For many years, the International Plumbing Code (IPC) required certification for select products. Now this has changed so that all plumbing products must be certified.

Section 303.4 of the 2012 IPC has been revised to state the following:

303.4 Third-party certification. All plumbing products and materials shall be listed by a third-party certification agency as complying with the referenced standards. Products and materials shall be identified in accordance with Section 303.1.

This is a very significant change from the previous codes, which required third-party certification for only certain plumbing products. "The previous editions of the IPC included several options among which were mere compliance with an applicable standard. The 2012 IPC mandates listing by a third-party certification agency; therefore, looking for a mark of conformity on a product is mandated by this code section," said Dawn LaFleur-Qualley, Manager of Certification Programs at ICC-ES PMG.

ICC-ES PMG has been evaluating plumbing products to the requirements of the IPC, the International Residential Code, the Uniform Plumbing Code, and the product standards referenced in these codes for years. As a service to ICC-ES PMG listees and applicants, we are available to discuss these code revisions and how they may affect you.

For more information, please contact us espmg@icc-es.org.