Corrections

If something on this site is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] with the page address, what is wrong and, if you can, a link to the official source. Building departments and code officials are especially welcome to write.

What happens next

1. We re-open the official source and check the quote, number or date.
2. If the page is wrong, we correct the record and the page, and update the check date.
3. If the source itself has changed, we archive the new version and re-verify before publishing.
4. Significant corrections are listed on this page with the date and what changed.

What counts as an error

• A number, date, quote or contact that does not match the official source.
• A rule shown for the wrong place, the wrong project or the wrong kind of permit.
• A condition or limit left out of a rule (for example a height measured from a specific point, or an exemption that does not cover pool barriers).
• A source that has been replaced by a newer official version.

How dates work here

Each source in a page’s list shows the date the source itself gives (for example “Effective” or “Revised”) when it shows one, and the date we checked it. The “Last checked” line under each page title is the newest of those check dates. We change it only when we actually re-check sources.

What we will not change

We will not change a rule because it seems unfair or because another city does it differently, and we do not publish unofficial interpretations. If a department tells you something different from its published rule, ask it where the rule is written; send us that document and we will check it.

How a correction is recorded

Each entry in the log below gives the date, the pages affected, what the page said, what it says now and why. When the fix comes from a newer official document, that document joins the page’s source list with its own date, and the page’s “Last checked” date moves to the day we read it. We do not delete the record of a mistake once it is logged.

Laws that change on a set date

A statute or code can be enacted months before it takes effect. Until its effective date we show it only under a heading that says it is not yet in effect, with the date, and the rule in force stays in place above it. Bills that have not been enacted, proposed regulations and draft codes are not shown as rules at all. When the effective date passes, the new rule replaces the old one and the change is noted here if a page’s answer changes.

What is not a correction

• Re-checking a source that has not changed: only the check date moves.
• Adding a new city, project or source.
• Wording and layout changes that do not change any rule, number or date.

Corrections log

The site has not launched yet, so no reader-reported corrections have been logged. These changes were made in the pre-launch review on November 8, 2026:

• California state pages, ADU laws and the EV charger guide. 2026 California statutes that take effect in 2027 were shown among the current rules, worded from the bill digest. They now appear only under “New state laws not yet in effect”, quoted from the enacted text with their effective dates.
• Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Utah pages. Statutes that take effect on January 1 or July 1, 2027 were shown as current law. They moved to the not-yet-in-effect list.
• Several state pages. Items taken from bills that were never enacted, bill-status pages and proposed regulations were removed from the rule lists.
• Jacksonville deck and Houston roof pages. The answer said “Yes” although the city’s wording does not name decks (Jacksonville) or roof replacement (Houston, which lists “roof repair”). The pages now show the city’s own wording as its general rule. The New York City, Los Angeles and Phoenix deck pages changed the same way: their wording names platforms or all construction, not decks.
• Omaha. A gas-utility inspection was listed as the city’s inspection stage. It is now shown as the Metropolitan Utilities District’s rule, with the utility’s permit rules and fees.