Occupancy Classification | State of Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects

The following tables are comprised of occupancy classifications and examples taken from the International Building Code (IBC). Examples listed are meant to represent structures that fall under specific classifications, but are not wholly inclusive.

If your building project is more than the square feet listed, you will need to consult an architect and/or professional engineer. If your building project is less than the square footage listed, your project may be exempt.

RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION	TYPE	SQUARE FEET	EXAMPLES
Residential (Except three- and four-plexes)	R-1, R-2, R-4	4,000	Hotels, motels, boarding houses or any transient sleeping structures Permanent dwelling units such as apartment houses dormitories, fraternities and sororities monasteries/convents vacation timeshare properties non-transient hotels and motels Residential care and assisted living facilities designed for more than five but no more than 16 occupants, excluding staff.
Residential (Single-Family, Duplex, Three-plex and Four-plex Residential)	R-3	10,000	Single family homes Multiple-unit residences with four or fewer units Congregate living facilities for sixteen or fewer persons

COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION	TYPE	SQUARE FEET	EXAMPLES
Assembly	A	1,000	Airport Traffic Control Towers Ambulatory Healthcare Facilities Amusement Arcades Animal Hospital, Pound Arenas Art Galleries Banks Banquet Halls Barber and Beauty Shops Bars/Taverns Billiard Parlors Bowling Alleys Car Wash Casinos Civic Administration Community Halls Concert Halls Courtrooms Dance Halls Dry Cleaning/Laundries (Pick Up and Self Service) Educational Occupancies (for students above 12th grade)	Exhibition Hall Funeral Parlors Grand Stands/Bleachers Gymnasiums Indoor swimming pools Indoor Tennis Courts Laboratories Lecture halls Libraries Motor Vehicle Show Rooms Museums Night Clubs Places of Religious Worship Post Offices Print Shops Professional services (attorney, dentists, doctor, etc) Radio/TV Stations Restaurants Skating Rinks Stadiums Waiting areas in Terminals
Education	E	1,000	Kindergarten through 12th Grade Daycares (please also refer to Occupancy Classification I-4 under Institutional, listed below)
Factory	F	5,000	Aircraft (manufacturing, not repair) Appliances Athletic Equipment Automobiles/Motor Vehicles Bakeries Beverages (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) Bicycles Brick and Masonry Brooms and Brushes Canvas or similar fabric Carpets and rugs (including cleaning) Ceramics Clothing/Textiles Construction/Agriculture Equipment Disinfectants Dry Cleaning and Dyeing Electronics Engines Glass Products Gypsum Food Processing Furniture	Hemp Products Ice Jute Products Leather Products Machinery Metals/Metal Products Mill work (sash and door) Motion Film Studios (without spectators) Musical Instruments Optical goods Paper Mills or Products Photographic Film Plastic Products Printing and Publishing Refuse Incineration Shoes Tobacco Trailers Upholstering Wood - distillation Wood working
Mercantile	M	5,000	Department Stores Drug Stores Markets Gas Stations Retail or Wholesale Stores Sales Rooms
Storage	S	5,000	Storage occupancy includes among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for storage that is not classified as a hazardous occupancy.
Utility	U	5,000	Aircraft hangers, accessory to a one- or two- family residence Carports Fences more than 6ft high Greenhouses Private Garages Retaining Walls Sheds Tanks Towers

AGRICULTURAL/FARM STRUCTURES

The provisions of the E&A Act regulating the practice of engineering and architecture do not apply to the construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry, or storage, if the structures are designed to be occupied by no more than twenty persons.

INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES

Institutional structures include those in which people are cared for or live in a supervised environment, or in which people are detained or restricted.

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION	TYPE	SQUARE FEET	EXAMPLES
Personal Care	I-1	3,000	Alcohol and drug centers Assisted Living Facilities Congregate Care Facilities Convalescent Care Facilities Group Homes Halfway Houses Residential Board and Care Facilities Social Rehabilitation Facilities
Healthcare	I-2	5,000	Child Care Facilities Detoxification Facilities Hospitals Mental Hospitals Nursing Homes
Detention	I-3	3,000	Correctional Center Detention Centers Jails Prerelease Centers Prisons Reformations
Daycare (Structures occupied by persons of any age who receive custodial care for less than 24 hours.)	I-4	2,000	Adult Care Facility (A facility that provides accommodations for less than 24 hours for more than persons unrelated adults and provides supervision and personal care services). Exception: A facility where occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from the staff shall be classified as a Group R-3. Child Care Facility (A facility that provides supervision and personal care on less than 24-hour basis for more than five children 2 1/2 years of age or less.) Exception: A child day care facility that provides care for more than five but no more than 100 children 2 1/2 years or less of age, where the rooms in which the children are cared for are located on a level of exit discharge serving such rooms and each of these child care rooms has an exit door directly to the exterior, shall be classified as Group E.

HAZARDOUS STRUCTURES

The high-hazard category includes any portion of a structure that involves the manufacturing, processing, generation or storage of materials that constitute a physical or health hazard.

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION	TYPE	SQUARE FEET	EXAMPLES
Hazardous	H-1	2,000	Buildings and structures containing materials that pose a detonation hazard.
Hazardous	H-2	2,000	Buildings and structures containing materials that pose a deflagration hazard or a hazard from accelerated burning.
Hazardous	H-3	2,000	Buildings and structures containing materials that readily support combustion or that pose a physical hazard.
Hazardous	H-4	2,000	Buildings and structures containing materials that are health hazards.
Hazardous	H-5	4,000	The high-hazard category includes any portion of a structure that involves the manufacturing, processing, generation or storage of materials that constitute a physical or health hazard. Semiconductor fabrication facilities and comparable research and development areas in which hazardous production materials (HPM) are used and the aggregate quantity of materials is in excess of those listed in Tables 307.1(1) and 307.1(2) of the 2012 eddition of the International Building Code (IBC).