UpCodes exists because building codes are fragmented across a base model code (like the IBC), state amendments, and local jurisdictional amendments, historically distributed as separate PDFs, printed volumes, or paid subscriptions from different standards bodies. Finding the actual applicable requirement for a specific project and location meant hunting across multiple disconnected sources.
Mechanically, UpCodes ingests code text from model codes and thousands of local amendments and makes it searchable and cross-referenced in one platform, showing which sections a jurisdiction has modified from the base code. UpCodes Copilot adds a conversational AI layer on top, letting users ask questions in plain language and get pointed to relevant code sections rather than manually searching keywords.
In practice, architects, engineers, code consultants, and plan reviewers use UpCodes to research applicable requirements during design and permitting — confirming occupancy classifications, egress requirements, fire ratings, and accessibility provisions for a specific jurisdiction before or during drawing production.
UpCodes is fundamentally a research and reference tool: it surfaces what the code says and where. It doesn't review a specific set of project drawings against those requirements automatically — connecting code text to what's actually shown (or missing) on a given project's plans is a separate step.
Real Examples
Common Misconceptions
People assume: UpCodes reviews your project drawings for code compliance.
Actually: UpCodes is a code research and reference platform — it makes code text searchable and easier to navigate. Checking a specific project's actual drawings against those code requirements is a separate analysis that UpCodes' core product doesn't perform automatically.
People assume: One code lookup covers every location the same way.
Actually: UpCodes' entire value proposition is that local amendments change the answer — the same base IBC section can read differently once a state or city amendment modifies it, which is exactly why a searchable, amendment-aware platform matters over a generic code PDF.
Does MeltPlan Solve This?
Partially — adjacentUpCodes and MeltPlan's code product both serve building code research, but from different angles: UpCodes is a searchable code library and AI research assistant covering codes and amendments across jurisdictions. MeltPlan Code is an AI research assistant built to help teams interpret code requirements and flag compliance gaps in the context of a specific project's design decisions.
Research code requirements for your project →Frequently Asked Questions
What jurisdictions does UpCodes cover?
UpCodes covers model codes and local amendments across more than 80 US jurisdictions, including state and city amendments to base codes like the IBC, and continues expanding coverage.
Is UpCodes free?
UpCodes offers free access to search and read code text for many jurisdictions, with paid plans unlocking additional features like UpCodes Copilot, saved research, and expanded jurisdiction or team access.
What is UpCodes Copilot?
It's UpCodes' AI-powered research assistant that lets users ask code questions in plain language and get directed to the relevant code sections, rather than manually searching and cross-referencing code text themselves.
Who uses UpCodes?
Architects, engineers, code consultants, contractors, and plan reviewers use it to research applicable code requirements during design, permitting, and plan review.