North Dakota State Building Code: Stairs & Guards

North Dakota’s state code is the North Dakota State Building Code, based on the 2024 IRC, effective 1 January 2026. It’s mandatory only for state and local government buildings and schools — for everything else, adoption is a local opt-in: cities, counties and townships choose whether to enforce building codes at all, but any that do must enforce this state code. Whether the code applies to your house project depends entirely on where you’re building — confirm with your local building department first.

Where it does apply, no confirmed North Dakota-specific stair or guard amendment surfaced — figures follow the IRC baseline. See the US stair & guard rules for the shared figures, and confirm local amendments with your building department.