Occupancy Classifications

Occupancy classification is the formal designation of the primary purpose of the building, structure or portion thereof.  These are the occupancy classifications as taken from the International Fire Code 2024.

Many of these occupancies have sub-categories, and all of these occupancies have more details described in the code.

A   Assembly

A-1        assembly uses, usually with fixed seating, intended for the production and viewing of the performing arts or motion pictures, including but not limited to:

• motion picture theaters
• symphony and concert halls
• TV and radio studios with an audience
• theaters

A-2        assembly uses intended for food and/or drink consumption, including but not limited to:

• banquet halls
• casinos
• night clubs
• restaurants
• taverns and bars

A-3        assembly uses intended for worship, recreation or amusement and other assembly uses not classified elsewhere in Group A, including but not limited to:

• amusement arcades
• art galleries
• bowling alleys
• community halls
• courtrooms
• dance halls
• exhibition halls
• funeral parlors
• gymnasiums without spectator seating
• indoor swimming pools without spectator seating
• indoor tennis courts without spectator seating
• lecture halls
• libraries
• museums
• places of religious worship
• pool and billiard parlors
• waiting areas in transportation terminals

A-4        assembly uses intended for viewing of indoor sporting events and activities with spectator seating, including but not limited to:

• arenas
• skating rinks
• swimming pools
• tennis courts

A-5        assembly uses intended for participation in or viewing outdoor activities, including but not limited to:

• amusement park structures
• bleachers
• grandstands
• stadiums

B   Business

Includes use for office, professional, or service type transactions, including the storage of records and accounts, including but not limited to:

• airport traffic control towers
• ambulatory care facilities
• animal hospitals, kennels, and pounds
• banks
• barber and beauty shops
• car wash
• civic administration
• clinic – outpatient
• dry cleaning and laundries
• educational occupancies for students above the 12^th grade, including higher education laboratories
• electronic data entry
• food processing establishments and commercial kitchens not associated with restaurants, cafeterias, and similar dining facilities not more than 2,500 square feet in area
• laboratories: testing and research
• lithium-ion or lithium metal battery testing, research, and development
• motor vehicle showrooms
• post offices
• print shops
• professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, engineers, etc.)
• radio and television stations
• telephone exchanges
• training and skill development not in a school or academic program

E   Educational

6 or more persons at any one time for educational purposes through the 12th grade

• There are no Educational Occupancy sub-categories, but there are some details in the code regarding day care facilities in a home and accessory to a place of worship.

F   Factory and Industrial

F-1         moderate hazard

F-2        low hazard

H  High Hazard

H-1        detonation hazard

H-2       deflagration hazard

H-3       physical hazard

H-4       health hazard

H-5       high hazard

I    Institutional

includes, among others, the use in which care or supervision is provided to persons who are or are incapable of self-preservation without physical assistance or in which persons are detained for penal reasons

I-1          more than 16 persons who reside 24 hours in a supervised environment and receive custodial care – All persons receiving custodial care are capable of responding to an emergency situation to complete building evacuation.

• alcohol and drug centers
• assisted living facilities
• congregate care facilities
• group homes
• halfway houses
• residential board and care facilities
• social rehabilitation facilities

I-2          more than 5 persons for medical care on a 24-hour basis who are not capable of self-preservation, including but not limited to:

• foster care facilities
• detoxification facilities
• hospitals
• nursing homes
• psychiatric hospitals

I-3          more than 5 persons who are under restraint or security

I-4          more than 5 persons of any age who receive custodial care for less than 24 hours by a person other than parent/guardian

M  Mercantile

display and sale of merchandise

R   Residential

Use for sleeping purposes when not classified as an Institutional Group

R-1        sleeping units where the occupants are primarily transient in nature

• hotels and motels
• boarding houses (transient) with more than 10 occupants
• congregate living facilities (transient) with more than 10 occupants
• lodging houses with more than five guestrooms

R-2        containing sleeping units or more than 2 dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent

• apartment houses
• boarding houses (nontransient)
• dormitories
• emergency services living quarters
• fraternities and sororities
• vacation timeshare properties

R-3        where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature and not classified as Group R-1, R-2, R-4, or I, including:

• one- and two-family dwellings
• care facilities that provide accommodations for 5 or fewer people
• congregate living facilities with 16 or fewer occupants

R-4        from 6-16 people who reside 24 hours in a supervised residential environment and receive custodial care, including but not limited to:

• alcohol and drug centers
• assisted living facilities
• group homes

S   Storage

S-1         moderate hazard

S-2        low hazard

U  Utility and Miscellaneous

including, but not limited to:

• agricultural buildings
• aircraft hangar, accessory to a one- or two-family residence
• barns
• carports
• communication equipment structures with a gross floor area of less than 1,500 square feet
• fences more than 7 feet in height
• grain silos, accessory to a residential occupancy
• livestock shelters
• private garages
• retaining walls
• sheds
• stables
• tanks
• towers