Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code

Summary

Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the DOE and BCAP websites.

The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code includes the statewide minimum requirements that all new construction and additions to existing buildings must satisfy. Exceptions include log homes, manufactured housing, post and beam or timber frame construction, and warehouses or silos used to store crops. The commercial requirements apply to all new commercial and institutional construction. 

Legislation enacted in April 2008 (H.B. 1619) established the Technical Building Codes and Standards Board and required the board to adopt the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, a new energy code for buildings, setting the 2009 versions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Existing Building Code (IEBC), and ASHRAE 90.1, 62.1, and 62.2 as the mandatory building code standards for residential and commercial buildings statewide. The code is enforced in cities and towns that have more than 4,000 residents. On July 1, 2010, the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code replaced the state's model energy code. Chapters 1-6 of the Maine code have been updated as of January 2015.