FireApproved
On this page
  1. Why it matters
  2. How it works
  3. The paths
  4. What people mix up
  5. How to check
  6. Limits
  7. Related records

Home / Guides / How the documents differ / New Mexico WUI code status

New Mexico WUI code status

Last verified 2026-08-24.

This page is New Mexico law.

New Mexico does not have a statewide IWUIC construction book. 14.7.2 NMAC adopts the 2021 International Building Code as the New Mexico Commercial Building Code, effective 14 July 2023. 14.7.3 NMAC is the residential counterpart. Construction Industries Division publishes those as the statewide construction books.

You are looking at a lot in New Mexico and asking which book binds a new roof. The statewide path is ordinary IBC or IRC construction unless a city or county adopted a WUI overlay. This site does not invent that overlay.

Why it matters

Embers still reach a Santa Fe eave. A missing statewide WUI book means you cannot spec “New Mexico IWUIC Class A” as a state minimum. You can spec a local ordinance if one exists, or an insurer checklist such as IBHS Wildfire Prepared. See the hardening ladder.

How it works

14.7.2.8 NMAC adopts the 2021 IBC by reference, as amended. Referenced gas, mechanical, plumbing, and energy codes are swapped to New Mexico titles. Fire prevention is deleted as a referenced IBC chapter. IWUIC is not named.

A county may still adopt IWUIC as a local overlay. Santa Fe County Ordinance 2023-6 Section 8 adopts the 2021 IWUIC. Section 9.H then deletes Chapter 5. Mapping, driveways, and a 30-foot-or-to-lot-line fuel-modification rule remain. That is Santa Fe County’s book, not New Mexico’s, and it is not an IWUIC roof book. See what deleting IWUIC Chapter 5 actually removes.

The paths

  1. Statewide 2021 NMCBC / NMRBC. Spec that book unless a local WUI overlay applies.
  2. Local IWUIC. Spec the ordinance the building official names. Santa Fe County’s 2021 amendments are one opened example.
  3. Harden anyway. IBHS is a designation, not adopted code.

What people mix up

  • Treating a Santa Fe County overlay as a statewide IWUIC mandate.
  • Importing Oregon R327 or California CWUIC onto a New Mexico drawing.
  • Treating this page as a parcel map.

How to check

  1. Ask the building official whether the city or county adopted IWUIC or another WUI overlay.
  2. Read 14.7.2 NMAC. If IWUIC is still absent, there is no statewide WUI construction book.
  3. This site does not read your parcel.

Limits

This page does not decide a permit. It does not quote a local ordinance other than the Santa Fe County example we opened.

Questions

Does New Mexico require IWUIC construction on my lot today?

Not as a statewide book. 14.7.2 NMAC adopts the 2021 IBC as the New Mexico Commercial Building Code. 14.7.3 NMAC is the residential book. IWUIC is not that statewide adoption. Confirm with the building official.

Can a county adopt IWUIC anyway?

Yes, as a local overlay. Santa Fe County Ordinance 2023-6 adopts the 2021 IWUIC and deletes Chapter 5. That is Santa Fe County’s book, not New Mexico’s, and it is not an IWUIC roof book. See what deleting IWUIC Chapter 5 actually removes.

Does this site read my parcel?

No. There is no statewide WUI construction map to link. Ask the building official whether a local overlay exists.

Sources