Ohio HVAC permit requirements

Ohio writes its own residential code. The Board of Building Standards, part of the Department of Commerce, publishes it in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4101:8. The first section of the administration rule gives it a name: ‘Chapters 4101:8-1 to 4101:8-25, 4101:8-29, 4101:8-34, and 4101:8-44 of the Administrative Code are designated as the “Residential Code of Ohio for One-, Two-, and Three-Family Dwellings” for which the designation “RCO” may be substituted.’

The same section ties it to the model code, with the edition stated: ‘The 2018 edition of the “International Residential Code”, first printing, Chapters 2 through 24, 29, and 44 as published by the “International Code Council, Inc.” is used as the basis of this document as is incorporated fully except as modified in italic herein.’

2019 RCO, effective July 1, 2019. The Ohio Administrative Code site shows rule 4101:8-1-01 as “Effective: July 1, 2019”. A notice relayed by ICC NTA from the Board says: ‘At Board meeting on December 14, 2018, the Board of Building Standards adopted the update to the Residential Code of Ohio based on 2018 International Residential Code effective July 1, 2019.’

Amendments, March 1, 2024. ICC NTA’s Ohio page, relaying Board notices, lists: ‘At its meeting on January 26, 2024, the Board of Building Standards adopted amendments to the Residential Code of Ohio effective March 1, 2024 .’ We could not retrieve the Board’s own summary, so we do not describe their content. The sections quoted on this page are the July 2019 filings, not re-checked against the 2024 amendments.

Plan approval and inspection run through building departments the Board has certified. The approval section is explicit that the application goes to one of them: ‘shall first make application to the residential building official of a certified residential building department and obtain the required approval.’ That sentence covers anyone who intends to ‘erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing system, other residential building service equipment, or piping system’.

The rule does not say the state takes over. It says: ‘If no municipal, township, or county building department is certified by the Board of Building Standards for residential buildings in accordance with section 3781.10(E) of the Revised Code has jurisdiction, the owner is not required to make submission of construction documents, seek approvals, request inspections, or obtain certificates of occupancy required in this Chapter.’

That is section 101.5. It removes the submission and approval step; it does not say the equipment may ignore the code. We did not retrieve the list of certified departments, so confirm who holds certification for the address.

For mechanical work it lists ‘Replacement of any part that does not alter approval of equipment or make such equipment unsafe.’

That exemption is about parts. Section 105.1 names “replace” as an activity that needs approval. We found no Ohio changeout rule in the sections we read, so how a department treats a furnace or condenser swap is Not verified at the state level.

The construction-documents section lists: ‘Description of the mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, including: materials; location and type of fixtures and equipment; materials, and sizes of all ductwork; location and type of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and other mechanical equipment; and all lighting and power equipment.’

It does not say “Manual J”, “load calculation” or “Manual D”. The energy chapter adds its own item for the documents: ‘Mechanical system design criteria.’ The state rule, as we read it, does not itself make a load calculation a submittal item.

Sizing method is required; whether you hand in the calculation is local. Ohio keeps the IRC sizing section. Rule 4101:8-14-01 reads: ‘1401.3 Equipment and appliance sizing. Heating and cooling equipment and appliances shall be sized in accordance with ACCA Manual S or other approved sizing methodologies based on building loads calculated in accordance with ACCA Manual J or other approved heating and cooling calculation methodologies.’

Ohio repeats it in the energy chapter as a mandatory item: ‘Heating and cooling equipment shall be sized in accordance with ACCA Manual S based on building loads calculated in accordance with ACCA Manual J or other approved heating and cooling calculation methodologies.’

Two things the text does not say. It names “other approved” methods, so Manual J is not the only accepted route. And nothing we read requires the calculation to be filed with the permit application. Badge: Varies.

Chapter 16 names Manual D as one accepted design basis, not the only one: ‘Duct systems serving heating, cooling and ventilation equipment shall be installed in accordance with the provisions of this section and ACCA Manual D, the appliance manufacturer’s installation instructions or other approved methods.’

Whether a Manual D report must be submitted is not stated in the state rule.

Ohio’s energy chapter lives inside the residential code. Rule 4101:8-11-01 gives builders choices: ‘Compliance shall be demonstrated by meeting the requirements of one of the following options:’ the prescriptive path, simulated performance, an Energy Rating Index route, ‘Section 1112 (“The Ohio Home Builder’s Association (OHBA) Alternative Energy Code Option”)’, or ‘The “International Energy Conservation Code.”’

Ohio deletes the IRC’s generic climate-zone provisions and states its own county table. The table is headed “OHIO” and lists each county with a zone. It assigns ‘4A Adams’ and several other southern counties to zone 4A, and ‘5A Franklin’ and the remainder to zone 5A. Read the table for your county.

The licensing board is separate: ‘There is hereby created within the department of commerce, the Ohio construction industry licensing board’. It has an HVAC section that ‘has primary responsibility for the licensure of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractors and refrigeration contractors’.

The definition of the work covered matters for house jobs: ‘“Construction project” means a construction project involving a building or structure subject to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under that chapter, but not an industrialized unit or a residential building as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.’ We did not retrieve section 3781.06 or any statement of how it applies to a one-, two- or three-family house, so we do not assert whether a state HVAC licence is required for house work. Not verified; local contractor registration was not researched.